Oasis: What's the Story

Product Information

Subvocalizing. Lame. AR, VR, IRES existing at the same time.... lame. Monsters made from old computer parts, lame. 20 somethings acting like 8 year olds... lame. Zales has carefully crafted an incredible world that becomes more and more fascinating as you work your way through the story. Arthurs left the band in 1999, and Oasis duly changed course, direction and membership. Some fans prefer the earlier, blokier lineup, while others point to the musical superiority Archer, Bell and Starkey brought to the later albums. Overall, I'm in love with this book. Everything about is absolutely fantastic from the characters to the writing. If I could change one thing about this book, it would be the ending. I felt like it kind of ended in a bit of a hurry, and I would have liked some more information before it ended, but this is also a great way to get you hyped for the next book. I definitely recommend this book to all dystopian fans, especially fans of The Giver, Hunger Games, and Under the Never Sky. I can't wait to continue this series, and read more from this author.

Sexual content: Moderate, but nothing explicit. I would still recommend this for older young adult readers. I at least thought the parts about archaeology were going to be interesting, but there wasn't really enough time spent on that, which is a shame.

My Personas

There is mystery and intrigue woven into the plot, as well as world building that happens naturally through the eyes and actions of the characters. Rooting for Theo from the start was easy because of his unique perspective and natural inquisitiveness. My only real quibble with the writing was that the looming threat outside of Oasis' protective dome is called Goo. That just seemed a bit juvenile to me, but I got over it (apparently not enough to omit it from my review, but still).

I really enjoyed Katya de Berrera's seemingly effortless writing style and the way she kept my attention throughout the book. I did wonder quite often whether the events were just a hallucination brought by the gruelling journey through the desert under the unforgiving sun or whether the (post)-oasis events are manifestations of PTSD and then the author surpassed all my expectations by giving us a mind-bending explanation. Linguistically, these words come from Mesopotamian folklore. It has something to do with control over destiny. Or was it control over the universe? I wasn't sure what to expect with this considering the synopsis was very short and vague. Basically, it's about a guy, Theo, who all of a sudden starts hearing this voice inside his head. Her name is Phoe (pronounced, fee). He is part of the "Youths" of Oasis. Above them are the "Adults" and above them are the "Elderly". They are raised to behave so abnormally than the "ancients". The ancients would be us, modern day humans. Theo is different from most other Youths, as he has this imaginary voice in his head and must keep it from everyone so he doesn't get in trouble for being crazy. Being crazy, depressed, etc, is frowned upon in their society. As well as cursing, fighting, things of that nature. First and foremost, to save you some time wondering if you aren’t familiar with Mesopotamian mythology, (like I wasn’t before reading this), this story surrounds the Tablet of Destinies. The Tablet of Destinies a.k.a. Dup Shimati, in summation, gives the one who holds it the power to rule the universe. As you can imagine, an item containing that much power would cause some problems.

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If you were to ask me what my favourite genre of book to read is, hands down it would be dystopian. Deluxe collectors editions featuring individual Noel and Liam covers, Jill Furmanovsky end papers, plus a pull-out Knebworth section and exposed spine binding. Second, as previously mentioned, the story is written in the first person where Theo is the narrator. When a book is written in the first person, it makes you feel more engaged in the story. In addition, the in depth world building transports the reader further into Theo's world. Alif was the perfect protagonist because she was imperfect and you loved her, and you wanted to ask her what she was doing at times, and you were right there along with her wanting to know what was going on in this desert! And Tommy! Swoon! I loved him! Inside the oasis, Alif and her five friends encounter things where it makes them hard to trust each other, where it breaks them apart, where it creates new bonds, and it utterly had my pulse accelerating.