Prodigy

Prodigy by Marie Lu

The first book in this two-so-far-book series, Legend, was simply terrific. There was edge of your seat suspense, characters written against stereotype, plenty of action and a touch of electric chemistry. It was written from the point of view of two protagonists who happened to be each other’s antagonists. It was an adrenaline rush to find something new in the realm of the plethora of new dystopian literature. Read the review and then read the book!

Then call it a day because the much anticipated sequel is a hollow shadow of the original. Does anyone read these before they are published? Seriously!

June was this amazing fifteen-year-old prodigy who could predict ahead of everyone else, read the intentions of others before they acknowledged their decisions themselves, and complete impossible missions on a day to day basis. She was a convicted professional and the reader believed. In Prodigy, June does not display any of her superhuman intelligence or physical prowess. Everything that made her special in the beginning is missing. There is one section where her deductive reasoning is thrown in as a bit of an afterthought. Then it is gone again.

Day was the number one criminal against the Republic. He sabotaged the Republic’s missions and weaponry. He robbed from the rich to support those in need. He was the elusive hero… a post-apocalyptic Robin Hood. Now that June has helped him to escape from the Republic’s firing squad, they are on the run together. And he is no longer the man in charge. Instead, he hands himself over to the Patriots – enemies of the Republic – and lets them take charge of the situation… After years of refusing to join their cause. The Day of book one would never have given over his control. He is a reclusive leader of the people.

June and Day are not the only characters to become irritatingly, whiney shells of their former selves. Day’s young ward, Tess, finally finds her niche among the Patriots as a medic. But that is not good enough. Now she wants Day for herself and plants the seeds of distrust in Day against June. The new Tess is so far off from the original Tess that it is unbelievable. No reason for the drastic change is shown. Besides, June and Day are uncertain of each other enough as it is.

This sequel has fallen into the same disastrous blueprint that so many other sequels suffer from. Book one culminated in the union of star-crossed lovers. Once the sexual tension is overcome, or given into, the chemistry tends to disappear. There is absolutely no chemistry whatsoever in book two. And that is almost all right. Neither character feels themselves worthy of the other. I would almost prefer the two to end up with their socially similar counterparts.

And finally, I have found a deus ex machina in the form of Kaede. Her first appearance came as a bar tender claiming to be a Patriot. Then she is a Patriot who claims the Colonies as her place of origin. Her final incarnation comes in the form of the best Patriot Pilot – well actually, a Colony-trained Pilot which comes in handy when the main characters need to escape from the Colonies in a Colony jet! She just pops up whenever she is needed and they continue to trust her for some unknown reason. Surprise!

I’m used to ending bad reviews with something to the effect… I don’t want to read the next volume of the series, but I probably will anyway to see how it ends. But I honestly think I am ready to throw in the towel. I thought I saw a grand sacrifice in the works and was actually eager to see some real tension and suspense towards the end of the book. But the author utterly dropped the ball. In fact, she turned her back on it and refused to catch it. And I’m not even talking about the horrible cliché of an ending. The only way I see this series being saved is through the taboo. Forget a love triangle. Let’s try a threesome. Yes, I just said it. Elector Anders is showing considerable appeal at this point. And he certainly has a position for a true prodigy. A position the June would be an idiot to ignore if she holds any trace of her former convictions.

Not recommended!