Mohammed Arabey's Reviews > Red Queen

10% 1984 + 15% Hunger Games + 10% X-Men + 10% Games of Thrones + 15% Divergent..
That'd leave us with only 40% of Original Red Queen..

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it ,I may even held extra +rating till part 2 if it gets more of the Original Red Queen storyline..
What really bugs me here was the many Deja vus from HG and Divergent since I didn't like the latter's plot much.
But let's see step by step with The Red..

The Plot and the Setting
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1-10% of 1984

In an Orwellian atmosphere of Destopia, we're in Norta, a country that in a constant war with neighbour countries..
The Elite push the low class citizens into Poverty..and fight in wars..
And to kill any think of a rebellion ,they're watching Everyone, even -specifically- those closed to the king in the Palace.
'Camera's are everywhere' and the communication means between the low class almost nonexist..although there's a good technology there.

2- 15% of Hunger Games

Every boy and girl of the low class, once turned seventeen, must go to Conscription, unless working for someone... and they who just fights in the front lines only
By the time they finish their time they are lost an arm, a leg, or just dead..

The workers always paid low of course, and there's this part of Norta -this district- where just factories and technology workers, it's very polluted that skies are dark with smoke , the people in this district can never see the sun..
oh , and there's a nuclear polluted area -district-as well, that the elites and government 'believe' it can't be crossed -Does the revolutionaries believe that too?

To show how powerful the 'Elite' are , just to erase any rebellion ideas, every first Friday the low class are forced to gather and witness dangerous arena fighting between two of the elite...WHAT? HOW?

3- 10% of X-Men
The Elite are Silvers...Silver blood...they have supernatural abilities , mutant powers... such as one can control wind , one can move ultra fast, one can control metal, ....etc..

at this world they are the elite, they who rule the normals, powerless humans, the Red bloods, Reds.


4- 10% of Game of Thrones

The Silvers families are houses, Every house has a certain ability and power..
They're all Elite , yes..but there's major big houses and some mundane ones..
Every House has certain 2 colours or more, used for costumes..


There's a big party for the King's son,the Prince..the heir of the Throne to choose a wife from one of the big houses, The chosen princess , the Future Queen..
And every girl show the power of her house..
so this party is actually a girlie Game of Thrones...

What's really bugged me here that it supposed to be modern, in the future...a dystopia... but the whole references to villages, markets, houses,swords,places and Kings and thrones, and mixing that with cameras, electricity , guns..aeroplanes and under-trains made me keep distracted between visualising the novel in my head as old times, and new futuristic one..


5- 15% of Divergent

HERE comes our Mare, The Red... who is just a normal Katniss Everdean-like , law breaker, have a sense of rebellion..yet it's her sister who have work and support the family after her 3 brothers went to the army..so will she when she 17.

But everything change when she tried to save her best -kinda only- friend with help of some revolutionaries, and then meeting a charming Cal/the Prince...The Heir to the Throne..

And only when he helped her to work at the Palace as a servant, and while the Game of the candidates princesses and future Queen is on, a huge revelation about Mare is just Out...
She has Power..just like the Silver Bloods..She can control Electricity, and even more powerful than the Silvers...she , the Red , has powers of the silvers...

She's the Little Lighting Girl..

And by the story goes, you'll see how it like Divergents in the Divergent series, tracking and hunting them down...

But with a new story of Love, some of it totally unconvincing.
And a new Betrayal story that's totally very good written, although a bit predictable for me..

So now you know all the basic story line..

Can't say I didn't like it...I did since I love most of the elements , but the mix was confusing me a lot with the style of old kings era and the new tech.

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The Characters
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I didn't like Mare that much, her relation with her friend was very annoying to me , may be because of his shallow character ...but can't deny that I get attached to her by the final chapters which was thrilling.

The rest of the characters were ranged from very good to very shallow or just similar to other characters of the previous 5 major novels..
I liked Maven , he's very well written, Cal was perfect most of the times too...so does the Queen...who reminded me a bit with Queen Cersei Lannister from GOT.

The Old master Julian and his back story was good to although remind me of The Giver's master
Also I wished to shed more light into the world before...but can't hope much..

Will wait for the next part..I really hope it'd be better and more original...



PS: A big respect to the author for her 'Aknowledgement' part where she mentioned many authors, Directors and Screenwriters that inspired her..and mentioning J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin' ..

Mohammed Arabey
From 1 Aug. 2015
To 4 Aug. 2015