Review: Avalon by Mindee Arnett


Avalon
Mindee Arnett
Series: Avalon, #1
Released: January 21st, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: 3.5 stars
Word Rating: Slooooow build
Reviewed by: Blythe

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Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

I have two confessions: one, I am generally not a fan of space operas and novels of the like, so I wasn't sure whether or not I would like Avalon, and two, I have never seen an episode of Firefly. Not one. So I pretty much went into Avalon blind as to exactly what kind of book it would be, since I could probably count the amount of space operas I've read on one hand. All I knew for sure about Avalon was that it was met with mixed to positive reviews from friends of mine, and its pacing was slow for some of them.

I am glad that I knew the latter was true for Avalon, because if I didn't, I would have most likely abandoned it about 150 pages through. You guys, this book is slow. The first half was just so boring for me. Many big things happen, and Mindee Arnett has to lay out the groundwork for her world and her characters; I understand this, obviously. World-building is necessary, especially for a novel set as far into the future as Avalon. But really, with Jeth's narrative throughout the entire half being almost dull and lifeless, I couldn't connect with the plot or the characters (the latter of which remained flat even in the second half, although by then the plot was good enough for me to have something else to focus on).

But, all of that changed pretty much within the span of five pages or so, right towards the middle of the novel. If I had abandoned Avalon during its first half, I would have missed out on all the fun to be had throughout practically all of the second half: the tons of betrayal, the fun and intriguing plot twists, and the well written and engaging action. The entire book, honestly, is not very character-focused. It's much more action-focused, which is definitely okay since Avalon isn't really trying to be anything other than a fun, action-oriented read. The book of course would have had more of an impact on me should I have had an emotional connection with the characters, but I'm taking Avalon for what it is, and that's a book with not a lot of character development.

That isn't to say, however, that all the characters don't grow. At least one of them does, off the top of my head--the main character, Jeth. For the first half of Avalon, I didn't really like Jeth. But in the second half, as more plot twists are revealed that impact him, I got a better feel of his character since he became more vulnerable. I still don't know if I find him particularly likable, but I definitely wouldn't consider him unlikable in the end. The same goes for the other characters in the novel, too, really. There's not enough of a connection there for me to feel anything about them in regards to their likability. The same also goes for the romance that stems a bit later in the novel, which I found to be a bit flatter than the cast of characters, and as a whole rather uninspired and confusing. (The good thing about the romance, though, is that it is in very little quantity, and is absolutely nowhere near the focus of the novel.)

Still, despite the issues I have with the pacing, character development, and romance, Avalon is a really fun and action-packed read once it hits its stride. The problem is that it takes quite a while for it to do so, but the first half is definitely worth persevering through in order to get to the second. And the first half may not even be a problem for you, if you're the type of reader who likes science fiction and space operas. Basically, if the thought of Star Wars with teens excites you greatly, I don't see why Avalon wouldn't be for you. Mindee Arnett has a lot of interesting and awesome concepts and twists up her sleeve here, and I'm really curious to see where she would go with them should there be a sequel to Avalon (which I'm hoping for).

17 comments :

  1. First, that cover is awesome.
    Second, I don't usually read these types of books either so I'm not sure I will, but it is good to know what you think since you don't normally read these either.
    Third, It always saddens me when I read a book that takes about half way through before I really get interested, but it seems to be happening to me a lot. Now the big question is whether that should keep me from reading Avalon or not. We shall see in due time I guess.
    Fourth, Great review!

    Kay @ It's a Book Life

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    1. I don't even know what's on the cover, even after reading. I have theories, but...

      If you don't typically read space books, I can't promise you'll like this, but at least you'll know that I don't read these types of books either and ended up liking it! And yeah, slow pacing like that is always pretty upsetting.

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  2. I rated it about 3.5 too. It's funny I preferred the beginning half to the second. I enjoyed the creepy stuff and wished it had gone throughout the whole novel. I love Firefly so maybe that had something to do with my not liking the second half as much (some of the twists seemed very obvious). I am a big fan of space operas and science fiction so this one let me down in that respect more than anything. I will read the next book (called Meridian?). Great review!

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    1. Oh, that's interesting! Will have to read your review right now. And yeah, I liked the creepy stuff too; I just thought it picked up in the second half, really. And I really need to watch Firefly.

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  3. Ooo, I haven't read too many space operas, but I love science fiction - especially the ones dealing with space. I also had not/have not seen any episodes of Firefly. But I'm glad you enjoyed this one overall! I also struggled with the first half, but thought the second half was much better. I gave this book four stars, and I hope the second book is overall even better. I still need to read Proxy... meh. Novellas. Meh.

    Fantastic review, Blythe! Hope you and I both enjoy the sequel.

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. This isn't a HUGE space opera, but there is some romance, so. I'm really glad you liked this one more than me! I read Proxy and...yeah, wasn't a fan. But I rarely ever am with novellas, unless I hyper-love the series.

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  4. I like The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett, so I was excited to hear that she wrote a different series involving space! I am going to start reading this book soon, so I will try to keep in mind that the second half of book is more action-engaging than the first half. Thanks for the comment love on my blog. :D

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    1. I hope you enjoy this! I liked The Nightmare Affair, too, but I think I may prefer Avalon.

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  5. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one! I agree, Avalon is definitely an plot-driven novel, and I'm glad that you chose to keep going even though Jeth's narrative and the entire first half bored you. The second half definitely was a lot better and I agree about the character development with Jeth. I especially loved his relationships with his sisters and crew. Fantastic review, Blythe! It's funny because I was reading Mel's review for this book the other day on her blog and she had almost the same opinion as you on Jeth's character. #cobloggertwinning

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    1. Yeah, definitely a plot-driven novel. LOL, yeah, Mel and I agree on this one! Except she liked it a bit less.

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  6. Star Wars with teens actually does appeal to me! Lol. Flat characters and flat romance however... I was given an ARC of this one, so I feel like I should read it; I applied for the ARC because I absolutely adore Firefly, but a big part of Firefly for me was the humor and it doesn't sound like there's a lot of that in Avalon. I'll be interested to see what I make of it anyway. :-)

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    1. Oh, then I hope you enjoy this! I'd say that's an accurate pitch for Avalon. And the flat romance isn't really a big deal, because it's such a small focus, but the flat characters are disappointing.

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  7. I'm with you - the first half of Avalon was just SO slow, but at the same time, I understood why it was slow since Mindee Arnett wanted to slowly ease us into her world. The second half of the book, however, was totally worth reading.
    My feelings toward Jeth was just blahhh throughout, although I did find myself cheering for him in the end. Great point on how Avalon isn't really a character-focused book; I've never really noticed that until you pointed it out.

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    1. I'm glad you agree! And yeah, I definitely see why, too. With a book set so far in the future, you have to let readers ease into the world. So I understand why it was so slow. But yeah, Jeth was pretty blah. All of the characters, really.

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  8. I'm starting this tonight and really interested to see what I think. We have very similiar thoughts sometimes, Blythe, so I'm curious if I'll align with you, or be totally different. I really liked Mindee's first book, and I thought Proxy was fun, if not much beyond that. But enjoyable. So hmm. I'm hoping I like all of Avalon, but a bit worried since like you said, the first half was like SLOOOOW DIAL UP. Hmm, we'll have to discuss once I've read it. (I have seen Firefly and adore it so I'm a wee bit scurred.)

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    1. This is late, so I know how you feel about this, and I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it too much. :/ But I definitely agree with your point about reading Proxy first. It kind of makes the first hundred pages or so of Avalon really redundant.

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  9. BLYTHE. BLYYYYYYYYTHE. Y U NO SEEN FIREFLY? BLYYYYYYTHE. Your blithe disregard of Firefly gives me a sad.

    Also, we agree on a thing! Same rating! This is a rare thing and should be appreciated. Let's take a moment to marvel.

    Action-focused doesn't usually work for me, but as long as it keeps the pace up, it cane keep me distracted from the lack of characters. Although it doesn't always work.

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