Zenith: The Drama Saga (Rant/Review and Analysis)
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Hey guys, thanks so much for checking out this video!
In this rant review I look at Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia) and Lindsay Cummings' novel, Zenith The Androma Saga.
It's a long one, but that's because I really break everything down for you and analyze what went wrong.
I hope you enjoy(ed) it!
Xx
How to do exposition right: • Avatar: the Last Airbe...
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It's like when a beauty guru gets their own palette. We want to love it, BUT
one thousandth like:)
It's like when a gaming CZcamsr makes their own game.We want to love it, BUT
VivaVideo User you saying dream daddy isn’t a delight to play? Outside of that, yeah you’re right
For the amount of YA the authors have read, and problems that they've found and talked about... you'd think they'd avoid making the same mistakes while writing their own book. *facepalm*
*sets book down*
"Bodies don't burn in space"
I couldn't contain my laughter.
This should honestly be the top comment
"I hate sand"
CeruleanAether they could if they touch the stars
One side of you would burn (not with fire, sun radiation and rays) while the shade would freeze.
It doesn't matter if you burn or freeze, you'd first burst out. The pressure difference is so huge, blood vessels would go gaga.
So it's a YA book with adult themes written from six POVs about a group of criminals tasked by a high ranking government official to break a valuable hostage out of an impenetrable prison. So pretty much, it's a poorly written Six of Crows in space?
kelly r That’s what I said too
also a bit of a Throne of Glass rip off too
@afootineachworld fairs, also forgot to mention harry potter!
@afootineachworld oh i am not saying they r similar just that ideas clearly came from the books -- eg Bloody Baron, Bloody Baroness .... obviously HP is superior in every way tho
“So what are we? Some kind of Suicide Squad?”
I was writing while listening to this so I wasn't fully engaged the whole time, but I swear, every time I would zone back in, it sounded like she was describing the plot of a whole new book. XD
I was writing as I listened, and sometimes that means hoping that whatever I write makes more sense than the stories I hear ranted about on Booktube ^^;
Same
OMG same-
How many people came here to find out what not to do with their own book? Lol
Watching a beating hurts a lot less than taking one
@@MountSilky252 Mood.
🙋🏾♂️🙋🏾♂️🙋🏾♂️
I recommend terrible writing advice. It’s a CZcams channel and it’s entertaining and informative.
Me, I watch bad reviews to figure out what not to do with my novel
It's all our dreams to be a published author, and I kind of feel like the publishing house exploited Sasha a bit. They sold her on the dream of being published, but (seemingly) did not help her make her story the best it could be, opting to toss it to the wolves and use her status as the selling point. So instead of a decently written/edited debut novel, we get a 500 page unedited fan-fiction.
If this indeed is what Harlequin did, shame on them. I do hope Sasha's second book is properly edited and handled, as I would hate to see a debuting author fizzle simply because of publishing house wanted to exploit them in a cash-grab. Nobodies hopes & dreams deserve that treatment.
Just my 2 cents :D
I agree completely!
That could be what happened, but we need to remember that a work is its creator's responsibility first and foremost. _If_ the publishers did ask them to just publish the novel as it is, they should have fought back to edit and revise. There is, of course, the possibility that the publisher then retreats their offer. The worst case scenario would be their names get black-listed by Harlequin. But IMO, the risk is worth to be taken for a better final product.
“Bodies don’t burn in space”
I died of laughter
Santiago Macedo they won’t as there is no oxygen , it wil melt
I think Andy’s character is similar to Celaena/Aelin in the way that you don’t get to make inferences about her ‘badassness’ yourself, it’s spoonfed to you with description and exposition. The worst thing you can do is assume your audience is stupid.
SIX PERSPECTIVES??? I can barely manage two without getting confused lmao
kaya rose Yeah, and they often switch back and forth between Dextro’s and Andis in the same chapter which can be really disorienting.
I remember being really confused when reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson. The book had only 2 pov's and it was so so confusing. I can't even begin to imagine how it would be with 6 pov's
How is Will Grayson,Will Grayson confusing?
It goes from ‘Vengeance is mine’ to ‘I regret ‘killing’ whatever her name was’ to ‘Andi is soooo hot’ to ‘I was chewing moon chew’ to ‘I’m evil because I can’ in a few pages
I feel like six perspectives can be pulled off if each character is different enough to add something by having a perspective, they have to have their own voice so you don't get confused and some authors can pull this off well but if you can't tell the difference it would be better to just have it in third person
This book REEKS of a first draft. So much of this is so easily fixable. This is why you NEVER release hot off the press content.
A lot of it definitely could've been fixed with minimal edits, but what makes me more mad is all of the missed opportunities to have some sort of commentary.
Let me get this straight, Andy and Celaena are both silver haired purple loving sword wielding girly fighters? Celaena is from throne of glass and Andy sit in the Captain's seat in a Glass ship?! Same,Same.
TheSlyRise Yup.
last time i cheaked ships are metal not glass how dose a glass ship run in space?
TheSlyRise Throne of Glass. Ship of Glass. Lol. A glass spaceship? I can't.
Also, why are these wanted criminals flying around in a see-through ship made of a super fragile material??
Me: writing notes through the whole video so I make sure to never make these mistakes omg
While I agree that using some earth-based terminology in a fantasy or sci-fi novel can be really jarring -- like calling something "French lace" in a world where there's no France, or Hell in a world where Christianity doesn't exist -- I also think it's really difficult to know where to draw the line. Technically, all of our words are based in this world; there's no word that doesn't have an intricate and cultured backstory of its own. I think that each story has to deal with this problem in its own way, but for me, personally, having to read a whole bunch of new, made-up words to describe ideas that we're already familiar with is more jarring than just using the original word. (If that makes sense?)
If there's an easy substitute, like underworld or afterlife in the place of hell, I think it's a good idea to make the switch. But the idea of a soul is so nebulous, and can apply to so many different cultures and religions, that I think it would actually be more confusing and jarring to call it something else -- especially because then you have to go out of your way to explain that thing, even if you only want to use that description one or two times. I think what I'm trying to say is that, for non-earth based stories, broader and less culturally-specific language can be more immersive than coming up with new terms to describe familiar ideas.
Andrea Hartman I agree with that completely! Had there not been all of the other words, soul wouldn’t have bothered me.
I know that all of our words originate from earth and have a long and intricate backstory, but as you said, those derived from specific cultures and religions should be avoided. That was the point I was trying to make.
You’re not wrong about the made up words, though, they need to be used sparingly for sure!
I agree as well. I feel Scythe by Neal Shusterman is a good example of creating his own words and having everything make sense in those words without long winded paragraphs and abrupt explanations. His world takes place on earth and he is still able to create his own background and vocabulary in a natural way.
hell can and has existed before Catholicism* Hel is a Nordic hell, where Valhalla is Nordic heaven.
I honestly haven't heard anything good about this book. From the sounds of it, it failed with basic plot and character. There's plenty of books I dislike, but at least there's some form of competent plot/character in most of them. All it takes is a bit of research to figure out basic story structure, and the fact they didn't do this just demonstrates to me a complete lack of effort.
I can forgive a bad book if I get the impression the writers at least tried, but it just sounds like there's so many problems that could have been easily fixed if they could have been bothered, and that does really irritate me.
The writers seem like sweet girls but I will not be reading their book.
Brilliant review, very entertaining and in depth!
Hey! Thank you!!
Yeah, I think, honestly, they just needed an editor that had a vision for this book and that would be hard on it. It could've been good -- or at least passable -- but it suffered from a lot of easily fixable problems.
I'm not surprised by the first draftness of the book considering Sasha and Lindsay didn't talk about revisions or edits at all on either of their channels but they recorded every second of them drafting it.
The 60 pages I read of the book were a mess and I don't know if I can make it through it.
So like... they published the first draft? :O
Nedeli I don't know. It was just an observation.
Nedeli that's what it read like.
Believe it or not, that happens quite often.
Care to share any examples?
the concept had so much potential , it makes me sad.
So, this book suffers from the dreaded first draft problems -since I learned that the first draft is used to get your story out and all the story ideas and ideas for characters and the drafts after are used to hone and craft everything until you get that satisfying final draft- Info dumps will kill your story, if not handled correctly. Every quote you said I was like, "That dialogue is so EASILY fixable, I mean why?" lol
like you started talking about the plot and I was like IS DAT SIX OF CROWS BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE SIX OF CROWS TO MEEE
justvitt That’s what everyone is saying! I haven’t read it yet though.
i mean, the group of criminals team up to steal/save something or someone isn't something unique to six of crows, but yes, it is similar and probably that's where they got the idea
I just started reading Six of Crows and when I heard the synopsis of this book I was like "it sounds like the same thing??"
justvitt ikr.
Jordan Harvey you really should, it's fantastic. 11/10 tbh
Pirates, in Space? Oh, hi there Disney's Treasure Planet. This makes me think of too many YA series that are out there as well. Set on a ship in space? I'm getting Illuminae and Lunar Chronicles vibes there, especially with that AI. Glass ship and a "badass" female lead who likes girly things, but also likes swords, but we don't get to decide if she's badass because it's just shoved in our face immediately? Throne of Glass. I also felt a bit of City of Bones in there too and Harry Potter simply because of "The Marauders" and Sasha was so proud of that name, but it was convenient that she "thought up" that name after she finished one of the Harry Potter books. There's too many parallels with other novels and series and that's just lazy to me. It's fantastic they got this published and got to fulfill a dream that many of us has but it feels like Sasha wasn't much of a writer before this and Lindsey should really know better being an already published author. I hope "Project Red" that Sasha is working on (which she's hinted is set in Scotland) isn't too much like Outlander and that she's learned from this novel. I don't like that most booktubers that reviewed it were kind of biased because they're friends with Sasha or because they used young, up and coming booktubers who are just happy for the attention. I don't recall seeing Reagan from PersueProject review it, or Jessethereader or Christine from polandbananas. Maybe I missed their videos if they did but if they didn't, that's a bit sketchy to me.
Ooh, Lunar Chronicles. You reminded me of something with that: over the course of the series, different books or chapters would have different character perspectives, but it was handled so well and every character's perspective contributed something. With this I was just very confused...
Yeah, this was the worst book I've read in years. If she hadn't been a famous booktuber it would've been a rejected manuscript immediately
Ben Gaffney I think you’re probably right
I was already skeptical about this book just based on the synopsis. Partly because I don't understand how a glass ship would work in any kind of environment. I understand that it's science fiction, but that doesn't mean all rules of science can be broken.
Seriously though, good for them for writing a book and getting it published, it just sounds like they could have used a better editor.
I’ve never even heard of this book, I just find it fascinating to hear your opinion because you always back it up so well and your arguments are pretty much airtight. I learn so many writing lessons from these videos!
Katia Lei That’s so nice to hear! Glad you enjoyed it!!
I haven't read this book and quite honestly don't plan to, mostly because it's gotten such poor reviews but also you pointed out aspects of the book it seems like Zenith pulls from SO many popular YA books right now. I immediately thought of books like Red Queen, ACOTAR, The Lunar Chronicles based on just little things you pointed out. I have to wonder if these obvious parallels, poor writing, and overall hot messiness were all irrelevant to both the authors and the publishers because this book was guaranteed buzz due to the authors' popularity. It's a little disheartening to see and I hope that both authors make the effort to really improve upon their books as they continue on with the series. I love this review and how you really took the time to point out everything and explain your thoughts!
It's definitely very derivative! And thanks, glad you enjoyed :)
LibraryofAmy and the main plot is like six of crows.i mean,come on!
Not to mention with the multiple POVs. I've heard several reviewers say that they tried to pull a Six of Crows with having as many as they did. (I have yet to read the book, so I can't offer anything beyond what I've heard.)
Raven Nivhaar the plot was basically throne of glass and six of crows combined and just ugh
LibraryofAmy it did remind me of the lunar chronicles but since i liked that series i let it slide
wait so the protagonist is basically celaena from tog?? not a very good character to ripoff, you know.
Agreed.
I couldn't even start the book. I first looked at the map of the 'galaxy' and chucked it across the room. It was so inaccurate. I just can't read a book, especially in space, where it's obvious the authors didn't do ANY research. ANY.
Yeah... as I mentioned, it's really a fantasy set in space.
Pardon the language, but that sounds like a cluster fuck of a story.
Indeed.
Indubitably
Ahhhhh you're face in the first frame says it all 😂😂
Sarah's Bookshelves Haha
I'm not really a reader but an aspiring writer so despite me not knowing any of these books you tear apart you are teaching some really good things about writing technique so keep up the salt-
Thanks! Glad they're helpful!!
Hayley Is there such a thing? An author that does not read?
Yel H Pretty much me. I wanna publish novels but I'd much rather choose a visual medium over a novel any day.
@@Yelgie no
Finished watching. So, about the Christian terminology: it's definitely personal. My suspension of disbelief stretches that far, easy. Because more likely than not a humanoid culture would have some sort of analog word for "soul" etc, and if the genre doesn't call for in-depth in-world linguistic digging a-la Tolkien, it's just a good way to be rid of unnecessary exposition. But, as an illustrator, I *do* get irritated when someone from a long-ago-far-away galaxy throws around words like chiaroscuro, so I 100% get it XD
Yeah, I don't think I would've minded it if they used it in the context of religion, but it was used as metaphors or descriptions. Things like, Andi attacked like a demon from Hell. I think that's why it bothered me so much!
I have yet to get over Han Solo going "I'll see you in Hell" in The Empire Strikes Back >.
Brave Kate
Just that one word would stop me from reading that book
aahhh this is so hard for me because I'm a language creator (degree in linguistics) who's writing a book with tons of worldbuilding and my name is Andi
lol
I feel like lowercase-h hell is one thing, like just a vague “bad place/thing that happens when you die”, but capital-H Hell, as in “Christian beliefs Hell where bad people go when they die and Satan is there” is 100% another thing. It might just be because I’m Christian and I personally use capitalization on words like ‘Hell’ and ‘God’ to indicate if a person believes in them, but it’s SO GRATING to read a book throwing around capital letter symbolism.
To me it just feels like they rushed the book so they could publish it faster and just went with the idea that they thought people would Like, for instance "people lkke guardians of the galaxy and six of crows let do a mash up, but make them girls because people will like that" "people like enemies to lovers let's do that" like instead of these things coming to the story naturally they just put it in bc from a marketing perspective the book would sell regardless because of their platforms, and for it to sell it had to be finished.
QueenOfFabulous Honestly, that’s kind of how it felt reading it.
"Bodies don't burn in space" - that was the moment I lost it. I love your book rants, they are so insightful and intelligent and I love your humour! Keem them coming please!!
Just fyi. Hell comes from the name of the norse goddess of death Hel which was also the name of her realm, 'to go to Hel' = 'to die'. So while still definitely connected to an earth specific religion its meaning has just been co opted and bastardised by christianity and has since gone beyond that to be used when referring to torment in general (as in 'I'm in hell'). Also 'soul' = 'A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks and wills' And 'heaven' = 'the visible sky, firmament'.
I say this simply because while those words may have a strong christian connotation in your mind they may be used to express more broader concepts not limited to this planet.
Lacy Days They definitely have other meanings, but in the book, with the context that we had, it was clear that they were using it with the Christian connotations in mind!
I learned that Hell is Germanic (not sure if was halja or something similar, but the meaning is "hiding") cause the word was already found with the underworld conotations on manuscripts before the Viking invasion.
novelcinderellatears.blogspot.com/2018/06/cinderella-tears-chapter-24.html
Thank you for this review! A lot of the points you brought up are things I notice in fanfiction or other original amateur fiction posted online - especially the info dumping exposition. I'm not sure if that's a lack of experience or what, but that just really stood out to me when you mentioned that because it's something I've noticed in a lot of those types of stories.
I'm not going to lie. I decided to watch this video because you look so fierce! This was great!
StarCrossedBooks Thank you!! That is so sweet
Also, that they're called the Marauders is really cringy to me. We get it, the author's like Harry Potter.
Ben Gaffney, I don't know about lindsy but sasha hasn't even read all Harry potter books (I know, Like how? But that's not the point)
But I remember how proud she was for coming up with that name
I have mixed feelings about that name, it makes sense by the definition of the term, but the HP Marauders have such a well known reputation, just hearing that word people think of HP not a dictionary definition. It's like the Pink Ladies from Grease, no one attempts to name their girl gang that because of the notoriety of the name. It's why there's really only a sole well known group for the names Avengers, Justice League, etc. (even then the editors should have had them change the name, bc even if it was a coincidence it doesn't appear to be since they're avid readers and it seems naive to think they wouldn't have any knowledge-this is just by what it looks like)
if their space pirates who kill and pillage for money then marauders is ok.
My last name when written in Gaelic means marauder. ff14 an mmo has a class called marauder. Assuming its just from happy potter is bad. Like assuming a certain song only exists because of a certain movie or game.
In X-Men comics there’s a villain group of mutant mercenaries called the Marauders.
You realize maruaders is a term that means killers right? JK doesn't own the word. 🙄
OMG IM LAUGHING
I just got whiplash because your characters changes so fast
im dEAD
I never had a strong interest in this book even though I kept seeing people talking about it, but WOW. This sounds like a hot mess! I'm glad I didn't go out and buy it, I probably would have thrown it across my room in sheer rage 😂 I can't stand bad books. This was a wonderful roast Jordan! I didn't feel the runtime at all 🔥
Little Winter Flower Glad you liked it! And yeah, it definitely wasn’t my favourite.
I didn't read this book but this review was really interesting !
Especially when you talked about world building. Im a videogame student, so world building is MEGA important. Everything, from the terminology to the design, has to express a certain atmosphere, theme etc.
When we are drawing for exemple, a foundry, we can't just draw what we imagine what a foundry looks like. We HAVE to look up how it works, why, etc. We have to look up different sources, internet, books, mecanics, and even visit a real one, to really understand what a foundry is. If we don't, nobody can believe our foundry is a foundry.
It feels like the writers didn't look up what things were. Like, if you are writing a book in which the story happens in space, you HAVE to learn things about space. Even if it's basic, you have to look up physics, astronomy, aeronautics, etc. Even if your book will never get technical, as a writer, you have to understand how your world works.
I used to write some stories and synopsis in my spare time, and this pre-writing work is what takes the most of the time, but it will absolutlu make a difference in the end. If you understand how your world works, the reader will feel like the world is indeed alive and working, and it changes everything. If you can't believe in a world, you can't go into the story.
Yes, this is so true. Research is vitally important, even if you don't end up using what you learn in the novel directly. If you know what you're talking about, it will be apparent in the work.
+Jordan Harvey Exactly. I mean, the stuff like "corpses burning in space" or "galactic years" could have been avoided or developped/justified if more work had been put into world building.
I like your reviews a lot, one of the main reasons being that you are respectful but honest. I like that you give actual reasons for disliking a book instead of just saying "This book sucks!", and you actually put a lot of effort and thought into your reviews. Thank you for that.
Wait so a bunch of malnourished people killed a bunch of other people? Wouldn’t they be too weak?
Taylor Ramirez I don’t know, it depends on weaponry, strategy, and technology but it’s just not explained
I thought the same thing.
This video was so well done. I love how you backup your arguments with actual facts from the book rather than just say "this part sucks" and that's it. I learnt so much from this review thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
And that's always my intention with this channel. I don't want to rag on anyone, Writing is HARD, I want to instead learn from it and analyze it!
Which authors do u feel u can learn the most from? Why?
Further, why are some authors so capable of churning out copious amounts of publishable material yr after yr if writing is so hard? eg. A. Christie, Trollope, Dumas, S. King, B. Sanderson, C. Cookson....
I love how honest and in depth this review is! Just subscribed because of it! x
Thanks!!
okay, i had an arc of this and you're so right about how it made no sense for the Marauders to save Vallen and why him being kidnapped wouldn't start a war. It was so annoying.
The rape scene wasn't in the arc to my memory (to other people who read the arc also don't remember it) so im really upset to hear that was added,
why do I feel like you could make like 5 completely different stories out of this book
Me specifically, or in general? Because there's definitely the possibility of carving out a few good ones from the bones of this (which they could've done with a good editor).
I haven’t read this book but I appreciate your reviews so much, as it helps me in knowing what not to do when I write my own book!😆
That's so good to hear! Thank you!!
Same here!
FINALLY! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.
Dynda Gianika Putri Haha I hope you enjoy!!
I won't read the book because of the reviews it got, but I still really enjoyed your review. 👍
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Really good and respectful review. Didn't know you before this, but now im a fan!!
Omg yes, I said the same thing about the Christian terminology in my review! So glad it's not just me! :')
it's the authors world something they make up in their head. Who are you to say what terminology they can or shouldn't use in their own book?
Just you trying to explain the plot was so confusing to me... So I can't imagine reading it.
It was... a lot.
“And then Vallen pulls a Maven” LOL, I remember I watched a video Sasha made saying that at the end of red queen there was this HUGE betrayal and that I wasn’t going to see it coming. Then I read red queen and like not even half way through I already knew it was going to be him.
I think, based on your review, they wrote the book using some plots from their favorite books but in a space world.
Awesome review! Totally subscribed after the Maven reference 😂😂😂
Haha glad you liked it! I actually have a heated review of red queen if you want to see me throw shade at the real Maven too.
Great review! It's so sad to see an actually decent premise be ruined by a lack of character, mature writing(in the sense of knowing quality or quantity), etc.
It really is. I think it could've been good, but they didn't take advantage of the world and characters that were building!
Loved your breakdown! I like seeing such a detailed criticism because I’m still getting some writing tips out of it haha. I can tell you love the craft of story telling and it’s fun to see you pick a book apart! I’d love to see you do this again with more books or other media, especially some of your favorites.
For sure! I really like looking at story and tropes with a broader stroke, but this year I do plan to do more reviews.
Thank you and I'm so glad you liked the video!!
Wonder how you'd treat franchise fantasy, as written by such stalwarts as JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, P. Pullman & JK Rowling.
The book switch when you started talking about Andy was hilarious omg
Haha thanks
I love listening to your reviews, you have a great way of explaining concepts of literature and the specific novel in a way that makes me think more about story writing. The way you pull examples from other novels really helps to strengthen your points. Thanks and good luck with your own novels!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them!!
I think you nailed it on the head in the beginning where you mentioned their platforms and the publisher wanting to capitalize on that without putting much effort into the product. It's perfectly brilliant. I haven't read the whole thing but I do want to form an opinion of my own. I love to listen to these rants about the book to see what others have to say. It does make me wonder though, why the authors didn't do more edits than they did. I applaud them for releasing a book with a big publisher, but to be honest it makes it all the more disappointing that they're BookTubers and they released something like this. I heard somewhere that she refuses to read any of the reviews, does anyone know if that's true?
I think that's true, which I kind of get. I know that Lindsay has some anxiety issues and she's gone through periods where she can't write because of that. Reviews aren't meant so much for the author as the consumer. That being said, when your book is getting a lot of the same feedback, it's good to be aware of that.
I went to the book signing and one thing that did bother me though was that Sasha said she never did negative reviews of books because she wanted to be in the industry and would be working with or alongside some of these people, but she said it in a way that kind of implied people shouldn't criticize her book if they ever want to write. That bugged me for obvious reasons.
I know that Sasha only watches the ones that have a good review. I believe that they need to be aware about these criticisms because they are writing another book.
Jordan Harvey that somehow doesn't surprise me. I currently work in the industry in hybrid-publishing (though I just got a new job and am leaving soon but I do hope to be an author and agent someday), and am currently working to reboot my own BookTube channel and I have to say that there should be no qualms with giving bad reviews. It makes you more credible.
And if you're going to work in the industry, learning to take criticism is essential. Yes, you're going to be working with those people eventually, but wouldn't you rather be known as a comprehensive scholar with tastes because you have a great understanding of literature in general and aren't afraid to get critical rather than someone who leaves shallow reviews and can't necessarily be trusted to give honest insight??
It doesn't surprise me that what she said came off the way it did. I stopped watching her because I often saw that kind of attitude in her videos. It's the kind of attitude that makes her look naive and even juvenile to the point that it doesn't make me surprised that the book came out as poor as it did. It makes me wonder if she thinks her product is perfect as is because she clearly doesn't have an understanding of how the industry works.
Yes reviews are mostly for the consumers but as a first time author she should read them so she can improve her writing. She only retweets the good reviews so she clearly reads those.
She does seem like a lovely person, and I can't speak for Lindsay, but I hope Sasha kind of gets a wake up call soon if she wants to progress and improve.
Human Being agreed
I agree! I think criticism and honest feedback is tremendously important.
The best quote related to this book comes from the Polandbananas interview Christine keeps getting the name of one of the authors wrong, so they tell her to 'Do it again, but better.' I think that should be one of the quotes on the book. Zenith - Do it again, but better.
I’ve heard a lot more bad things about this book than good... and it seems like the people who give the good reviews are either friends with the authors or a younger audience.
I haven’t read this book and after all the things I’ve heard I don’t want to, it seems like they didn’t put much effort into it and like u said seem to of kept the first draft...its like they wrote separately and just kept putting it in the same book without discussing what needed fixing. This book obviously needed more time and planning but seems like they just got impatient and rushed it.
I really enjoyed this review! And as soon as I heard you mention Avatar I subbed 😂 love that show
I haven’t read this book, but it sounds a lot like a TV show called “DarkMatter”.
You gave an excellent analysis of this book though. You really know what you are talking about, and you have a lot of source material to back you up. It’s amazing.
The religion terminology isn’t something I ever thought of... I’ll probably see it everywhere now. It’s amazing that you’re this into the entire book and not just the story being told.
Literally, authors not doing their space research infuriates me so much, your mention of no oxygen in space brought me joy because it's such a simple concept to understand and yet I'm still reading books where people are somehow burning in space or hearing loud bangs (there's no noise in spaceeeeee people because there has to be something with molecules for the noise to travel through). Choice of language is 100% imperative to world-building, especially in sci-fi novels. It's one of my pet peeves when authors don't think that through in a setting where Earth doesn't exist. This sounds like the authors or the editors half-assed their work on the book. I had no intention of reading this book but maybe there's hope for great improvement?Oh, wait, nope. "Hope is a raging asshole." lol
bookteafull haha omg
Time stamp 34:30 🤔🤔🤔 😅😂🤣 I see what you did there. Nicely done
Charles Smith 😉
Okay so 1. we need gifs of some of your facial expressions to use as responses on twitter and 2. I have just realised that my eArc copy of Zenith wasn't even the whole book - and my main complaint in my review was that it didn't feel like a completed book (on top of all the other issues that you mentioned as well) 😂
Haha make it happen. I’d be super lame and narcissistic if I made gifs of myself but I’m all for other people doing it.
And that is bizarre that they didn’t give you the whole book!
YES!! I didn’t even read this book (I barely have time to read novels i actually like during college so i wasn’t about to waste time with this) so i’m glad you did the hard work for me (-; Really great critiques, I love hearing negative criticisms on books that are actually thought out and specific and not just “I was bored”! Also character heavy space operas have my entire heart so i feel like I’d be personally offended if I read this one lol
Rachel Stewart Oh my gosh me too! I love a good space opera, but this was not it.
My favorite part is that this book is basically a Frankenstein's monster of plot points and tropes from better books; Six of Crows and Throne of Glass specifically. The ending is even ripped straight from Red Queen. 😬
I was literally about to pick up this book from the store haha! Thanks for the in depth review, I hope the authors can think more deeply on their writing later on and improve.
Also, this video gave great pointers to aspiring authors too! I will definitely be taking some of those pointers to my own story. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
This was a wonderfully well-spoken video. I haven't read the book and don't really plan to, but I've been watching a lot of reviews for it. I find it really interesting that all the negative reviews all touch on the same thing and go in depth, but a vast majority of the positive reviews are super short and just say "I loved this!"
Though, there's a big book store going out of business near me and I know they have some copies. Maybe I'll go back at the end of the month and see what the discounted price is like... Hmm...
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
And yeah, I haven't seen many people who have liked it really break it down.
Haha honestly this break down made me want to go edit my own WIP and feel so conscious of these issues so I can look for them better in my own stuff lol
The way you talk about this book with so much knowledge and such a good grasp on words and language and such has earned you my sub! I just loved the way you picked the language in this book in such an intelligent and insightive way!
Wait wait wait wait... the crew is called MARAUDERS?! How did they not get copyrighted for that?!
Alexandra Bowden Thanks so much!! And like, right? How did that happen.
very good review and yes i felt the same way about Zenith
thanks! Glad you liked it :)
As someone who uses a certain site to aid in practice with writing, I can say this book screamed: *BAD GAME OF THRONES-ESQUE IN SPACE FANFICTION!* and, well... ouch😖
"Soul" and "sin" are to some extent belonging to a lot of religious practices, not just Christianity, but a lot of the other words are weird.
Space pirates? "Lyra"? "Dextro"? "Antarans"? Honestly, this sounds like it's derived from Mass Effect and tries very hard not to be, but they changed too little of it and the lore to really make it its entirely own thing... haven't read it myself though.
0noregrets0 I’m not familiar enough with Mass Effect, but it could very well be. It’s very derivative throughout.
Loved this, such an in-depth and thorough review to watch. Thanks! As I close in on completing the first draft of my first book (years of planning), this is an excellent lesson on everything NOT to do.
From the sounds of it, these authors rushed it to publish without taking the time to edit.
Your facial expressions in this review make it more entertaining lol.
I keep hearing bad things about this book, no offense to sasha or lindsey, i think they're great people. I really love how detailed this is. Amazing job as always jordan
Haha thanks... I think?
And I'm glad you liked the video :)
This book is also so easily forgettable. I read it in between finals weeks, so I´ve had some days where I didn´t pick it up at all and if I didn´t have my bookmark, I could have reread Zenith over and over because I barely remembered what happened two pages earlier. It had potential, if only they wouldn´t have published what seems like the first draft
Agreed!
Imagine the amazing suspense they could have had if the General’s son died before they got him home, like, so much potential
I've been looking forward to this...
My eyes rolled right into my head as soon as you said the word Marauders. Now, I haven't read this book, but if you have a group of mischievous kids who go on adventures together and that's what you call them, people are going to think this started out as a Harry Potter fanfic.
Whenever I write a story, I hear your voice criticizing the mistakes I make, and I could not be more grateful, because it literally helps me to correct them : D
I burst out laughing when I saw the thumbnail.
BTW have you read the Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo? You seem to like YA fantasy/scifi a lot so I figured you should try it. I just started reading it, and I've heard a lot of good things about it!
cloudgirl150 I’ve heard a lot of good things too! It’s on my TBR
A galactic year is just a single rotation of the galaxy around it's center.
I knew I was going to have trouble with the book when on the 2nd (mebbe 1st?) page the phrase "hell incarnate" appeared and...1) yeah, why is "hell" being used in a non-earth setting....and...2) "incarnate" was used incorrectly. BUT-- I said elsewhere on booktube-- I sincerely congratulate them on their achievement of getting it published. I don't fault them for achieving or get angry (like a lotta folks on booktube) b/c I don't like the result (and I like that your review was fair in that sense, i.e. criticize the work, nothing else). I do think Lindsey can write (based on one other book of hers I read) and I think Sasha has the opportunity to grow and do more. But, yeah, it's a doozie of a book.
Am I the only one to whom the summary sounded like Six of Crows in space?
Maria Jose Bissio im two years late BUT YESSSSS i agreeeeeee
I think the problem with Zenith is that Sasha is still incredibly immature - she has the mind of a child. Hence why the book was so badly written and underdeveloped. Perhaps if she read more mature literature her technique would improve.
So we are talking about a children’s book. So there is that.
Like fifty shades of grey
Unprotected bodies would most certainly burn in space; not via oxidation but radiation. Solar wind ionization would cook the body even until the energy completely stripped it down to the last molecule. Yes I know you mean on fire with flames from oxidation but your blanket statement isn't correct either.
Yuss, you defiantly know what you’re talking about, bringing actual logic and common sense into your reviews and pointing out even small details that can easily ruin a book, omfff I’d definitely love to read a book of yours if you plan on writing one
Is it weird that I want to read it for myself to see how horrible it is first-hand? I don't know. I just really want to read it. I'm sure I'll hate it but I still want to go through it.
Great Review!! I LOVE that i always learn so much about writing from your vids!
Also the mc really does look and sound a lot like Celeana 😬
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it :)
«Bodys don’t burn in space ... ‘cause there’s no oxygen ... in space ...» Ha ha, I first didn’t understand why that quote was so bad, before you reminded me of this basic science lesson.
We need honest reviewers! Thank you for being honest A+
Glad you liked it!!
I literally cannot wait for this.
omg same!!!
Haha I’m glad!! It’s a long one, so I hope you enjoy!
Jordan Harvey Loved your review! I tend to enjoy long reviews, and I've watched many of Zenith over the past week or so. You explained all your points very well, I'm impressed! Keep up the good work ^^
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
This is the first time I've watched one of your videos, I enjoyed the depth of your review!
Thanks, I'm glad!
"Hope is a raging asshole" I think hope had some leftover Indian food
To be fair, I don't think I will ever forget the quote: "Hope is a raging asshole." It will follow me to my grave.
Also Mr. Vengence-Will-Be-Mine is kind of a legend by now :D.
Bigger booktubers tend to give this book a higher rating than smaller booktubers. Why is this?
TimeAndChance Or just don’t review it.
Wait until Xtine's book comes out (ostensibly in '19). If small b'tubers pan it, the dozen or so booktubers >100K will either praise it or say 0. I really hope it gets min. 3/5 stars out of the most merciless critic 'cause I prefer to have more good books in the world. I do wish Xtine good luck.
Lol, we know why. They're all friends so they don't wanna say anything bad about their stuff. Or they're just easy to please, which there's nothing wrong with but oh well. Most big booktubers don't give negative reviews anyway but I find it interesting that so many of them won't say a word about it when it's the only thing getting talked about right now, which just kinda shows that they probably don't think highly of it.
Cori Ilardi i think Christine's will do better cause it's hard to really fuck of a contemporary and I believe that's what she's writing
I've seen a couple of booktubers say they are not interested in the book. I think it's nice to see that you don't have to care about something just because it comes from booktube.
I'm just going to throw my two cents in: I can understand anger at explicit mentions of "Hell" and "Heaven", since those are specific Christian ideas, but it could also be possible that words like "soul" and "demon" were used to describe concepts that the people in that world have but in a way that would be more familiar to the reader. Remember, this book already has a serious exposition problem, we don't need to be sitting through another couple pages while the authors explain the religious terminology of each of their planets (though as a nerd I wouldn't mind reading through that :p).
YES! It's fantasy set in space, yes. OMG I keep saying that. Yes, thank you. Yes.
haven't even heard about this book, but the moment you said there was a gang of immoral kids set out on a quest to kidnap someone, followed by multiple pov's, i thought 'six of crows' immediately. there are a few other things that just feel,,, ripped off so many books i've read before, without adding anything new to the plate. the saddest thing for me is that the authors clearly read YA and ??? so ?? what happened exactly that they seem to have forgotten every cliche writing their own book? anyways, thank you for a great review. i'm so grateful and at the same very sorry, i mean, you got through the whole thing! to make a review! :D
34:40 this cracked me up lol. I haven't laughed this much is a very long while.
I really enjoyed your review!
Haha thanks!
“Hello brother, good to see you Maven..I mean Vallen.”
Lol🤣😂