There are scrolls that state that the reason magic exists and affects us is because of our…spiritual component. If you are immune, then you might not have a soul (89)
My first review of 2014 and I’m doing something a little different…How is this different you ask? Well…I was asked to review this book. That’s right. I didn’t pick this book, it just fell into my lap, showed up on my doorstep, or more accurately revealed itself in my email inbox.
Before you read this write-up you should remember three things: (1) I am very honest and (2) I’m sort of a snob BUT (3) I am open-minded (for the most part) And so with an open-mind, I ventured into the world of Nekapolis by reading Hypothesis. In this book readers will discover something of a hybrid between the realm of Harry Potter and Twilight…I suppose this can be both good and bad. Good if you like those series. Bad if you don’t. Awful if you’re sick of all things magical and vampire-related. I’ll let you decide which one I am after I’ve said my piece…
So we have Gabrielle, an undergrad physics major, aspiring Nobel Prize recipient and overall nerd*. Gabrielle’s world consists of schoolwork, a part-time job, an alcoholic mother, light doses of self-loathing and a not-so-existent love life. That is until she’s forced into working together as lab partners with a handsome brute named William. Gabrielle and William are seemingly from different worlds, but that quickly changes. William is more than just a face and a body–he’s a sorcerer. Their partnership leads them into a conflict that Gabrielle didn’t know existed: a war in the shadow world.
A man named, Sekeem Soulless, has partaken in a form of wizard-vampyrism (yes, drink magical wizard blood and become a sorcerer) And he’s done it so much that he’s become all-powerful and decided to quest for world domination under a God-like complex. He’s sort of the opposite of Voldemort**–a mudblood that wants to kill all wizards except he absorbs their magical essence…yeah…Less specified and somewhat superficial but still notable as a conflict is the idea of Science and Magic; a dichotomy that switches between a versus and collaborative situation. I hoped there would be more of that in this first book.
I have to talk about Gabrielle. She is all over the place….what do I mean by this? Well…to start she has three personalities (perhaps sides or voices is more politically correct, I don’t know) And all three have names; Brie, Elle and Gabe. Now I’m not placing judgment on having multiple personalities–no way. I’m placing judgment on the fact that not one of these voices enriches Gabrielle’s character. They don’t add dimension. I personally couldn’t identify and I felt they were just an extension of superfluous inner monologues and very cliché. I’ll go into this a little more later.
I also have to talk about William. His aura, or rather the aura the author tries to create for him, is supposed to be one of a handsome and mysterious Casanova, something akin to I-don’t-want-to-say it*** (take a guess) If I had to sum him up in a single word, it would be: corny. At one part in the story when he’s trying to prove a point to Gabrielle, he uses these pickup lines that are beyond terrible: “Nice nails…are they real? (62)”…”Is it true all blonds are dumb? (64)” — Huh? Am I, the reader, supposed to believe that? Those lines? This is written as a contemporary piece. Something that takes place recently. So to read these lines and others like them didn’t bode well for believability(?) or enjoy-ability(?)**** Which leads me to my next point.
I have to talk about Gabrielle and William together. Their love/hate, teacher/student role-reversal relationship gets old before it ever gets started. It’s very predictable. And I think the predictability has a lot to do with how the book is written. Writing an engaging 1st person narrative is tough. Kudos to those who do it successfully. Because if you don’t, it comes off really…whiny and self-centered. And in this case, Hypothesis needs come TLC. It’s very much the diary of a teenage girl. Not quite boy-crazy but still obsessive. The numerous inner monologues are silly and pretty much unnecessary. None of this is remedied by the subject-matter of Gabrielle’s thoughts: her crush, school, hookups and virginity.
Now with all that said, Hypothesis isn’t terrible. There’s definitely a niche/market for this book and I think many YA Fantasy readers will embrace it. It could easily follow in the footsteps of the many successful YA series available today. It’s just not a book I am in the market for.
* Using the term loosely. Very subjective and not intended to be pejorative.
** HP reference!
*** Twilight Saga…
**** I made those two words up I think.
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