Review of Severed Roots

[Jacinta S]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Severed Roots" by Nego Huzcotoq.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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Reading this novel leaves you with a bittersweet sense. The concept and setting are great ideas, but the execution is lacking in some aspects.
Firstly, the exposure of the world, its setting, and its rules is not very smooth. Some statements are made to rouse the shock value, but I feel like that may lose some readers to the story itself and what it conveys later on.
The story seems to lack a clear guiding hand that steers the reader towards what is to come next. It often made me wonder whether I should stop reading the book, as there was nothing that drove me to continue.
Some scenes feel like they serve no purpose, i.e., by the train station when the main character, Nick, is looking for the rumoured house.
While the main character's personality is meant to reflect his education and life experiences, it is confusing to follow along with his indecisiveness.
The 'romance' is rushed. Again, I am aware that the main character is confused and disconnected, so, for his part, it makes sense. What doesn't quite make sense are Beatrice's feelings. It would be nice to have some more exposure to her point of view.
There was simply a lot going on, and it would've been beneficial to slow down, take a bit of time to flesh out both the main and side characters, and give them some time for critical thinking.
Speech was often artificial, the lectures particularly, with the amount of information being delivered in one single speech block.
Overall, I can't shake the recurring thoughts I had while reading this, which were “Why is this happening? Why is the main character suddenly being impulsive and taking action? How did we get here? What is the point of this?”.
I expected it to get better, but what led to the ending was rushed even more, to the point where the reading experience was simply lacking.

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Severed Roots
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