genre: post-apocalypse, kind of dystopia?
rating: 3/8 tentacles
Sever is better than Fever, but still doesn't fulfill the potential of the series premise. The pace remains much too slow. Characters spend a lot of time waiting for no real reason. Motivations get forgotten and left behind. The world is only partially described, and much too late.
Spoilers for Wither and Fever below.
When Sever begins, Rhine has recently evaded the clutches of Vaughn and tried to explain to Linden (finally!) the extent of his father's misdeeds. Linden doesn't believer her, perfectly natural--why shouldn't he trust his father, but agrees to help her avoid Vaughn and find her brother. Then, for most of the book, Rhine stays within Vaughn's reach and does very little to track down Rowan. The efforts she does make to find her brother lack urgency, which is strange considering that he's going around blowing up buildings and she thinks that she can stop him. But no worries, she just hangs around and eats nothing but apples.
A big deal is made out of how cars and cell phones are now a rarity, which doesn't make sense to me. If this world contains high tech labs and advanced medical technology, why don't cell phones work? There are still adults around unaffected by the "virus" who know how this stuff functions and could keep the world running. Yes, there could be an explanation for the collapse of the internet and cell phone service, and a half-hearted attempt is made at one just before the book ends, but this leaves me wondering for the entire series why characters don't just do things the easy way. And I can't become invested in their conflicts if the characters seem to be making things unnecessarily difficult for themselves. Forget cell phones, what about landlines? Why can't Rhine call the house where she left Gabriel to see how he's doing? Why doesn't she try to get in touch with Rowan instead of wasting time cleaning for Linden's uncle and then driving across half the country? I know they have phones because Vaughn calls people.
The characters don't come across as vividly as they did in Wither. Cecily is certainly the strongest and stands out in this last installment. Rhine becomes a vague, actionless shell. Linden fades into the background and becomes little more than a flimsy tie linking Rhine to the superficial luxury of her old prison. Her nostalgia for the place that she was so desperate to escape in Wither adds some welcome complexity. However, her conversations with Linden about their relationship disturbed me. He apologizes to her for expecting her affections, or something like that, and Rhine says it's okay, we were married.
What!?
Being kidnapped, imprisoned, and forced into a bond with a stranger is not a real marriage. He is not entitled to expect anything from the slave wives that he picked out of a truck-full of kidnapped girls. And Rhine is suddenly okay with all of this? Because Linden is actually kind of nice? This makes me angry. Rhine was angry too--what happened?
Sever loses sight of issues originally posed by the series. There's no more talk of the House Governor system, no more freedom and poverty vs. luxury and enslavement, no more determination to survive. I no longer understand Rhine, her relationships with any human beings, or her decision making processes. Rowan needs a slap in the face and a wakeup call. And I still don't understand how this virus/not virus works, how extensive it is, and what the deal is with the outside world. Ultimately, I am confused and dissatisfied.
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