Chapter 3b: A Trilogy

Insurgent, Veronica Roth
I should call this discussion No Surprises. So here's a list of the Things That Did Not Surprise Me about this book:

• The second book of the trilogy is not as interesting as the first.
• The language has become repetitive. Every single time Tris gets injured, her vision goes black around the edges.
• Some of the Bad Guys are kind of Good Guys.
• Some of the Good Guys are kind of Bad Guys.
• The twists. I find it hard to believe anyone with a functioning brain stem did not see these coming. There's a fence around Chicago and you don't think there are people living outside that fence? Come on.

What did surprise me? The first person narrative of Divergent that pushed that story forward, drags this one down. 384 pages of Tris not wanting to live, wanting to die, wanting to sacrifice herself. 384 pages! And then when she has the chance to do just that, she changes her mind. One of the qualities that makes her the hero is that she stubbornly does things, even when she doesn't want to, even if it means hurting someone she cares about, if it means saving the world. As a Divergent, she has flexibility of character, but this sudden and major change is more like Sybil.

Editorially, I think this story could have been whittled down a lot. It seems that what could have been a handful of scenes has been stretched out into a whole novel. The war is beginning. Book One was enough of a buildup to the big battle. Here, we have more buildup, but without the emotional pressure and anticipation, and then the fight itself is glossed over and anti-climactic.

Part of me wants to grab Allegiant and be done with this series. Part of me needs a break from Roth. Here's hoping the final installment is better than this one.