Review of Pulse: Book One
-
Nerise Malan
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 03 Sep 2021, 16:33
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nerise-malan.html
- Latest Review: Pulse: Book One by B.A. Bellec
Review of Pulse: Book One
[Following is a volunteer review of "Pulse: Book One" by B.A. Bellec.]
Pulse: book 1 by B.A. Bellec is a horror dystopian novel. It has a unique multi-perspective structure that enables the reader to connect with different characters and see how the events of the novel affect each of their lives. The book illustrates events leading up to, during and after a music festival hosted by the largest corporation in the world – Pulse. Tension is built as the members of the Anti-Pulse organization plan an attack to try to finally expose the head of the organization, Alan Sharpe, and his powerful conspirators for the greedy criminals that they truly are. Will they succeed in exposing a corporation that would win the Olympic gold medal for cover-ups? Pulse is built upon lies and secrets, with the greatest mystery being the mysterious Adam and Eve project. From all the secrets and lies emerges a new monster: a creature made of slime with a thirst for blood. What is even scarier is that this monster seems to be multiplying and spreading like a virus. The early signs of this virus is however pushed under the rug, leaving the whole world unprepared for the inevitable outbreak. Will the human race be able to survive what seems to be Mother Nature’s final revenge?
Even though it is set in a distant future, the quotes before each part remind the reader of their current world and people or celebrities with which the reader should be familiar. It thus places the modern world into the subconscious of the reader constantly, allowing the reader to connect the dots between the dystopian society and present day. Another positive aspect would be the multi-perspective narrative that Bellec has used. Usually, this runs the risk of leaving the reader confused but I think that it allows the reader to connect to each character emotionally and thus causes the reader to care about the fate of each character in the novel. The many different personalities and roles in society also enables every reader to relate to at least one character and to walk in someone else’s shoes.
I, however, found the exposition of the book and the build-up too long and drawn out and the hook was not strong enough to maintain interest. The novel only became truly interesting after the first 100 pages. I considered putting it down due to this long exposition. The writing and story after page 100 is action-packed and nail-biting, but waiting 100 pages without a strong hook was tiresome. Another negative was that it felt like the author’s agenda was forced down the reader’s throat. I acknowledge that the issues spoken about are important and necessary to discuss, however, the repetitious and in-your-face nature of how they are brought about is exhausting to read. In my opinion, having almost all the characters hate Pulse and what the world has become and constantly mentioning the environment and its destruction was too much. It seems that each character has the same opinion on the matter and it felt to me that it was actually the author’s voice coming through and not the characters’.
I would recommend this to others since the parts after the exposition ends were tension-filled, beautifully descriptive and wonderfully horrifying, however the long exposition combined with the constant obvious reminder of the writer’s agenda would have likely lead me to stop reading this book. This is why I rate this novel 2 out of 4 stars. The novel was, however, exceptionally well edited. I found no grammatical errors.
I would recommend Pulse: book 1 to environmental activists and readers who love the horror genre. This book should not be read by people younger than thirteen as there are some gory deaths in the book with some described in detail and some left to the reader’s imagination.
******
Pulse: Book One
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Pulse: book 1 by B.A. Bellec is a horror dystopian novel. It has a unique multi-perspective structure that enables the reader to connect with different characters and see how the events of the novel affect each of their lives. The book illustrates events leading up to, during and after a music festival hosted by the largest corporation in the world – Pulse. Tension is built as the members of the Anti-Pulse organization plan an attack to try to finally expose the head of the organization, Alan Sharpe, and his powerful conspirators for the greedy criminals that they truly are. Will they succeed in exposing a corporation that would win the Olympic gold medal for cover-ups? Pulse is built upon lies and secrets, with the greatest mystery being the mysterious Adam and Eve project. From all the secrets and lies emerges a new monster: a creature made of slime with a thirst for blood. What is even scarier is that this monster seems to be multiplying and spreading like a virus. The early signs of this virus is however pushed under the rug, leaving the whole world unprepared for the inevitable outbreak. Will the human race be able to survive what seems to be Mother Nature’s final revenge?
Even though it is set in a distant future, the quotes before each part remind the reader of their current world and people or celebrities with which the reader should be familiar. It thus places the modern world into the subconscious of the reader constantly, allowing the reader to connect the dots between the dystopian society and present day. Another positive aspect would be the multi-perspective narrative that Bellec has used. Usually, this runs the risk of leaving the reader confused but I think that it allows the reader to connect to each character emotionally and thus causes the reader to care about the fate of each character in the novel. The many different personalities and roles in society also enables every reader to relate to at least one character and to walk in someone else’s shoes.
I, however, found the exposition of the book and the build-up too long and drawn out and the hook was not strong enough to maintain interest. The novel only became truly interesting after the first 100 pages. I considered putting it down due to this long exposition. The writing and story after page 100 is action-packed and nail-biting, but waiting 100 pages without a strong hook was tiresome. Another negative was that it felt like the author’s agenda was forced down the reader’s throat. I acknowledge that the issues spoken about are important and necessary to discuss, however, the repetitious and in-your-face nature of how they are brought about is exhausting to read. In my opinion, having almost all the characters hate Pulse and what the world has become and constantly mentioning the environment and its destruction was too much. It seems that each character has the same opinion on the matter and it felt to me that it was actually the author’s voice coming through and not the characters’.
I would recommend this to others since the parts after the exposition ends were tension-filled, beautifully descriptive and wonderfully horrifying, however the long exposition combined with the constant obvious reminder of the writer’s agenda would have likely lead me to stop reading this book. This is why I rate this novel 2 out of 4 stars. The novel was, however, exceptionally well edited. I found no grammatical errors.
I would recommend Pulse: book 1 to environmental activists and readers who love the horror genre. This book should not be read by people younger than thirteen as there are some gory deaths in the book with some described in detail and some left to the reader’s imagination.
******
Pulse: Book One
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Pulse: Book One by B.A. Bellec
