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Sister Assassin by Kiersten White (view source)
Revision as of 08:04, 9 December 2012
, 08:04, 9 December 2012Created page with "{{infobox |title=Sister Assassin |sort=Sister Assassin |author=Kiersten White |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |rating=3 |buy=No |borrow=Maybe |isbn=978-0007491643 |pages=3..."
{{infobox
|title=Sister Assassin
|sort=Sister Assassin
|author=Kiersten White
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|rating=3
|buy=No
|borrow=Maybe
|isbn=978-0007491643
|pages=302
|publisher=HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
|date=February 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007491646</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007491646</amazonus>
|website=http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com
|video=
|summary=Action-packed thriller has some interesting points but can't overcome a lack of any likeable characters.
}}
Fia and Annie's parents died 7 years ago. 5 years ago, they were brought to a mysterious school where they are being trained to hone their special talents. Annie, who's blind, is a Seer who has visions of events and people, while Fia has perfect instincts - which makes her perfect for committing crimes. The pair are each threatened to ensure their twin's loyalty to the shadowy people running the organisation they work for - but has the time come for them to rebel?
This works reasonably well as a short, quick read, with some good, well-described, action scenes. White has created an interesting world where some people possess a variety of psychic talents. It's really fast-paced and the flashbacks to earlier times are a good way of introducing the backstory of the two sisters.
Where it completely falls down, however, is in the lack of any remotely likeable characters. By the end I could put virtually everyone in it into one of two categories - those I definitely hated and those I probably hated. With both of the narrators falling into the first of those two categories, it's hard to recommend. Another issue is that there's little to differentiate the girls other than their talents and Annie's blindness. Both are whiny brats with very similar personalities and voices which I never felt were anywhere near distinct enough for a dual POV narrative. It's also the second book I've read recently in which we seem to have central characters who are expected to be sympathetic because of the terrible things that have happened to them, but actually aren't because there's no real reason to cheer them on other than the situation they're in. For me, at least, there has to be something likeable about a character for me to want to spend time reading about them, and neither of these two have that.
Possibly worth checking out if you're a real fan of this type of thing, but fans, like myself, of Kiersten White's enjoyable Paranormalcy series may be disappointed.
For another action-packed thriller which was rather more successful in making me care about its characters, don't miss [[Dark Eyes by William Richter]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0007491646}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9359618}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=Sister Assassin
|sort=Sister Assassin
|author=Kiersten White
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|rating=3
|buy=No
|borrow=Maybe
|isbn=978-0007491643
|pages=302
|publisher=HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
|date=February 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007491646</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007491646</amazonus>
|website=http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com
|video=
|summary=Action-packed thriller has some interesting points but can't overcome a lack of any likeable characters.
}}
Fia and Annie's parents died 7 years ago. 5 years ago, they were brought to a mysterious school where they are being trained to hone their special talents. Annie, who's blind, is a Seer who has visions of events and people, while Fia has perfect instincts - which makes her perfect for committing crimes. The pair are each threatened to ensure their twin's loyalty to the shadowy people running the organisation they work for - but has the time come for them to rebel?
This works reasonably well as a short, quick read, with some good, well-described, action scenes. White has created an interesting world where some people possess a variety of psychic talents. It's really fast-paced and the flashbacks to earlier times are a good way of introducing the backstory of the two sisters.
Where it completely falls down, however, is in the lack of any remotely likeable characters. By the end I could put virtually everyone in it into one of two categories - those I definitely hated and those I probably hated. With both of the narrators falling into the first of those two categories, it's hard to recommend. Another issue is that there's little to differentiate the girls other than their talents and Annie's blindness. Both are whiny brats with very similar personalities and voices which I never felt were anywhere near distinct enough for a dual POV narrative. It's also the second book I've read recently in which we seem to have central characters who are expected to be sympathetic because of the terrible things that have happened to them, but actually aren't because there's no real reason to cheer them on other than the situation they're in. For me, at least, there has to be something likeable about a character for me to want to spend time reading about them, and neither of these two have that.
Possibly worth checking out if you're a real fan of this type of thing, but fans, like myself, of Kiersten White's enjoyable Paranormalcy series may be disappointed.
For another action-packed thriller which was rather more successful in making me care about its characters, don't miss [[Dark Eyes by William Richter]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0007491646}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9359618}}
{{commenthead}}