Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti
Swarm
The Zeroes have created a place of their own – a night club where each can explore their powers in a safe zone. Yet they are set to be invaded by others who are running from Swarm, a Zero with a lust for power. While the Zeroes are set to disperse, it’s possible that they would be safer toegther – who should they trust?
I felt somewhat frustrated by the ending. Nate, why? Anon, why? This made no sense at all. Sure, they’ll fix things somehow, but why did they do that? Perhaps someone else who has read it can give me a more informed opinion for why on earth the ending worked.
It’s neat to think about each Zero changing the direction of their focus (Crash has done this from right near the beginning). I really feel sorry for Scam, something that has been set up from the first novel – his power seems only bring harm. That being said, every one else has that potential, but they haven’t noticed it before.
This is like a teenage / young adult version of Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart, Mitosis, Firefight and Calamity (Epics). If you enjoyed those, there is a good chance you will enjoy these, although the characters here are a lot younger. These novels have the advantage of giving the reader more than one perspective. The premise of Superpowers can be dealt with in a variety of ways and you can see that here.
I’m giving this 5 stars, just like its predecessor ‘Zeroes‘. There’s no need to have read the first, but it’s such a good read that you should totally go and buy it right now, and this one, so that you can read them in one fell swoop.
Allen & Unwin | 28th September 2016 | AU $19.99 | Paperback
