CHOSEN ONES
VERONICA ROTH
*****
‘Sometimes Sloan wondered if the world had been worth saving’
10 years after a band of five teenagers saved the word from the evil of the Dark One, they are struggling to live in the real world without the threat of death lurking behind every corner. But have they eradicated the threat completely?
Chosen Ones is Veronica Roth’s adult debut and after the popularity of her best-selling Divergent Series, I was excited to see her take on something new and wasn’t left disappointed. The events of Chosen Ones occur 10 years after The Dark One has been defeated and as such makes you feel a little bit like you’ve dived into a fantasy series half-way through. You have to trust that Roth will keep you up to date with the important aspects of what has happened although there’s always an unsettling feeling that you still might not have a full or truthful picture. It’s a really interesting premise and one that although is initially confusing, is a unique and interesting take on the fantasy genre. The book is mainly told through the perspective of main character Sloan, but also has snippets of books, newspapers and mission reports as well which integrate well into the story. The world-building in particular is first rate and we really get submerged into a new fantasy world in a detailed and interesting way.
Sloan is a somewhat grumpy Saviour with an attitude problem, and she comes across as a bit of spoilt teenager in some ways which isn’t as much of a split from the Young Adult genre as Roth was perhaps hoping for. There’s nothing really in this book that screams ‘adult’ except the amount of deaths to be honest. Sloan is an interesting and well-rounded character although I did feel her fellow Chosen Ones weren’t as fleshed out as I had perhaps wanted for an introduction to a series. There was also a bit of an information/exposition dump towards the end that tried to give the villain their motivation in a way that could have been done with a little more subtlety and finesse. I’m not really sure on this as a series as a whole – the first book could have even been a standalone in some ways. There is no real cliff-hanger or thread left majorly unresolved to make me desperate to pick up the next one but I would like to see what is next for the characters and the new world they now have before them.
Overall Chosen Ones is a great start to a new fantasy series from Veronica Roth and I’m excited to see where it goes next. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.