Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Let's Hear It For The Boys- BZRK by Michael Grant


Published: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Egmont
Pages: 386
Copy: Library
Summary: Goodreads

Love The Hunger Games? Action-adventure thrillers with a dystopian twist? BZRK (Berserk) by Michael Grant, New York Times best-selling author of the GONE series, ramps up the action and suspense to a whole new level of excitement.

Set in the near future, BZRK is the story of a war for control of the human mind. Charles and Benjamin Armstrong, conjoined twins and owners of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, have a goal: to turn the world into their vision of utopia. No wars, no conflict, no hunger. And no free will. Opposing them is a guerrilla group of teens, code name BZRK, who are fighting to protect the right to be messed up, to be human. This is no ordinary war, though. Weapons are deployed on the nano-level. The battleground is the human brain. And there are no stalemates here: It’s victory . . . or madness.

BZRK unfolds with hurricane force around core themes of conspiracy and mystery, insanity and changing realities, engagement and empowerment, and the larger impact of personal choice. Which side would you choose? How far would you go to win?


Michael Grant's Gone series is an amazing read that makes you question what makes you tick  His new novel BZRK takes the crazy one step higher.  It's a twisted, mind-blowing ride that leaves you reeling.

BZRK tells the story of a group of characters of diverse and somewhat strange personalities.  It would be hard to actually pin down the 'main' characters, possibly Noah (Keats) and Sadie (Plath), but really there is no one character that is of more importance than the other.  Each is necessary to the story in their own way.  It was a little confusing at the beginning since most of the characters have two names - real and alias, but as the story progresses each individual becomes clear in all their warped glory, and believe me, some of them are really warped!

This is a complex spy story told with teens and young adults.   There are several older characters in positions of power, but they fit neatly into the story.  Keats and Plath are thrown into a situation that starts with a huge bang on about page 19 and their lives are completely changed from that point on.  Their training is unlike anything they have known, or the reader for that matter, and we enter a completely different world.  A world on the nano level.  This was one of the most bizarre landscapes I have ever encountered, made even more so because it is real - that of the  human body.

There are battles with monsters, chases, explosions and enough tension for the most demanding reader. I really didn't  know what to expect when I started BZRK, but once I got over the strangeness this was an utterly engrossing read and I loved it. 

Don't forget to check out our giveaways for all 6 volumes of the Galahad Legacy and Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules

2 comments:

  1. I'm a Michael Grant lover too so I was excited to see your review of this book and I defiantly think I'm going to check it out now. Whats your opinion on how this novel stacks up against Gone and that series?

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    1. I think I preferred the Gone series, but BZRK was quite unlike anything else I had read, so I liked it for that reason as well as the others.

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