The Tension and the Terror - Straylight Run

Defiance
Defiance, Book 1

Author: C. J. Redwine
Pages: 403
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
ARC Acquired from: Balzer + Bray

Description from Goodreads:
Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

First Sentence: "The weight of their pity is like a stone tied about my neck."

Review:
Defiance has been on my radar ever since I saw the cover. Seriously, this is, without a doubt, one of my favorite covers. Having read the book, I also like that it seems to make sense for the book. Rachel does have hair like that, and both the forest and the walled city are important settings for the plot. While this may not have much to do with the quality of the book, I just had to express my obsessive love for this cover.

With all of those expectations in play, I was really afraid I would turn out to hate Defiance. Good news: I didn't! In fact, I was impressed with Redwine's writing early on. Her sentences are complex and I just love her syntax and diction. Nor does her writing ever seem forced, like she was writing with a thesaurus to sound smarter. Basically, it felt natural and worked well with the story.

I would rank Defiance as more of a fantasy than a science fiction novel. Personally, I think dystopias can go either way, and I have trouble really seeing our world evolving into this one. This is not to say that the dystopian society is not reminiscent of certain terrible elements in cultures I'm familiar with, particularly the past. The state of women in Baalboden, and perhaps other city states is horrific. Women must be constantly with their Protector, either father, substitute guardian, or husband. Girls are married off (Claimed) at 17 years of age, and have no say in who claims them, unless their Protector chooses to indulge their wishes.

Of course, Baalboden isn't scary just for that, although I must admit that would be the most immediately grating thing for me were I to live there. The town is ruled over by the Commander, a creepy dictator who does what despots like to do: whatever he wants. He manipulates people into doing his bidding by threatening them, and their loved ones with violence, and he certainly is willing, perhaps wanting, to follow through.

He came to power because he is one of the only men in the world (the others have their own city states to rule) who can defend against The Cursed One, a monster that emerged from deep in the earth when people dug down too far. To imagine the terrifyingness of this monster, picture a Balrog crossed with a dragon. And yet, scary as this creature is, the humans in the book are definitely the most fierce. I would rather face a quick death by fiery monster than by the Commander.

I loved the characters of Rachel and Logan individually. Rachel refuses to be put into a box (or a fancy dress); she learned to fight and to survive from her father. The fact that no one expects strength from a mere woman makes her even more powerful, because they won't know what hit them. Logan is brilliant and protective, but also wise enough to know that just because you want to protect someone doesn't necessarily mean you can or should.

The tension in their relationship at the beginning, when he finds himself appointed Protector of a girl just a couple years his junior who once confessed her love to him, is so awkward, which is precisely perfect. The whole situation could not be otherwise. I wonder why her father would appoint Logan, although my only answer is that perhaps he knew Logan's feelings better than Logan did and was extending his blessing in a way. As they came to respect and trust one another again, I loved their verbal sparring and, again, the awkwardness of it. Once they start recognizing their feelings, I was a bit less interested. For once, I am actually looking forward to the subtly hinted prospect of a love triangle to shake things up a bit.

My one issue with the book was in the use of multiple points of view. Telling Logan's and Rachel's narration apart was difficult. If I didn't read the name at the top of the chapter, I would have no idea whose head I was in until I flipped back, the other person appeared, or the location made it apparent. Rachel and Logan are quite different characters, which is apparent in the dialog. I think the difficulty is that the non-dialog writing is all in the same style. It seems unlikely Logan and Rachel would think so similarly.

All things considered, Defiance is a powerful, action-packed debut that would make an intense movie, something like The Hunger Games meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I am so looking forward to the next installment!

Favorite Quote: "'Apparently, he thought you might need the help. You're just a girl, after all.' A ghost of a smile flits across his face. 'A girl who knows how to keep her head in the face of the Cursed One, who can nearly drown and still trek for four hours, and who has the skill to bring down a boar. Bet the Commander had no idea how far he's underestimated you.'"

"All the tension and the terror,
Thin-limbed gorgeous green eyes smiling,
And I'm going straight to hell,
All the possibility and promise just,
Weighs on me so heavily,

And I try but I'm not convincing,
Your lips they pout and twist and,
I die trying just to keep myself from kissing you,
You take in everything with a certainty I envy
It's somehow all I need just keep me guessing please,

Oh darling all of these awkward jump-start-stalling conversations,
Mean much more to me than anything,
So it comes down to me and you and,
Whether we're supposed to or not, we still will"

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