Bookworm Speaks!- Chimera by Vaun Murphrey

Bookworm Speaks!

Chimera (The Weaver Series Book 1) 

by Vaun Murphey

****

The Story: If you witnessed your parents killed at age five for reasons unknown only to endure eight years of isolation in captivity, what would you do with your life when you were suddenly rescued by family you never knew you had? What if you yourself were even more than you seemed? The universe can be both a terrible and wonderful place to live if you have the courage to explore it. Enter an alternate reality of civil war, secrets, murders and betrayals that transcends space and time with CHIMERA, Book One of the Weaver Series.

The Good:

While this is definitely a young adult book, it does manage to largely avoid many of the cliches of the genre. It hints at a romance between Cassandra and male character, whose name escapes Bookworm at this time. That arc is eventually dropped, which is to the books credit as the YA romance angle is starting to get old. 

Not to spoil it too much but the text takes a different direction in the last third in regards to the protagonist Cassandra. It is an extremely unique take on real medical condition, that really adds a touch of realism to an otherwise fantastic novel. 

That is a strength of this book: It is very grounded despite the science fiction. Cassandra has trouble adjusting to the outside world after her captivity, injuries take a long time to heal, and the outside sometimes sticks its nose into their business. 

Cassandra is a very realistic character that seems very genuine in her reactions to what is going on around her. She does not want to raise a scene or jeopardize her new life away from her prison but she wants an explanation for what exactly is going on. She tries to make friends but her traumas make that difficult. She is snarky but still vulnerable the author does a good job of making her feel real. 

The Flaws: For Bookworm…This was a book that was very hard to get into. Perhaps the writing style is too minimalistic and subdued for him but Bookworm struggled to read this book. 

This novel…does not know what it wants to be. From the summary, we can ascertain that its a science fiction story and near the end it does just that, but for the majority of the text it is treated more as a low fantasy. Bookworm only remembers a handful of passages that deal directly with Cassandra’s power but overall the character’s just seem content to stand around and wait for things to happen. 

Part of the problem is the book’s setting. It is set is East Texas, an area by the author’s own admission is characterized by open skies and wide open spaces. This is not a deal breaker but what needs to be reinforced about writing and in particular, science fiction, is that the setting is as much a character as the protagonist and the antagonist. The background needs have a tangible feeling that contributes to the story and honestly, it does just that to the book’s detriment. East Texas is rather dull and that dullness seeps into the story. The text is hard to follow at times and just seems so dry that it’s all but impossible to not try and skim over the text to get to some juicier chapter. 

This is compounded by the fact that the character of the setting is not expanded upon to any significant degree. Cassandra never seems to soak up the essence of the land or watch a prairie sunset or look up at a clear, starry sky, or eat Tex-Mex! Instead the character’s remain on the compound or visit the wastelands of the highway interstate towns populated by Wal-Marts and McDonalds which are about as bland and as soulless as one can find in small-town America. 

Speaking of soulless. The side characters are about as bad. Maggie and Gerald are very important characters yet they are given the same amount of development as background characters. First of all, while it is not the most important factor, we are never really given a clear picture of what either of them look like. It is one of those scenario’s where a paragraph of exposition is needed. We don’t even know that Gerald is black until the second half of the book. That is not a critical need, as it should not matter what ethnicity a character is, but leaving out detail can be a very slippery slope. Their personalities remain at a near constant every time they are on the page and we are never given a deeper look into their pasts or their inner struggles. It is not their story but it is not just about Cassandra.  

Final Verdict: Bookworm did not like this book and he did not managed to be hooked at all while reading it. 

Two out of Five Stars

One last question: its it pronounced Shim-era or Ki-Mera. It is never clarified anywhere. 

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