Monday 21 January 2013

The Legacy (The Declaration #3) Review

The Legacy (The Declaration #3)
Gemma Malley

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Copy Courtesy of Bloomsbury

When a Pincent Pharmaceutical van is ambushed by the rebel group known as the Underground, its contents come as a huge surprise – not drugs, but corpses in a horrible state. It appears that the pharmaceutical company’s top drug, Longevity – which is supposed to eradicate disease and ensure eternal life – isn’t living up to its promises. Now a virus is sweeping the country, killing hundreds in its wake, and Longevity is powerless to fight it. But when the unscrupulous head of Pincent claims that the Underground is responsible for releasing the virus, it’s up to Peter, Anna, and their friends to alert the world to the terrifying truth behind Longevity before it’s too late.

If The Declaration was Anna’s book and The Resistance was Peter’s, then The Legacy is Jude’s book. For most of the story Anna and Peter are hidden away in Scotland bringing up their children in safety with Anna completely embracing the role of Motherhood. Jude meanwhile is living with the Resistance in London and is frustrated at how Pip is keeping secrets from him.

I loved the idea of a world where children are illegal as people live forever and resources are limited. Youth and new ideas are scary and people no longer have relationships – the idea of marriage that lasts forever doesn’t appeal to most people after all. The Legacy pulls all the ideas from the first two books together and wraps it up the only way it can. As a result there was nothing startling about this book – I managed to anticipate the direction of the story, but it was an enjoyable ride. Jude was a relatable hero with doubts, hopes and dreams – I actually preferred him to Peter who seems far too Alpha male to sympathise with. I also admit to being fed up with Anna who doesn’t drive any of the action and continues to be more a victim than a heroine.

Gemma Malley’s writing again was wonderful to return too – smooth and inviting. I really enjoyed the way she would add some other characters point of view occasionally to give the story a wider scope. This was the accumulation of three books and as such had a wide cast of characters – at least one character should intrigue most people. This was a satisfying end to a brilliantly imagined ‘what-if’ scenario and would appeal to those who like dystopian fiction.

Recommended for fans of Sarah Crossan and Suzanne Collins. 7 out of 10

3 comments:

  1. Sort of a dystopian with a sci-fi flair! Sounds interesting and I have to admit, when you talked about children being illegal, I thought of THIS. :D

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  2. I tried to read book 1 and it was meh, though it was a translation

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  3. Hmm, I don't think I've heard of these. Or maybe it's just this one and I'm not placing the first two. Thanks for sharing them, I'll have to go look into the first two. :)

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