Conquered Earth #2 The Severed Tower

Presenting Conquered Earth #2 The Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell.

Here is the summary of the book:

Holt, Mira, and Max have fled Midnight City with Zoey after watching her repel an entire Assembly army. Zoey's powers are unlocked, but who and what she is remains a mystery. All she knows is that she must reach the Severed Tower, an infamous location in the middle of the world's most dangerous landscape: The Strange Lands, a place where the laws of physics have completely broken down. But the closer they get to the Tower, the more precarious things become. The Assembly has pursued Zoey into the Strange Lands. Among them is a new group, their walkers and machines strangely bereft of any color, stripped to bare metal, and whose agenda seems to differ from the rest. To make matters worse, the group hunting Holt are here, too, led by a dangerous and beautiful pirate named Ravan. So is Mira's first love, Benjamin Aubertine, whose singular ambition to reach the Tower threatens to get them all killed.

Then there's the Strange Lands themselves. They have inexplicably begun to grow, spreading outwards, becoming more powerful. Somehow, it all seems tied to Zoey herself, and the closer she gets to the Tower, the weaker she becomes.

For me this one felt so-so. Yes I actually like the first book more because of its unique setting but must say the story wasn't a memorable one. So I tumbled head first into this one. Yes, the needed element of action and adventure is there but I still got bored with it.

While the concept of the strange lands is very well done, with the almost game like feel to it, like the games where you have to solve puzzles to get to the next level and such..... Holt, Zoe and Mira were in full force as was the assembly and the tone but I still got bored.... And this is definitely the shortest ever review for me..... I know what I need to do, after I finish all of my arc(s) and review copies, i need to read it again with the first book. Maybe then I can actually appreciate it more..... So at the moment it is OK.

"A post-apocalyptic setting that gets complex by the second"

Genre :      Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Paranormal, Sci-fi

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: 19th November, 2013

My Copy: publisher and netgalley

Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

Books in the series (review link):
                 #1 Midnight City

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Conquered Earth #1 Midnight City

A perfect futuristic sci-fi dystopia, worthy of being read and re-read. Presenting Conquered Earth #1 Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell.

Here is the summary of the book:

Lord of the Flies meets War of the Worlds in J. Barton Mitchell's alien-invaded post-apocalyptic world where two teens and a young girl with amazing powers must stop the aliens’ mysterious plan. Earth has been conquered by an alien race known as the Assembly. The human adult population is gone, having succumbed to the Tone---a powerful, telepathic super-signal broadcast across the planet that reduces them to a state of complete subservience. But the Tone has one critical flaw. It only affects the population once they reach their early twenties, which means that there is one group left to resist: Children. Holt Hawkins is a bounty hunter, and his current target is Mira Toombs, an infamous treasure seeker with a price on her head. It’s not long before Holt bags his prey, but their instant connection isn’t something he bargained for. Neither is the Assembly ship that crash-lands near them shortly after. Venturing inside, Holt finds a young girl who remembers nothing except her name: Zoey. As the three make their way to the cavernous metropolis of Midnight City, they encounter young freedom fighters, mutants, otherworldly artifacts, pirates, feuding alien armies, and the amazing powers that Zoey is beginning to exhibit. Powers that suggest she, as impossible as it seems, may just be the key to stopping the Assembly once and for all. Midnight City is the breathtaking first book of the Conquered Earth series.

I have no more words it seems! Midnight City is the perfect product to these combined elements of sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, alien invasion, fantasy and the mythos. The constant onslaught of action can hardly be missed. The dangerous-deadly-apocalyptic landscapes are a perfect depiction of an alien invaded-and-occupied Earth. And very graphic too. A plus point to this alchemy of genres.

Humanity is but extinct. Mitchell's blue planet is no longer what we see it as everyday. Earth is now an alien occupied planet, the Assembly (this is what the humans call the aliens) has taken over the adults. The children are left to fend for themselves. And situations have since then been escalating from bad to worse. Mitchell's post-apocalyptic world is a true marvel. Earth is a wasteland now, devoid of human 'mostly' but it is not just waste that lives in the ruins anymore, things have been growing in such dark places. Things that feed off of the darkness.

But a true marvel of this post-apocalyptic world is the creation of the Strange Lands and the Midnight City itself. The Strange Lands are strange indeed. Shrouded in mystery an almost fantastically edge to it. The Strange Lands is a place under a constant cover of storm clouds. A dangerous place, very much magnetized scientifically speaking if you mean. Then, there is Midnight City. This sprawling city is owned and operated by kids. A different world is itself altogether. This is a city that works on intrinsic formula of points tables. Everyday you play this play, dangerous, life threatening, devious games that garner you points, without which you can never hope to succeed in a place this ruthless.

And if those are not enough, the author supplies us with some dynamic characters you'll never read about anywhere else. Holt, Mira, Zoey and Max. You'll never find more dynamic characters than them. Barring Max, I don't think anybody else has all their cards laid out wide on the table. Just when you think you begin to understand their motifs, they bring about something new to the game. Holt is a surviver, if he sets his mind to something he does all he can to attain it. Mira, just like the city is hidden behind layers over layers, intricately woven together......and Zoey.....well she is special, very special.

Applause to the author though, he has produced this masterpiece of an amazing product that may never have been thought possible. Midnight City coolly places the Entrée before you with unimaginable flavors. It is upto you to bit into it........I for one am famished for the main course, the next book rather hungrily if you know what I mean.

"A never before seen balanced alchemy of sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, fantasy and mythology. It is just the Entrée......don't miss out on it"

Genre :      Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic


Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin


My Copy:  Netgalley and Publisher


Rate:              4/5 (It was Amazing)