9 August 2012

REVIEW: SUITED

*Please note, there won't be spoilers for Suited, but there may be spoilers for Debris, the first in the series.

Author: Jo Anderton
Series: Yes, #2
UK Publisher: Angry Robot
UK Release date: July 2012
Genre: Science fiction
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

In Morvoc-under-Keeper Tanyana has chosen to help the Keeper and fight the Puppet Men. But something is wrong in the city - debris is disappearing, and strange doors are appearing in the Keeper's world. Can Tanyana figure out what is wrong and help the keeper, or will the puppet-men finally turn her into the weapon she doesn't want to be?

What I loved about the first in the series, Debris, was Tanyana's fall from being a pion binder to being a lowly debris collector and adapting to her new life. Whilst Suited didn't have that same feeling of loss and struggling to get Tan's life on track, there was plenty of action, upheaval, sadness and plenty of questions. I liked the dichotomty Tan felt with her suit - it protected her and gave her powers and strength that no-one else had, but it also started to change and work autonomously. Tan had to fight her suit to feel like herself, which made for interesting personal change and dilemmas for Tan.


I did sometimes feel like the plot was going around in circles, not necessarily the action, but in terms of finding out what the 'puppet-men' were up to and helping the Keeper close the doors. Each time I thought I was on the verge of finding out something new about the mysterious doors appearing and the disappearing debris, I found myself back at square one and none the wiser. It was like being constantly in the dark, chasing shadows and trying to find the light, as Tan ran around blindly following the Keeper. It was both frustrating and compelling because I wanted to find out what was happening.

The relationship between Tanyana and Kichlan changed in this book, and would swing from tender to untrusting. I loved the moments when they shared touches and shy openess about how they feel for each other. But despite the fact that Deviche is no longer around, Tan and Kichlan have a distance between them that they can't seem to cross. I really hope they can overcome this in the third book as I really want to see them together.

Childlike, vulnerable Lad also changed a lot. He became more outspoken and thought more for himself. I was worried that his beautiful character might change too much, but he was still completely lovable and adorable.

Before I saw the Keeper as useless and a bit of a snivelling coward. Although he's still a little bit like this in this book, the kepper has a much bigger role, and we see him a lot of different scenarios and see him change and develop. We get a little closer to figuring out who or what he is, but I suspect we won't really find out until the next book.

Suited is a strong follow-on from Jo Anderton's first science fiction book.

Rating: 4*

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