Friday, September 2, 2016

The Call Review

Title: The Call
Author: Peader O Guilin
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Pages: 320 (hardcover)
Format: paperback ARC
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Except for these, because my roommate is reviewing it for me. :) Thanks Gil.

 
SUMMARY:

Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun.

Could you survive the Call?



 NON-SPOILERY REVIEW:

At first glance, The Call may not look like much; it is a relatively thin book with minimal designs on the cover, but one you’ve read the first chapter, you’ll be able to tell that this book is something special. Set in a desolate Ireland, teenagers are “called” to another world. They are transported into the beautiful and terrifying world of the Sidhe, where they must try to survive being hunted. In preparation for their calling, the teens attend a training school, where they condition their bodies and learn to evade the Sidhe that will hunt them. The story follows fifteen-year-old Nessa as she prepares for the day that she will be called to the world of the Sidhe.

 When I first began this book, I was excited to immerse myself into an entirely new world with an entirely new monster. The prologue and first chapter seemed very promising, and if I didn’t have any other responsibilities for that day, I would have devoured the book in one sitting. When I picked it back up later that evening, the next few chapters progressed very slowly. While the story was advancing, a lot of the details about the major points of the novel had yet to be revealed. Normally, I am perfectly fine with trying to figure out where the story will go, and I find puzzling over the characters and their possible motives to be fun. However, for this novel, I was completely lost. I felt like I was reading the second book in a series without having read the first. Maybe if I knew more about Irish mythology and the Sidhe, I wouldn’t have felt this way, but I don’t and so I was confused throughout most of it.

Once I stopped trying to go deeper into the background details and just trusted that O’Guilin knew what he was doing, I was able to enjoy the story more. The characters are well written, and I enjoyed concentrating on them and getting to know them. As I continued reading, more of the background was revealed, and the story became much more interesting and intense.

Cassidy presented this book to me to read and review because I thoroughly enjoy the horror genre. She told that many people thought this book was scary or unsettling, and that I should read it first and let her know if she could handle it or not. This book did not scare me at all, but it was a very thrilling read. I was never afraid of the Sidhe, but I was fascinated by them. When I put the book away at 3am, I would continue thinking about the characters and the Sidhe and I would try to figure out what was going to happen next. I couldn’t sleep because I was enthralled, not because I was afraid of being called by the Sidhe. My experience with this book is very typical for me, I am hardly ever frightened by things that are intended to scare, and so if you scare easily, proceed with caution.

RATING:
The Call 3.5/5 Stars

OVERALL:

Overall, it was a good read, but not my absolute favorite; I will definitely read a sequel (if there is one). The book loses some points for not revealing enough details early on; I like having enough information to work with and attempt to figure things out before the story is almost over. I am also taking some points away for the romance aspect O’Guilin put in the novel. I wish that he had left out the romance parts of the story and focused more on the Sidhe and survival parts; I don’t really care for romance, especially if there’s more interesting things happening, and the romance in this novel felt somewhat forced and unnatural. It’s not completely awful, especially if you keep in mind that the story is about a bunch of fifteen-year-olds, but it is still weird. While the book loses some points for these things, it gains some for being a completely unique idea; maybe I live in a very tiny world, but I have never heard of the Sidhe or encountered a book that puts such a new and dark twist on mythological creatures.
While it may seem like I have a lot of complaints, I did really enjoy the book. Although I felt the story was slow in some parts, I did not want to put it down because I wanted to find out what would happen next. It was a quick read for me, and I enjoyed almost every minute of it. So, if you have a little time to spend with a unique and fascinating book, go ahead and give The Call a try.

 
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A big thanks to Gill for reviewing this book for me. :)

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