My dear bookish friends!
If you are a fan of dystopian YA novels you should really keep on reading because I think I have the perfect book for your next reading session!
A big thank you as always to TheWriteReads and also the author for my ebook and my spot on this tour (none of which influenced by rating in any way).
About the Book
For dystopian fans of THE LAST OF US, THE MAZE RUNNER, and THE HUNGER GAMES.
The YA debut from award-winning author, Stuart White.
IN A NAMELESS WORLD, ONE HERO RISES BY DISCOVERING THEIR IDENTITY.
In a dystopian world dominated by genetic perfection and numbered gene pools, sixteen-year-old E820927, known as Seven, yearns for an identity beyond his assigned number.
To escape a life as a Nameless Exile, and become a citizen of the Realm, he must pass a loyalty test to prove his allegiance to the totalitarian Autokratōr.
With the world’s fate hanging in the balance, Seven’s journey sparks rebellion, hope, and the reclamation of individuality.
But as the truth unfolds, Seven faces a difficult choice between revenge and love.
My Review
I LOVED The Hunger Games as a teenager, I was so hooked when my friend lent me the first book and vividly remember how I was reading day and night to finish it. That was at the height of the YA dystopia phase many years ago, and if you miss those times then you HAVE to read The Nameless! It reminded me so much of The Hunger Games, from the cover to the concept to the rules of the game, and it is similarly captivating.
As a word of warning though, if you are a sensitive person and tend to shy away from violence in your books then you should read the content warnings of this book and believe them. This book is brutal – a lot more violent than I would have expected from a Young Adult novel. There are brutal deaths and killings, and nothing is really left to the imagination, and for my personal taste it was a bit too much at times, especially because it is marketed as YA, but if you are handling things like that alright you should be fine!
Seven is a likeable and definitely also believable main character, hoping for a better life after he has been given his name. I loved his tentative, gentle relationship with Six, and I was glad that he had at least one good friend in that regime of terror. Even though Seven is such a likeable character, he doesn’t always act upon what you would expect from him, and I have to say I was shocked when he… well, I don’t want to spoiler, but those who have read it will probably know what I mean. How could he DO that?!? Another point added on the brutality list, that’s for sure.
I think the author has done a great job with the worldbuilding. Everything in this place screams futuristic dystopia, and while reading you can see these bleak surroundings for yourself, it’s like you’re right there with Six and Seven (which is a rather unsettling feeling, not gonna lie).
There were some minor things that bugged me, like at the start of the book they get their very first shower of their lives EVER, and I thought it was kind of brushed off rather quickly. Like, the first proper shower as an almost-adult has got to be a big deal, no? Then my overthinking brain started wondering if they had lice or other health problems because of all the dirt and germs and sweating from all the training, but that is probably just me overthinking things again, so we can all forget about that lol, but I did wonder wouldn’t that have been cause for a bit more excitement?!
Despite minor points like that, The Nameless had me rooting for E820907 (aka Seven) from the start, and his biggest goal in life – earning a name, a real name to make himself feel human for the first time – is very believable, and so you hope he passes the tests and gets closer to his goal and the promise of a better life quickly.
The Nameless is dark, brutal and raw, and once you start you cannot stop reading. If you are a fan of YA dystopias, or dystopias in general, then you HAVE to give this one a go! I bet you won’t regret it!
4 stars from me!
Thank you all so much for reading!
xoxo
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YA dystopia like no other
