Nataliya's Reviews > The Stranded

Well, I finally got to the end of this story. It was a good experience overall. An enjoyable read, great characters, well-executed premise, crisp writing, excellent pacing.

Howey is good at creating well-rounded, multifaceted, and well-developed characters. Juliette in particular is definitely one of my favorite female characters. She is level-headed, bright, practical, strong, and resourceful. Despite not being fleshed out until the 3rd installment, she is the ideal protagonist for this series. I liked that we learn quite a bit about Bernard's motivations - makes him a grayer character, and more believable and relatable as well. Good job, Mr. Howey.

My few gripes with this story are (a) Juliette's romance with Lukas and (b) the execution of the ending.
(a) Juliette's love story with Lukas seemed somewhat contrived. I understand that the opposites attract, but there was not enough development of it in the story to convince me of the reality of this attraction.
(b) Now, my problem with the ending is that it is a bit abrupt. I wish we could have seen it, instead of just being told about it. It is one of the few times when Howey does not stick to 'show, don't tell' rule. I do like the resolution of the conflict, I just think that maybe a dozen more pages could have wrapped it up neatly.

I am sure there will be more sequels, especially given the unresolved story of silo 17. I will definitely read them when they are written! Now it's time for me to check out some of the other books Hugh Howey has written - I hope they are just as good as this series.