Review ~ The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

 

Synopsis:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

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Review:

First chapter, first thought: Is this gonna be like I am Legend but with aliens instead? A little bit disappointed that it's not at first, but the story turned out to be awesome.

I first heard about The Fifth Wave from a friend (co-blogger, A) and when I found out it will star Chloe Moretz in the movie I got a little bit excited about it. I had a little dilemma on what to do first: to read or to watch the movie? I opted for reading it first, as suggested by my cousin.

I haven't watched the movie so I can't (and won't, if I think about it) do a comparison. I'll start with the bad points first.

The first part is filled with flashbacks, which (I think) took too long (or maybe it's just because I was reading it slowly; I don't have a lot of free time these days). That part dragged a little, but Rick Yancey turned it around before I lost my interest.

I like how Cassie is portrayed, thinking she was the last one on Earth, craddling an M16 like a teddy bear even though she does have her brother's teddy with her. I think if the book took the direction of the movie I Am Legend, it wouldn't have changed the impact of the book on me. I liked the image of Cassie, fending off for herself, trying to survive with only her M16 as her companion (in which this would be like the dog Will Smith had with him in the movie), maybe dodging alien drones that are after her. I thought it was going there for a while, but the author injected other characters masterfully in a very satisfying way that did not disappoint.

It's kind of a scary thought if I stop to think about it (which I did), how aliens will come with the sole purpose to destroy us. Not just enslave, but to destroy, us. Cassie's way of thinking reflected my own thoughts if that had happened in real life. How we would be on the verge of extinction, but as humans we would unite to defend our home. But how would we defend ourselves when we couldn’t see the enemy? If the enemy is wearing the face of your friend, your love ones, and have superior technology.

That's the scary part about it. The book perfectly mixes different feelings—from being the sole survivor of a destroyed camp, being hunted by an invisible Silencer, finding solace in writing your story down, to remembering the mundane stuff you use to mule over to the action scenes.

It is a new angle on an old genre of dystopian and alien invasion. I would like to see to which heights the Rick Yancey would reach with this series. 

~ Djan