Arclight (Arclight #1)

What I Loved:

The premise for ARCLIGHT is a combination of dystopian and sci fi with an element of horror. The writing, the setting, and the plot combine to create a tense, atmospheric narrative that constantly makes the reader feel off-balance. Readers never have all the facts, never really understand all the elements at play, and often feel as if up is down and right is wrong. In fact, the most brilliant aspect of ARCLIGHT is its exploration of the themes of right and wrong, ends justifying means, and prejudice. There is a rich thematic depth to be mined within this story.

The character of Marina is immediately interesting and engaging. While her narrative at times becomes bogged down in long periods of expository self-reflection, as a whole, she's a heroine the reader feels connected to. Her character growth is notable, as she begins the novel at the mercy of everyone around her and slowly emerges into the person whose choices drive the conflict and the resolution of the story. Her journey from the darkness of oppression (lack of information, lies, fear of what lies outside the Arclight and what lies buried in her own mind) to the light of understanding is well done, especially when understanding brings its own set of nearly insurmountable problems.

What Left Me Wanting More:

As much as I loved the premise and found the setting (both in the underground bunker and in the Dark) fascinating, there were so many pieces of the world that remained confusing or vague that I often felt a bit lost. It took several encounters with the Fade for me to have any sort of understanding of how to see them in my head, and I never really understood the Dark, though I did grasp the basis of what happened to cause the world to become what it is in ARCLIGHT. Readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic literature and who are able to suspend disbelief for long periods of time while waiting for their answers will be rewarded by the end when the different elements of the premise and the setting become clear. I will say that my teenage son read this book before me and absolutely loved every single bit of it, so mileage may vary on all of this.

Final Verdict:

Unique, compelling, and disturbing, ARCLIGHT is a must read for fans of post-apocalyptic stories.

Arclight is the story of Marina, a girl who is rescued from The Dark. Yes, with the capital D. The Dark is the post-apocalyptic danger-land outside of the Arc, which is a haven perpetually lit by the brightest lights known to man. The lights are needed to protect the settlement from the Fade: creepy-scary-shape-changing monsters that break in and steal the Arclight's people, then turn them into more Fade's. There's nothing worse than your people being turned into the very monsters you might one day kill - or be killed by.

Marina is treated as an outcast, and she feels like one-she has no memory of who she was before she was rescued, if her family is alive or dead, if they even loved her, and no one is revealing any secrets to her. When she helps to capture a rogue Fade Marina inadvertently starts a chain of events that will lead to her following that Fade into the Dark to discover secrets about her life, her friends, and the Arclight that she never thought possible.

Arclight is an exciting story, with twists and turns through the Dark and the Arc, leading you to surprises about the dystopian world, its characters, and its future that. . .you really might figure out before the end. Okay, it is a little predictable, but in a way it is really reassuring, because if I know who the girl is going to end up with and that she's going to want to save the world I won't be disappointed at the end, and I know there will be a sequel. Marina comes off as a bit whiny, but I suspect teens won't notice because she might sound like them - doubtful, worried, anxious. Overall it was a great book and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

McQuein is making her debut with a vengeance in 2013, publishing both her first and second novels a couple of months apart from different imprints. Perhaps even more impressive, they're both standalones in different genres (Arclight is dystopian and Premeditated is a contemporary thriller). All of the reviews I've seen for Arclight thus far have been highly positive. Based on Arclight, we can expect good things from McQuein.

Arclight has solid writing and plenty of action to keep the reader entertained. The future herein depicted is suitably creepy and the attack of the compound in the first chapter is a perfect hook to bring the reader into the story. It had a very Jurassic Park feel; that moment when the velociraptors are testing the fences. Very scary!

Marina is interesting, not utterly dependent or physically powerful. She has intelligence and determination on her side, but doesn't fit the heroine stereotypes which is great. What McQuein handles very well is Marina's emotional arc. I can't go into details on that, but I love her development throughout the book and her struggles to figure out her past.

Though their connection seems to come on a bit fast, I did like Tobin as a character and they are cute together. What I would have liked to see more of is Marina's connection with her supposed best friend Anne-Marie, who both she and Tobin mostly seem annoyed by. The characters are likable, but lacked the depth to really make me care about them.

Arclight joins the small list of books with love triangles that don't make me want to hurl things at the wall. Marina's two options both make a different kind of sense for her, and there's a real reason for deciding to be somewhat difficult. Both guys are nice, if a bit too much in the protective and obsessive vein to be my cup of joe (see what I did there?). In both cases, I would have liked to see a bit more of the development of the romances, but what's there suffices. The resolution of the love triangle I'm of two minds about. I'm glad Marina was decisive, but I don't necessarily approve of her choice.

The biggest element that kept me from connecting with Arclight or from being sucked into the action was its predictability. Now, I actually watched a couple of my blogger friends tweeting today about how they had no idea what was going on, so this might just be me and the fact that I've read over a hundred dystopias. To me, the plot twist was incredibly obvious from very early on in the book, so all of that build up and tension did nothing for me, when I should have been on tenterhooks.

Similarly, the world building is a variation on a theme. Science went too far and resulted in these creatures, the Fade, and now a small group of humanity is trying to survive within walls. However, the protections seem to be failing, and humanity might be doomed. The people in the Arclight don't even know if there are any other human communities left. All of this is pretty par for the course. I will say, though, that I did really like finding out what the Fade actually are.

The Final Verdict:
Josin L. McQuein's debut will surely be a hit with teen and adult audiences, particularly those with less of a background in dystopian fiction. There's action, romance, and thought-provoking ethical questions.