Red Queen Series: A Review, Part 1/2
- Rachel Witte
- Sep 3, 2018
- 5 min read
Mare Barrow. Tiberias Calore IIV (Cal). Maven Calore. Evangeline Samos. Just to name a few of the main characters in Victoria Aveyard’s famed Red Queen series. Today, I want to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly you will encounter while reading these books and meeting these characters. *Spoilers Abound*
Book Synopsis:
This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
The Good: 1. Aveyard’s background as a script writer lends to the most excellent cinematic qualities one encounters in her books. Among the plethora of YA fantasy books, Aveyard’s story fits right in...and stands out at the same time. The writing is dynamic and once the action picks up, hard to put down. She created a sense of urgency in the story line. 2. In a world of red bloods and the silver elite, Aveyard has knit together a story of racial differences, political intrigue, romance (straight, LGBTQ, etc), a revolution, and feminism. There is something for everyone.
3. There are many really great characters with great story arcs, personalities, and motives. Maven, Evangeline, Farley...not all likeable. But they have great story lines. And I found myself rooting for them in one way or another.
The Bad: For the few months that it took me to complete the series, I would talk to anyone who would listen. Friends. Family. Strangers. I was captivated by Aveyard's story and its characters. I cannot say the same for many other people who had started the series or who I had convinced to give it a read. (Elizabeth, I am so proud of you for pushing through!) And a lot of this has only come to light for me through their thoughts. (I read books at an exceptionally fast rate and often overlook plot holes and character dryness over story line...I’m one of those people.). But these are their complaints:
1. “Dry characters- mainly Mare.” She leaves a lot to be desired. And I personally believe that she isn’t the shining star of the book. So, I kind of agree with my friends on this one. *(Part 2 of this review says why.)* It is generally agreed (at least in my circle) that Farley or Evangeline would have made better protagonists.
2. “Plot holes abound.” Again, I missed out on this because I read like the Flash. Unrelenting and fast. The main plot hole that has been pointed out to me is about the Dagger Legion, and Mare’s justification for flying up to help them and how it negates their reason to want to save them in the first place. Speaking of the Dagger Legion- wouldn't Maven have had access to the same list of new-bloods that Mare did?
I think the biggest plot hole that I am aware of centers around Mare’s desire for equality. She wants things to be better. And she has a chance to make that happen. However, Cal’s family has other plans. So, she decides that being with Cal is not worth the effort. If he wants to be king, he can’t have her. And Cal chooses the crown because he knows that change can only come about through him...and the Scarlet Guard. The revolution started with them, but it isn’t going to end with them.
3. “Aveyard uses the same word multiple times on pages, and throughout the series.” Mare constantly refers to Lady Blonos. And refers to Evangeline’s armor as “oil” (We get it). Aveyard constantly refers to the "manacles" Mare was forced to wear (They served to mute her abilities and left marks on her wrists). Perhaps that is a symptom of Mare's PTSD...or perhaps it isn't. But synonyms are nice. This is a minor issue considering plot holes, and what not. But to have to read the same words over and over again (on the same page) gets old.
4. “Her YA world is just a compilation of other YA and overall fantasy narratives.” It has been compared to The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, and X-Men. The list goes on and on. As a writer who is in the process of writing her own YA series, it is hard to come up with a 100% unique idea. What makes it unique is the voice that the author(s) bring to it.
The Ugly:
1. The one character that stands out is Maven. Maven Calore, Cal’s half-brother, is a mentally unstable teenage boy who has been emotionally abused by his mother his entire life (his mother is the typical evil queen. She is a ‘whisper’ which means she can read thoughts and put them into peoples’ heads. She uses this to her advantage one too many times before she is killed). And he never comes out of that stage. Even after his mother is killed, he still sees her and speaks to her.
In this cycle of abuse, he wrongly “loves” Mare to the point where he kidnaps her, mutes her powers, makes her sick, and lies to her. All in the name of...love? No thanks. But Maven could have been great. It was Aveyard’s decision to take a different and much more tragic route with this character. At the beginning of the series, his relationship with Mare is something you will find yourself rooting for...until you realize how bad of an idea that is.
*He does have some pretty great lines in the book, though*
“The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”
“I am the King and you could’ve been my Red Queen...now you are nothing.”
“When are you going to realize that every word out of my mouth was a lie?”
“I was a baby, and she hammered her way into my head. She made my body stand and walk and fall. She did it to me every day, until I cried when she entered the room.”
So, for my overall review of the Red Queen series: The books were good. The story line won me over. And I love a good YA romance. BUT, the protagonist I fell in love with is not the main character. And that seems to be a general consensus.
Somehow, Aveyard took sub-characters and made them more interesting and evolved than Mare Barrow. So take from that what you will.
P.S. - If I could go back and decide whether or not I would read the whole series, I would do it over again. But this time I would take my time and read through the characters and really examine them under a different light.
If you have read the series, or at least started it, what are some of your thoughts? The good, the bad, and the ugly? Let me know what you think!
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