Review: The Giant (Quarantine #4) by Lex Thomas


Publisher: Carolrhoda lab
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
 

In the violent early days of the quarantine, Gonzalo joins a gang of thieves who live in the ductwork of McKinley High School. There he falls in love with Sasha, but as he grows too big to fit, he is forced to leave without her. 

A year later, he scours the infected zone for her. No matter how many murderers, puncture wounds, or militia he has to survive, Gonzalo can't give up on Sasha. 

In the fourth installment of the Quarantine series, Lex Thomas delivers two intertwined stories about love and longing, which merge in a conclusion where the fate of the entire infected zone hangs in the balance.


*Small Spoilers Below
Review
Quarantine: The Giant is the fourth book in the Quarantine series. As a person who felt less than fulfilled by the conclusion to the story in The Burnouts (the supposed last story in the series btw) I was really happy to learn that the story would continue in The Giant. However, that excitement quickly faded once I had the book in my hands and here's why:

My first issue right off the bat with The Giant had to be the story. Now I feel like I should note that I  love the world and most of the characters within it but I was really disappointed once it became obvious this was more a companion tale than an outright sequel to the main story. Had this been marketed as a companion maybe I'd feel differently but  as far as I can tell this is supposed to be in the main line and help bridge the gap between Book 3 The Burnouts and the yet announced Book 5 in the series. 

Which brings me to issue Number 2. Did we really need a full length novel following Gonzalo? I'm sure many will disagree with me on this but I don't believe so. The Giant really felt like filler vs. serving a purpose to further along the much more complicated and larger plot. I say this because we still don't know many details about the epidemic. You know, the whole point of the series in the first place. Instead Gonzalo who is a fascinating character I should point out spends most of the story obsessing over a girl who he barely had time to form a real relationship with in the first place. In the grand scheme of things their relationship was just that of two kids crushing on each other  because they were both available and damaged by the events at the school vs. having a deeply formed unbreakable bond like that of say Hermione and Ron from The Harry Potter series or Katniss & Gale or I suppose Peta from The Hunger Games. Both of those couples suffered  intensely but still managed to make their relationships feel genuine. 

Now despite my many issues to the contrary The Giant wasn't all bad. 

First off, I appreciated that the Author at least mentioned characters from the first books. Sure, I'd rather have another full book following The Loners but at least they were mentioned as still being around and trying to resolve their situation now that they are "Free".

Secondly, I really was happy to see some of the main scenes from the first two books from an outsiders perspective. The moment The Loners unite is a big one and it's cool seeing Gonzalo's part in that through his eyes. 

Lastly, even though I hated watching Gonzalo's obsession with Sasha it did at least allow us to see more of the world inside the quarantine zone. His travels also establish that the more things change the more they stay the same. 

Final Thoughts
I hate wrapping up any review on a sour note but I truly wish the Author chose to continue on with  the main story  and characters outside of Quarantine instead of writing a full length novel following one of the many side characters throughout the series. Did this character have a story to tell? Absolutely! Did it need a full novel to tell it? No, it did not. 

With that being said, I'll be rating Quarantine: The Giants by Lex Thomas ★★★.


*Copy reviewed won through publisher giveaway. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any which way for providing them.

About the Author(s)
Lex Thomas is the pen name for the writing team of Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies. Their first novel, QUARANTINE: THE LONERS, earned a starred review from Booklist, and Huffington Post Books praised it, saying, "You will not be able to put this book down."

Lex received a BA in Drama and English from the University of Virginia and has worked as an actor, director and writer. Thomas graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, and now writes, and exhibits his realist oil paintings in Los Angeles.


Lex and Thomas met in a writers' group in Los Angeles. Their friendship developed as they tried to blow each other's minds with clips from bizarre movies. In 2005, they became a screenwriting team, and found that writing with a friend is much more fun than doing it alone.

Visit them at www.lex-thomas.com.
@lexthomasauthor
Goodreads
Facebook

If you would like to read my review of Quarantine: The Loners you may do so by clicking here!
If you would like to read my review of Quarantine: The Saints you may do so by clicking here!
If you would like to read my review of  Quarantine: The Burnout you may do so by clicking here!

Comments

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