An Entirely New World For Me
579990
I found the book initially confusing because of both the use of ancient Irish and Northumberland phrases and place names, but eventually I feel into it's cadence. In my Kindle edition the Foreword of the book was placed at the END...it would have been most helpful to have read this first!
2309554
I absolutely loved the world that this author describe for us, the description was really great.  I could actually see it in my mind as I was reading.  I loved all the characters and the banter was phenomenal.  This was an awesome story and I would definitely recommend this one to everyone.  The author's style of writing isn't like any thing I've ever read, it is just brilliant.
1092024
Totally new kind of world. New way to tell a story. I believe there is more to tell, and I really want to read it.
389322
I really enjoyed this new world of the Breed! It was good to reconnect with the "old" world and see what the new world has in store! Keep up the great work and I look forward to the next book!
310070
I felt like I was newly exploring an exciting world, much like Mario 64 but in space! Tons of fun, good challenge and amazing creativity.
4575829
For me, Alif the Unseen opened windows into worlds I had seen only keyhole glimpses of before: the complex combination of people in Northern Africa and India who lead Muslim lives; the world of hackers; and the world of Jinn.  This book took me to magical and horrible places.  It is populated with fascinating and well-realized people and creatures of all types.  The storyline is muscular and supple and weaves through dark and light places, illuminating fabulous details everywhere.
2078968
This books gives me into a world of which I never knew existed. It has opened my eyes and my heart to those effected by any sort of addiction.
4273628
A new world with new abilities to learn about and to watch how becoming of age works while living in two worlds when you are surprised that you have a second world .
2876378
Fantastic! I loved the world, the society, the interplay between characters. Quite a few twists I didn't see coming, which was nice because I dislike books that you know "who dunit" several chapters before the reveal. Really looking forward to the next  installation, as I was entranced by this one!
3576437
Wow. That' all I can say. After reading the first book, and not being pulled too much into the story, this one blew me away.

There was fantastic world building, and the parts that took real thinking on the reader's part really pulled me in. Magic, runes, fae, centaurs, banshees, elves, you name it, it is here.

As all the different characters were introduced, I almost thought I knew what would happen, but then the author would take an unexpected turn, and pull me in to this alternate world even more. It was a very pleasant escape, and I would do it all over again.

Do yourself a favor, and do not base this story on the first one, but allow yourself to be enticed into a fantasy world that is engaging and full of different emotions, as well as different levels of humanity, even though many of the characters are not even human.
874225
The best new fantasy epic I have ever read. The writer has truly invented something new,from the people, and the world and creatures living in it. To a new system of order and magic that are so complete in every detail. I wondered how this has not been the way all fantasy literature has been written since the beginning. It all makes perfect sense and leaves me wanting to learn more and more of this strange new world.
2530637
I cannot believe how much I loved this book.  Totally took a chance.  I did find that the heroine took to a journey with aliens with her daughter just a little too quickly.  but, it was a new world with a very different civilization.  interesting characters.  good pace to the story.
428333
I am so happy I stumbled on this book. It's immersive and definitely worth reading. The story slides seamlessly into a world where having robot companions is the norm and the challenges associated with that reality are both different and creative than what I'm used to seeing in sci- fi. This is a world I'd love to live in for a while and sincerely hope to see a follow up book with Bree's story as she embarks on what is hinted to be an incredible journey. I also love how we dive right into the question of what defines humanity and the authors not afraid to dig into the racism matter. Very well done!
1142587
The last time I visited a new world was several years ago with the books by Anne McCaffery about the people of the planet Pern.  Today I finished exploring another new world, the world of Ahmbren.  What an interesting place, with many and varied characters.

I found this book to be a most enjoyable read.  The story is cohesive with logical progression from scene to scene.  The characters are well defined and developed.  The scenes are easy to visualize and colorful.

I definitely recommend this book and I am looking forward to the further adventures of the citizens of Ahmbren.
2804709
Love. Love. Love.

Let's start with the setting. I adored it. Condie did an excellent job creating a whole new world. She's just descriptive enough that the reader has no problem losing themselves in the Society, but without the story getting bogged down in world-building. I'll admit that I even kind of liked the Society through the first few chapters. It started off so much less typically "dystopian" at the beginning, though it doesn't take too long for that to change. I found myself very interested in how everything was set-up and how it worked with the Matching ceremony, the elderly, artifacts, the "greatest 100" of everything etc... The concept of choices have pretty much been all but eliminated, which seems like that would make living so much simpler, but really this world is so complicated. Condie is fantastic as getting every detail down in a natural way that doesn't include page after page of "this is how this works".

This is a love triangle story. Cassia is trying to decide between her long time best friend Xander, who she was matched with and Ky, who she wasn't technically matched with, making a relationship between the two unheard of. The way the two boys where portrayed made it difficult for me to choose one that I'd like Cassia to choose. We get to see a lot more of Ky and learn much more about him then we do about Xander though.

Overall, this read like a first book in a series. Not entirely too much action and the reader learns so much about the world. It never dragged or became too slow for me though. There were enough little hidden mysteries to keep me quickly turning pages until the end. I'm very anxious to find the time to finish the other books in the series.

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2953564
I honestly couldn't imagine a world like the author created. No technology, no phones, no cars. I definitely don't think I could live like that. But the author did a great job of making a new world seem believable and possible. I loved the storyline. Friends, especially ones since childhood, don't give up on each other  ever. They find a way to muddle through whatever is going on. And I truly believe, that like the main characters in the story, that people can change the world and the way other people believe. Sometimes is all it takes is standing strong in what you believe and never letting go of your dreams.
1398849
Whew. I just finished book one less than an hour ago and, boy, do I have some words. First I want to preface this with a few bits about what I am as a reader, as I think that will add some credence to my words. I am generally not a reader of most fantasy; and tend to aim for styling I'm more comfortable exploring. I am more prone to go after a story with cosmic elements, or a grim dark future where consciousness can be uploaded to the internet than I am most alternate history.
That said, many of those novels never came close to actually making me feel specifically excited to the point of physical reaction that this book ended up doing. Every line and word are all crafted in a precise way to give meaning to the story as a whole in such a way that is rare among the reading I have done. (yes, even chapters 2-11 are incredibly necessary, if completely thematically different from the rest of the novel)
I'm impressed, humbled as one who has tried writing in the past, and incredibly excited to move on to book two. I've never been so ready to jump into another book since Dune Messiah