Burn by Julianna Baggott

review by Maryom

Well, here we are at the end of Julianna Baggott's Prime Trilogy - Pure, Fuse and now Burn. If you haven't caught any of it, (though why haven't you?) it's set in a brilliantly-conceived post-apocalyptic dystopia, where the Detonations have changed the world, dividing the population into two groups - the Pure who took refuge in the protected environment of the Dome, and the Wretches who were forced to stay outside and were altered by the blasts, often fused to objects or other people they were near to at the time of the blasts. A bleak world with little hope for either side unless a way can be found for them to live together.

I don't want to talk too much about the plot because almost anything will give away spoilers for the earlier books - and you do have to have read them first. Pressia now feels she has found a possible cure for the Wretches' sufferings but the only people with the knowledge to apply it are inside the Dome - with Partridge returned there, is it possible that the Pure will help? Well, sadly, with Partridge in charge it's not very likely. Power hasn't quite corrupted him, but it certainly seems to have taken away his ability to make decisions; dithering between options he ends up led by others. While Pressia wants to save everyone, and Partridge wants to preserve the status quo,  El Capitan and Bradwell are both determined, for differing reasons, to bring down the Dome whatever the personal cost, and Lyda wants to save herself; after her experiences outside, the Dome now feels fake but she's virtually imprisoned there.

I thought things started out a little lumpy and bumpy - there were so many separate threads up and running that none went far before swapping to another. As events brought the threads back together and the story picked up pace, I became as gripped as before. For a novel of slightly over 400 pages, it certainly flew past!
I had half dreaded that after the first two books, the author might choose to round everything off in some easy, unrealistic, happy ever after finale  - I'm decidedly pleased that she didn't! I think how you view the ending will depend on which character you had most sympathy for, but for me it was a satisfying 'in character' climax, desperately sad but still filled with hope.


Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Headline Publishing
Genre - YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian

Buy Burn (Prime Trilogy 3) from Amazon

Other reviews; For Winter Nights, 
                       Curiosity Killed the Bookworm

Fuse by Julianna Baggott

review by Maryom

"When the end came, the world was divided. Those considered perfect, the Pure, sheltered inside the controlled Dome. Outside, the Wretches struggled in a destroyed world, crippled by the fusings that branded them after the apocalypse that changed everything.

Partridge, a Pure, has left the safety of the Dome in search of the truth. Pressia, a Wretch, is desperate to decode the secret that will cure her people of their fusings forever. Together, they must seek out the answers that will save humankind, and prevent the world's annihilation.

But the betrayal of Partridge's departure has not been forgotten.  As the Dome unleashes horrifying vengeance upon the Wretches in an attempt to get Partridge back, Partridge has no choice but to return to face the darkness that lies there, even as Pressia travels to the very ends of the world to continue their search.

Theirs is a struggle against a formidable foe, and it is a fight that will push them over boundaries of land and of sea, of heart and of mind. They can only hope for success because failure is unimaginable..."


Fuse continues the story begun in Julianna Baggott's amazing post-apocalyptic novel, Pure, set in a world divided into the Pure, living inside a sealed dome, and the Wretches or Fused who were caught outside by the Detonations with devastating consequences. I don't want to mention the plot as it would be too easy to give spoilers for Pure. If you've read Pure, you'll know what to expect; if you haven't, then you should! Suffice it to say that in their various ways and for varying motives Partridge, Pressia and El Capitan are trying to discover what actions brought about the Detonations, if there is a way the Fused can be cured and how they can create a better world out of the ruins of the old one.

Fuse does slightly fall victim to being the second book of a trilogy - the reader is already acquainted with this amazing world and its characters, and there's no way events can be brought to an overall conclusion - but even so is a great read. The plot cracks along at a fair pace with unexpected twists. There's time for far greater character development - I particularly liked that Lyda and El Capitan evolved into more complex people. I was just left wanting to know how things will end.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Headline Publishing
Genre - YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian

Buy Fuse (Pure Trilogy 2) from Amazon

Pure by Julianna Baggott

review by Maryom

"Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'. Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think. Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world."


The Detonations changed the world for ever and divided it into two groups - the fortunate Pures who were lucky enough to have secured themselves a place in the protected environment of the Dome - and the Wretches who were caught outside and altered by the blasts - and with this premise, Julianna Baggott creates one of the most amazing post-apocalyptic worlds I've encountered, either in book or film. The background of two differing groups of nuclear-war survivors sets the stage for a totally compelling plot. It's told in the third person but from the point of view of teenagers who are unaware of many of the duplicities of the world they live in - so the reader is introduced first to their comparatively innocent view of the world and discovers the even darker background to events as they do.

From the age of the main characters Pure comes under the YA label, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to sci-fi/dystopian fans of all ages. the only draw-back comes from being first of a trilogy. Many questions are answered by the end of the book but not all and obviously events are not brought to a conclusion. Fortunately, the second part of the trilogy comes out next month (February 2013) so there's not too long to wait.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline Publishing
Genre - YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian

Buy Pure (Pure Trilogy) from Amazon