Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Exile by S.M. Wilson

Exile is the sequel to The extinction trials, and while you can read it as a stand alone book you will enjoy it more reading the series in order.  This review contains ***SPOILERS*** if you have not read The extinction trials.

Returning from Piloria should have been the start of something amazing for Storm and her fellow trialists, but instead it has proved to be anything but.  Storm has gone from living alone and working in the outdoors to living with her "extended" family and working in the parliament.  All her years of carefully hiding what she is really capable of blown because of the Trials.  For Lincoln life after Piloria is all about trying to find a way to help his sister while trying to hold onto his job at the labs.  It seems as though there might be some hope when he discovers that the ointment they used on Piloria can help with the disease that is ravaging Arta's body - the only problem is that the cure and all it's ingredients are across an ocean that he has no hope of crossing.

When the announcement is made that they are ready to try the viruses that the labs have been developing it catches everyone by surprise - but not as much as the announcement that the former trialists are the ones who will travel to Piloria to release the diseases.  It's a sucker punch for Storm and Lincoln, and for all the other trailists hastily assembled to return - along with one rather unwilling and unexpected tag along.  Storm longs to return to Piloria, even with all the danger it was a land of rich smells and vibrant colours - not to mention the fact that no one on Piloria has to worry about rations.  It is a race against time, not only to release the virsuses where they have the greatest chance of infecting the dinosaurs, but also to find Blaine in the desperate hope he can help them make more of his miracle ointment and help them find plants to take back home.  Returning to Piloria is risky, even for the trialists because even though they have been there before they haven't seen everything - good and bad.

The extinction trials was a fast paced read, and Exile picks up shortly after it ends and carries on the story at the same speed dragging you along for the ride.  One of the great things about both The extinction trials and Exile is that Wilson swaps the viewpoints around which means you get to see and hear more of the story through the characters, but you also avoid the more impersonal "voice of god" approach to storytelling.  This makes the story more interesting and engaging, and in Exile it gives you a more intense window into the internal struggles of Storm and Lincoln, and makes them feel much more real.  You don't have to wonder about what they are going through because you feel it with them. 

This is a very good series, and is one that crosses over into a couple of different genres and will appeal to wide audience.  This is not a 'girl' book or a 'boy' book, and while it was written for teenagers it does appeal to adult audiences as well (or at least this adult audience anyway).  This series holds a great deal of promise and it will be interesting to see where Wilson takes it next, and if we get more of the backstory about how they ended up with the split between humans and the dinosaurs of Piloria (because it feels like there could be a very good backstory involved!)


If you like this book then try:

Reviewed by Brilla

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