*This book is part of my Dystopia Book Challenge*
Synopsis from Amazon:
It’s been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night: a girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead—or so they thought.
Perdido Beach burns and battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ, but are the kids of Perdido Beach desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?
Lies is book three in Michael Grant’s Gone series and it seems these books get progressively darker as we go forward. I enjoyed this book but I also have a few issues with it but let’s start with the good stuff.
I actually liked how dark this book was. Grant doesn’t hold back in the realism of a world with no adults and a lot of chaos. I especially liked that we got to see some character changes and development. Astrid, for one, breaks through her “Astrid the Genius” mold completely in this novel. As head of the council she has all these ideas on how to make Perdido Beach better but is forced to face the fact that some things are out of her control.
Sam, although he did disappoint me at some points, also went through some questions in his character. So far in the series Sam has always been the hero. Even in book two when (*spoiler alert if you haven’t read Hunger*) he kind of loses it and gets beat by Drake, at the end of the day he’s still kind of the hero. He figured out how to take out The Darkness and used his wit (with Duck’s help) to do so.
In Lies Sam really starts to crumble apart and so does Astrid and it really forces them to look at their relationship. One question I think they really need to consider is if the FAYZ ended would they remain together or are they just clinging to each other because the FAYZ sucks and they want to hold onto something good? Who knows? Either way their relationship was seriously tested in this novel.
Now here’s my issues with the book. There will be spoilers so beware. As much as I liked this book the truth of the matter is there were some things in the plot that just didn’t really make sense:
- How did no one realize there was an island with a huge mansion and a yacht with a helicopter on it for seven months. Quinn and his fishing crew never saw it? Or in book one when Sam and co. hopped in a boat to the power plant, no one noticed it? Also how did the people on the island not see these people when they were out in the water? Maybe they did but it was never mentioned so I can’t be sure.
- The whole half Brittney, half Drake monster makes no sense to me. Lana has the ability to heal and she did give Drake his whip arm but how did The Darkness combine Lana’s healing with Brittney’s immortality. Their bodies weren’t anywhere near each other when they died. Brittney was buried in the plaza and Drake was buried deep in the mine shaft with Caine’s tornado. How did they merge together? It just doesn’t make sense. Of course nothing in this novel is at all plausible but still that’s a big stretch.
- The extent of Pete’s powers is getting out of hand. I understand that’s part of the mystery and it does add something to the series that makes it extra interesting but I’m beginning to think Pete can do anything. He can make things/people disappear. He can create things/people. He created the FAYZ. He was able to somehow show Astrid what was happening in some illusion. He can teleport himself and his sister. And he’s The Darkness’ biggest opponent. It feels like with each book Grant makes Pete more and more powerful and although it adds to the story it’s stretching. Everyone else’s powers are focused on one thing (Sam with his laser beam hands, Caine can move things with his mind, Brianna is fast, etc.). Pete has various different powers. Again maybe that’s Grant’s point and we’ll learn more about why Pete’s so different later but at points it feels like Grant is just adding to Pete’s powers to try and make sure the storyline makes sense.
Overall, I did enjoy the book a lot. A lot went down and it was crazy to see just how … well, crazy everything is getting in the FAYZ. Everyone in Perdido Beach is kind of losing it and truthfully I’m wondering how long they’ll all be able to survive like this. Definitely a good read and worth checking out.
Favorite Line:
Yeah, Sam, you’re still necessary. You’re like a god to us mere mortals. We can’t live without you. Later we’re going to build you a temple. Satisfied?
Stars: 4 out of 5. As much as I enjoyed this book I couldn’t ignore the fact that some things just didn’t make sense.
Borrow or Buy: Buy! This is the first book in the series that I bought and I don’t regret it. If I had more money I’d probably buy the whole series.
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