Tuesday, February 23, 2016

#Tuesday Review - Raging Sea by Michael Buckley (Young Adult, Science Fiction)

Series: Undertow # 2
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

In the first book of Michael Buckley’s Undertow trilogy, the Alpha arrived and the world was never the same. At the start of the second book, most of south Brooklyn is in ruins and the nation is terrified. Nearly everyone that Lyric Walker loves is either missing or presumed dead, including the mesmerizing prince Fathom. It’s up to Lyric to unite the Alpha before the second wave of a cataclysmic invasion wipes out mankind for good




Raging Sea is the second installment in Michael Buckley's Undertow series. In the weeks following the end of Undertow, 17-year old Lyric Walker, her best friend Rebecca "Bex" Conrad, and Titan clan member Arcade, went on the run. Lyric is on the FBI's most wanted list, and is being labeled as the Coney Island Terrorist. Funny since she and others actually tried to save her home of Coney Island from an invading force lead by the Prime and his deranged consort Minerva! 

Now, with family and friends missing, or captured by a group called Tempest, Lyric will travel from Coney Island to Texas in an attempt to break them loose. The problem with being infamous and supposedly responsible for creating the Tidal Wave that destroyed Coney Island, is that Lyric can't go anywhere without being noticed. Especially wearing a metal glove on her hand. Dead broke and living in cars they steal, Lyric, Bex, and Arcade end up in some interesting situations which leads to conflicts and second guessing. 

Lyric has some issues to resolve with almost everyone in this book. Bex doesn't like her plan; Arcade thinks Lyric is weak and not focused enough on the plan, and then there is Fathom, who, spoiler alert! is alive and at the Tempest camp. He is a much different character than the first book. I would call him a calibratorShe also has to deal with Doyle, who she thought was an ally, and Donovan Spangler the head of White Tower contractors. 

A rather large part of this story happens after Lyric reaches Texas, and discovers that Doyle is not who she think he is. In fact, once Lyric reaches the Tempest Compound, things don't go at all how she planned. She's treated as an animal, they try to use similair techniques to those who are labeled as terrorists, and she has a major shock coming when she discovers that she is once again a pawn in someone else's game.

It is unfortunate, for me, that Lyric ends up in a mess with her romantic interests. After discovering that Fathom is alive, well, let's not spoil that. She's been fighting Arcade over Fathom for awhile, and that just takes up too much of my time to explain. I will say that things get more interesting with a boy from Lyric's hometown, Riley, ends up at the Tempest camp and she has to train him. He is a major flirt, and has eyes only for Lyric. Kind of crazy how Buckley uses a bit of comedy relief with Lyric saying she wants no part in love triangles. Of course she doesn't!

Shocking enough, this book ends on a major kick me in the head cliffhanger. Luckily, readers only have to wait until November to read the sequel called Heart of the Storm.



No comments:

Post a Comment