Friday, November 10, 2017

Friday #Review - Renegades by Marissa Meyer #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Renegades # 1
Format: Hardcover, 576 pages
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.
Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies―humans with extraordinary abilities―who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.
Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice―and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.


"We were all villains in the beginning."


Renegades, by author Marissa Meyer, is the first installment in the authors Renegades series. Once upon a time in Galton City, prodigies were feared by the rest of the world. They became hunted. Tormented. Mocked and oppressed. They were believed to be witches and abominations. Then a man came along named Ace Anarchy who I have read other reviewers calling him Magneto because of his head gear. Ace changed everything by uniting the most powerful prodigies like Phobia, Detonator, Queen Bee, and the Puppeteer calling themselves Anarchists. 

The Age of Anarchy would last for 20 years before a group of prodigies known as the Renegades stepped up and took down Ace & the Anarchists. When Nova Artino was 6 years old, her family was murdered. In the aftermath, Nova, who is Ace's niece, became bitter and sought revenge against the Renegades who promised they would be there for her family. Nova became an Anarchist known as Nightmare. Her skill set as a designer of weapons is unmatched. Her primary goal is to take down the Renegade Council once and for all. Only then can she gain her revenge.

9 years after the Battle of Galton, Nova, after failing to assassinate Captain Chromium and barely escaping a fight against Renegade prodigies and a character named Sentinel, decides that if you can't beat them, join them & fight them from the inside. She ends up participating in a prodigy trial under the assumed name of Insomnia. Nova passes her test by defeating a Hulk-like character named Gargoyle. It leads to her being added to Adrian Everhart's team. As Nova finds her footing among her new teammates and the other Renegades, she realizes that things aren't as clear as she once thought. 

On the other side we find Adrian, the boy who lost his Renegade mother when he was young, and was later adopted by two of the council's original members. Adrian has a few surprises up his sleeve. He is known as Sketch because whatever he draws can come to life. Adrian is also the character called Sentinel but nobody, not his friends, not his fathers, nobody knows who he is. He is on the hunt for Nightmare who came close to killing his adoptive father. When the chips are down, can Adrian find Nightmare, or will he crash and burn? 

There is a whole lot more to talk about but let's just say that the plot has numerous twists. The characters remind me of a cross between the X-men and the Young Elites. Meyer creates a fantastic world that is still struggling to pick itself up after years of turmoil and gangs controlling everything. This is a story that mixes up what it means to be good and bad. Nova isn't necessarily a bad person. She believes that the Renegades broke a promise to her family and therefore she deserves her revenge. Meanwhile, Adrian's loss of his mother is a bit of a mystery. A mystery that really gets deep when you start to add up certain events that happened apparently at the same time. I enjoyed this story but really feel as though it could have been a whole lot shorter. The last part of this story kind of leaves you pondering why Meyer would need 500 pages after that revelation!




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