Title: Blackout (Blackout #1)
Author: Robison Wells
Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Released Date: October 1, 2013
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Synopsis:
Deadly attacks are sweeping across the country.Alec and Laura are at the center of the violence, while in a small remote town, Aubrey and Jack feel sheltered from the turmoil.But these four seemingly normal teenagers are about to find their lives connected in ways they could never have imagined--and one wrong step could trigger an explosion that ends it all.
My Thoughts:
When I think about people with superpowers, I think about mutants and superheroes. It's hard not to associate that word to them because they already became its connotation. The word "superpowers" also implies kick-ass fight scenes and a whole lot of entertainment. It was what I expected when I read the synopsis of Blackout but, I am very sad to say, it didn’t deliver.
A terrorist group of teenagers with special abilities are attacking landmarks, dams, and tourist spots all over US and the government are troubled and baffled on how to stop them. They figured out that a virus, that gave these teens the abilities, has spread and contaminated the water supply. So they gathered everyone between age 13 to 20 in quarantine facilities to test if they are positive. Those who are positive will have to make a choice...join the special task force or rot in the cell until the attacks are over. 4 teens with different upbringings will find themselves entangled in a war that could destroy the world.
I’m pondering about this book since I finish reading it but I can’t seem to see the goal of this book. It doesn't have any depth at all. The only thing I get is that the US is under attack by super terrorist teens and it has to be stopped and that's it. What about the story behind these attacks, the motivation of the teen terrorist and the whole point of the attack? It was not explained not even once. It made me think, is it just an extreme form of teen shenanigans? World domination, perhaps? Power trip? And what is it about “for your mother and mine” thing that Alec and Dan kept saying? What made these kids so angry that they wanted to destroy the whole US? And why are the terrorists’ superpowers cooler and more bad-ass than the kids who are not terrorists? Okay, that last question was not that important but I’m just saying, it was so not fair.
You can clearly see that I have a lot of questions about the story that needed answers. These informations are important if not essential for me to make sense of what was happening, to know the origin of this problem in order for me to make an assessment and lastly, for me to know who to root for. It should have been explained in Blackout especially because this is the first book in the series.
Also, in addition to the sinkhole-like plot holes, the characters were bland and they didn’t spark any emotion in me except for boredom. How can teens with super powers be so uninteresting? It’s very puzzling because it seems impossible but it’s unfortunately true in this book. The only thing that kept me reading this is my insatiable curiosity about the Erebus virus, the military tactics and finding out other people’s super powers.
Overall, Blackout was a huge disappointment. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.
My Rating
*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange of honest review. (Thanks, HarperCollins!)
