Book Review of Prisms by Amy Durrant

Synopsis:

Year DC12. The parallel worlds of Earth and Mara are wastelands of corruption, ruled by the unforgiving conference. Seventeen-year-old Faye finds herself thrown into the heart of rebellion with one aim; destroy the conference at whatever cost.

Time is ticking. The Runners are coming. But can she win out before she loses herself forever?

Review:


Prisms by Amy Durrant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

This was an interesting science fiction thriller. I really enjoyed it.

Faye (real name, Anna Link) is a great character. She is a normal teen, full of angst and sarcasm. I really liked her. She has a bit of a chip on her shoulder because of her mixed heritage. This is a bit understandable; it has it's advantages, but also some disadvantages.

I started to read this book, and was struck by the unique way the author has written this story. I was quickly drawn into the story, and I found myself turning pages; the world building was wonderful. I read this book in one sitting. Prisms is a fantastic dystopian thriller, full of twists and turns. The description of how one travels between the parallel worlds of Earth and Mara was unique, and made me wary of standing under a street lamp; I now worry I would get pulled into that world if I did! The story is told through several characters' points of view. Each chapter is dedicated to a different character, which gives an interesting perspective on the tale. Dax is Faye's older brother. He works and lives in Mara, with his fiance, Kash. Lark Lyre is a soldier in the resistance against the conference (a tyrannical and corrupt government on Mara), until his capture and he is turned into a Runner (soldiers made to keep the citizens of both sides from travelling between the worlds). There are also other interesting characters that are introduced in this tale, and several surprises and twists that I didn't see coming. However, this story has a "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" feel to it. I wasn't quite sure who were the "bad" or the "good" guys at times. The only truly "bad" guy seemed to be Torre Fynn, the President of Mara. He is a total megalomaniac and despot. The ending was a bit shocking in it's abruptness, but it sort of made sense in a weird way. I must admit that I did feel a bit disappointed that it ended the way it did, though; I felt slightly cheated. However, this is only my opinion. I will leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.

Amy Durrant has written a wonderful debut novel that was fast paced and exciting. Her writing style kept my attention, and the story flowed wonderfully. Her characters were so lifelike that I expected them to pop onto my street and walk through my door. I would definitely consider reading more books by this author in the future.

I recommend this book if you love YA, Dystopian, Science Fiction or Thriller genres. - Lynn Worton

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