Review of Blockhead
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Marilyn Idoko
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- Latest Review: Blockhead by Kyle J.S. Bardell
Review of Blockhead
[Following is a volunteer review of "Blockhead" by Kyle J.S. Bardell.]
Bronco is a teenage dreamer whose only problems are her lazy, over pampered younger brother, Lockett and her mother figure, Rue who seems to hate her. Well, that's until she's visited by a stranger in a bird mask and is launched into a series of events that take her life on the most unexpected turn, completely changing her ideologies and view of the world.
Blockhead by Kyle J.S Bardell uses Bronco's story to teach about society's construct, examining the good, bad and ugly that follows in it's quest to establish and maintain order.
Having read the blurb before I started reading the book, I was quite excited to read it. The initial excitement didn't wane even as I read the book: From the beginning to the end, the author managed to keep you hooked and turning page after page wanting to know what next will happen. The dialogues were witty, filled with wise sayings and some with profound meanings that might have you taking a pause and reflecting on it for a while.
The descriptions were fantastic, be it about the majesty of a horse; the mysterious aura of a stranger; or the setting sun, it was detailed in such a startling way- you'd feel as though you were beholding it with your very own eyes. There were some really thrilling twists and revelations, especially as it got towards the ending, and the added Sci-fi element was a fresh idea.
This book however leaves a lot to be desired. The book's ending was abrupt. I was confused and dissatisfied: I felt there was a lot more that needed to be explained. Normally, a lot of things aren't too clear at the beginning of the book, but as the story builds on they become clear and are understood. This was what I thought would happen as I read on, but imagine how surprised I was when there were no more pages to turn and I still had a lot of questions unanswered.
For example, although Jericho and Rue were Bronco's Parents, the sour relationship between them (Rue and Bronco), she calling them by their name unlike Lockett who called them 'Mom and Dad', her being an 'heir', and some other happenings like that, cast a lot of doubt on that fact. Several times I had to go back and re-read that part incase I imagined it. It would have been helpful if the reason for their strained relationship was known, or if they at one point talked it out like Jericho suggested. There's also Eri, whom we saw at the beginning of the book and later at the end, but no hint as to how she was related to either Rue or Jericho.
Majority of the characters lacked depth. They seemed 'flat'. Something like a background story, a little more insight into their thought process and what made them behave the way they did would have aided understanding of the entire book as a whole. The pace of the book was also a bit slow; it took longer than necessary to get into the 'main' part of the book. When we did get to the most interesting part( judging from the blurb), that itself was very short-lived as the book ended very quickly after that.
More light could have been shed on the institution of the 'Heirs' and 'The City of Light' as they were important parts of the book. What happened to Wolfrum at the Forest and Lockett at Prestina? Why wasn't Lockett an heir or would he be one after Bronco? And a lot more holes in the story like these that I can't mention so as not to spoil it for other readers.
The overall feeling I got was that there were a lot of disjoint pieces that if taken time to build upon could have harmonized into a great book. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would give it a 2.5 if I could but definitely not 3 stars. I recommend this to people with a philosopher's mind, perhaps if they think deeply and dwell long enough, they might find a connection amidst the disjoint pieces through which the author's message gets to them.
******
Blockhead
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Bronco is a teenage dreamer whose only problems are her lazy, over pampered younger brother, Lockett and her mother figure, Rue who seems to hate her. Well, that's until she's visited by a stranger in a bird mask and is launched into a series of events that take her life on the most unexpected turn, completely changing her ideologies and view of the world.
Blockhead by Kyle J.S Bardell uses Bronco's story to teach about society's construct, examining the good, bad and ugly that follows in it's quest to establish and maintain order.
Having read the blurb before I started reading the book, I was quite excited to read it. The initial excitement didn't wane even as I read the book: From the beginning to the end, the author managed to keep you hooked and turning page after page wanting to know what next will happen. The dialogues were witty, filled with wise sayings and some with profound meanings that might have you taking a pause and reflecting on it for a while.
The descriptions were fantastic, be it about the majesty of a horse; the mysterious aura of a stranger; or the setting sun, it was detailed in such a startling way- you'd feel as though you were beholding it with your very own eyes. There were some really thrilling twists and revelations, especially as it got towards the ending, and the added Sci-fi element was a fresh idea.
This book however leaves a lot to be desired. The book's ending was abrupt. I was confused and dissatisfied: I felt there was a lot more that needed to be explained. Normally, a lot of things aren't too clear at the beginning of the book, but as the story builds on they become clear and are understood. This was what I thought would happen as I read on, but imagine how surprised I was when there were no more pages to turn and I still had a lot of questions unanswered.
For example, although Jericho and Rue were Bronco's Parents, the sour relationship between them (Rue and Bronco), she calling them by their name unlike Lockett who called them 'Mom and Dad', her being an 'heir', and some other happenings like that, cast a lot of doubt on that fact. Several times I had to go back and re-read that part incase I imagined it. It would have been helpful if the reason for their strained relationship was known, or if they at one point talked it out like Jericho suggested. There's also Eri, whom we saw at the beginning of the book and later at the end, but no hint as to how she was related to either Rue or Jericho.
Majority of the characters lacked depth. They seemed 'flat'. Something like a background story, a little more insight into their thought process and what made them behave the way they did would have aided understanding of the entire book as a whole. The pace of the book was also a bit slow; it took longer than necessary to get into the 'main' part of the book. When we did get to the most interesting part( judging from the blurb), that itself was very short-lived as the book ended very quickly after that.
More light could have been shed on the institution of the 'Heirs' and 'The City of Light' as they were important parts of the book. What happened to Wolfrum at the Forest and Lockett at Prestina? Why wasn't Lockett an heir or would he be one after Bronco? And a lot more holes in the story like these that I can't mention so as not to spoil it for other readers.
The overall feeling I got was that there were a lot of disjoint pieces that if taken time to build upon could have harmonized into a great book. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I would give it a 2.5 if I could but definitely not 3 stars. I recommend this to people with a philosopher's mind, perhaps if they think deeply and dwell long enough, they might find a connection amidst the disjoint pieces through which the author's message gets to them.
******
Blockhead
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Blockhead by Kyle J.S. Bardell
