 |
| Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese |
* I received this book via Star Book Tours
* Release date - April 26, 2011This book gets a good 3 gnomes out of 5 gnomes. I liked the premise of the book and the characters were interesting in their own ways but also kind of hard to like. First of all, their names are really weird. The main character's name is Ade Patience and the girl he's in love/obsessed with is Vauxhall Rodolfo. Let's just say those names don't really roll off the tongue and I'm pretty sure that I was mispronouncing them.
Ade is not exactly what you would call a reliable narrator. He's not reliable because in order to see the future he has to give himself a concussion. Doing this means he's been in more then one car accident and does things like jump off of buildings on purpose. Having this many concussions of course is not good for you but Ade is addicted to the feeling that he gets after a vision. This has led to him blacking out and having a horrible memory. At points in the story you might find yourself wondering if any of it is true.
Ade's character is also pushed by his religious obsessed mother. She believes his visions are a sign from God and Ade encourages her by always adding something that he thinks that she'll find important. His Mom is pretty darn creepy with worrying more about writing Ade's visions down than whether he's irreparably damaging himself by getting the visions.
Vauxhall strikes me as the mysterious girl who is way more needy then she needs to be. She's not exactly a reliable character either, at times you have to wonder what Ade sees in her. Their secrets are what seems to bring them together and the fact that she currently has a boyfriend.
Psychic phenomenon abound and there is enough weirdness for even the most weird loving soul. Ade may not be the only person with powers around town. These characters are strong but if you're looking for cute or cuddly, you're in the wrong place.
The ending is what really brings the book to a solid 3 gnomes, because it leaves this character changed but with the reader also questioning what's going to happen next. A good read but be warned the story can be a tad hard to follow at times and if you don't like unreliable narrators this may not be the book for you. Definitely worth a read though to see how the ending which is hinted at in the beginning comes about.
The unreliable narrator and the concussions-to-see-the-future thing intrigue me. I mean, how do you know what's a vision and what's...you being concussed and seeing things? What's brain damage. Interesting idea...
ReplyDelete@Kate, yeah the concept is what drew me in to wanting to read the book. Brain damage is a major factor in the book because you're always wondering whether Ade might just be making the whole thing up and if he isn't if he's actually seeing the right future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a fantastic review. The premise is what makes me want to read this. I don't like unreliable narrators, but that might be interesting to see with this. I'll still have to check it out.
ReplyDelete@Cheree, Thanks, glad you liked it :)
ReplyDeleteThe premise is great, stuff gets a bit muddled in the middle but the ending is excellent and will leave you hoping that there's going to be another book.