Review: False Sight

False Sight
False Memory, Book 2

Author: Dan Krokos
Pages: 336
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publication Date: August 13, 2013
Read: August 4-6, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher at BEA

Description from Goodreads:
All Miranda wants is a normal life. She's determined to move past the horrible truth of her origin as a clone so she can enjoy time with her boyfriend, Peter, and the rest of her friends at school. But Miranda quickly learns that there's no such thing as normal - not for a girl who was raised to be a weapon. When one of her teammates turns rogue, it begins a war that puts the world in jeopardy. Now Miranda must follow her instincts - not her heart - in order to save everything she's fought so hard to keep. with the image of a terrible future seared into her mind, what will she have to sacrifice to protect the people she loves?

Dan Krokos's sequel to the tour de force False Memory is a mind-blowing thriller with high-octane action that will leave readers begging for the final book in this bold and powerful trilogy.

Previous Book in Series:
1: False Memory

First Sentence: "Thomas David asks me about my eyes."

Review:

*sighs heavily*

Well, this is one of those times. Ever since I read False Memory, I have been SO READY for the sequel. When I read and enjoyed Krokos' second novel to be released, the middle grade The Planet Thieves, I was even more sure that I would love this book. Would that that were the case. Sadly, False Sight took the series in a wholly different direction, and these changes just did not work for me one bit. Though I would not call False Sight a bad book, I urge those of you who loved False Memory to expect something rather different from the sequel.

False Memory did action really well, but what really rang true for me were the emotions and the voice, made all the more impressive by the fact that Krokos is a male author writing a female heroine. To give props where they are due, I still got a female vibe from the narration. At no point was I thrown out of the story thinking that something was gendered incorrectly. He put a lot of work into the narrative voice and it definitely continues to pay off.

Unfortunately, for me, I'm all about emotions and really getting into the characters heads and motivations. In False Memory, I was especially captivated by the disconnect between Miranda's memories and Miranda's present. The way she struggled with being two different people with different desires all at once was captivating and emotionally resonant. The resulting love triangle, the emotions of the past warring with the current ones, made it onto my mental list of love triangles I actually approve of. Needless to say, I hoped for more of such dynamics, thought-provoking and philosophical. I did not get them.

False Sight is all about twists, action, and world building, in roughly that order, with characterization almost entirely left out to pasture. For the sort of reader that I am, this was a disastrous change, because I didn't have enough emotional investment after the gap of a year since I read the prior book to be able to care about the crazy twists and deaths. My main reaction to False Sight was one of intense boredom, despite the back to back fight scenes and huge surprises.

Aside from that style just not being my personal preference, I just generally found the sheer amount of information overwhelming. Krokos adds so much to the world building, and, as such, there are a bunch of infodumps. Also, with that many twists, things basically go batshit. I really don't know what to say about everything that happens other than just going "WHUH?" and staring at the book in befuddlement. Basically, when it comes to the large twist, I think you're either going to be really into it or you're going to be frustrated all the way through.

Now, I don't know for certain that this is true, but I gather that Dan Krokos is a Joss Whedon fan, and maybe also a Mira Grant fan. There were some definite shades of Serenity and some of the events from Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy in there. This means I should have been all over this, but I was just so disconnected and more bored than I've been in a long time.

Honestly, I'm not sure what else to say about what happened here. Maybe I was just not in the mood. Maybe the direction just was not what I was expecting or what works for me as reader. Either way, I'm bidding adieu to this series. I still really like the first book, but I'm leaving it at that and pretending it stands alone.

Rating: 2/5

Favorite Quote: None.