Lots of readers figure out the killer on this second book. There are some clues that are easier to “click”, unlike the other mysteries in this series. For me, it was the strong acidic smell on the crime scene, which I knew could give someone respiratory problems, at least for a while.
The tough thing to figure out is the book, though.
To begin with YA is nothing but a marketing label used by publishers.
Also, Red Rising is very much not an YA series, even though it features young main characters. Specially not after the first book.
I was lead to believe the first book was YA, but it got darker later on, but it certainly wasn’t the case. It had a “teenagers in a hunger games” setting, sure, but that hardly makes it YA specially since the very origin of this set up is definitely not YA (Check out Battle Royale).
There’s no teen angst in the story, nor prominent love triangles and the highly stratified caste system is not some quirky metaphor to adolescence, it’s a system of oppression that draws more from the Handmaid’s Tale and 1984, than any toothless dystopian YA scifi that are hallmarks of the genre.
Red Rising book 1 may not be the author’s best book, but it’s still quite good nonetheless and it starts out exploring some darker themes from the get go. The MC lives on a planet where people need to pull their loved ones’ feet so that they can die fast when they’re hanged for the smallest slight against higher castes. I don’t see Divergent, Hunger Games or similar series going there at all, let alone right at the beginning for the series.
To begin with YA is nothing but a marketing label used by publishers.
Also, Red Rising is very much not an YA series, even though it features young main characters. Specially not after the first book.
I was lead to believe the first book was YA, but it got darker later on, but it certainly wasn’t the case. It had a “teenagers in a hunger games” setting, sure, but that hardly makes it YA specially since the very origin of this set up is definitely not YA (Check out Battle Royale).
There’s no teen angst in the story, nor prominent love triangles and the highly stratified caste system is not some quirky metaphor to adolescence, it’s a system of oppression that draws more from the Handmaid’s Tale and 1984, than any toothless dystopian YA scifi that are hallmarks of the genre.
Red Rising book 1 may not be the author’s best book, but it’s still quite good nonetheless and it starts out exploring some darker themes from the get go. The MC lives on a planet where people need to pull their loved ones’ feet so that they can die fast when they’re hanged for the smallest slight against higher castes. I don’t see Divergent, Hunger Games or similar series going there at all, let alone right at the beginning for the series.
Codex Alera is great, but you need to go in with the expectation is that Jim wanted to do a traditional fantasy, but with his usual character building and fast paced plots. So, many readers my not like the familiarity. Particularly, I loved the characters a lot and the series go into weird directions later on. Also the fantasy races in that book are really great, much more fun than the humans.
The Aeronaut’s Windlass is Jim Butcher as its peak, while Codex and Dresden took a while to find their groove, this book hits the ground running, it’s pretty good. There’s also fully fledged talking cats with their own culture and society.
More words = more specificity.
It’s like painting. You can do it using only primary colors without mixing them at all or just do it black and white. Or you can use all sorts of tones and shades, to achieve your result.