Spartanica

Spartanica by Powers Molinar

I received Spartanica for an honest review many moons ago. It took me a while to get to and a while to finish, which I can only attribute to the fact that for a while, I just hadn't been sure if it was my cup of tea or not. I've come to a conclusion, that while yes, it is, I would have enjoyed this a bit more when I was younger. I'm not sure if I would classify this book as "Young Adult" so much as I would "Middle Grade" and there is nothing wrong with that, The Heroes of Olympus (all of which you can find my reviews for here on the blog) are technically classed as MG and they are the best example that a MG series can do perfectly well with adult readers. I'm slightly rambling but this was a thing that I had in the back of my mind the entire time I read the book.
On to the review!

Synopsis:

Heart-pounding action. Fantastical creatures. Epic battles for survival. Staggering betrayal.

Spartanica, the first book in The Survivors of Sapertys Series, is an engaging young-adult/teen science fiction adventure novel that traces the fates of middle-school brothers Ty and Marcus Mitchell after they find themselves abandoned among the apocalyptic ruins of a decimated metropolis on a parallel world.

Wanting nothing more than to survive long enough to get home, the boys soon learn they only have seven days to escape as they find themselves suddenly embroiled in a contentious battle for planet-wide domination against ruthless, animalistic desert warriors called the Desrata. 

The brothers soon find they aren't completely alone in their quest as they befriend young survivors of Spartanica's "last day" and come together to forge a unified front against their common foe. But are these kids truly fugitives from the Desrata death camps, or are they hiding something deadly?

Never quite sure exactly who to trust, Ty and Marcus stumble upon ominous realities about Spartanica that they never could have suspected. How could it all be true? How could this have happened? Will they ever get home?

 Personal Opinion: 

I'm not going to lie, when it comes down to it I was not left with many feelings regarding characters, however I feel like that's because of the fact that I personally didn't relate with them much. I feel like it has to do with the fact that the characters are 13 and I am 25, however as a whole the book is not bad, I would give this to kids I know who are of the age to enjoy the story, in fact, I plan to.

One of the things I want to touch on though is that the first 20 or so chapters are very slowly paced, that put me off considering that 20 chapters is about halfway through the book. At that point I was wondering when we'd get some action. I did get my action, just at the near end of the book. I was very impressed with the action and the ending, while at first I thought the book would never end, by time it was actually ending I was finally getting into it.
That was frustrating, however I am hoping that the next book, having gotten the boring stuff, like introductions, out of the way will jump straight into the action and begin tying up that cliffhanger we were left with. 

I want to be very clear that I enjoyed the writing of the book. It was very well thought out and the character development in one of the characters impressed me greatly. Ty, who starts out as a very whiny and annoying know-it-all who is convinced he will die at the slightest injury, develops into a strong and composed young adult who toughs out pain because he knows he has to. I was very impressed with that. 
Spartanica is a good coming of age novel. I'd recommend it to the child who is ready for a book that has a darker undertone to it. 

I look forward to the next book to see what happens to Marcus, Ty and Bellana. 

Favorite Quotes:

I can't think of any specifics at the moment, but the narrative is very witty and made me giggle a lot. 
Overall Rating:



3.5/5