Thursday, June 28, 2012

Curmudgeon's Corner: Science in dystopian YA and Review of Partials by Dan Wells


Dark DaysOne of the books on the Dark Days tour is Partials by Dan Wells. I've had this on my to read list for a month before I had heard about the tour and saw that it was getting mixed reviews. I can understand this sentiment as I award this book 3 stars.

Partials is about Kira, one of the last remaining humans, after a terrible war that they've lost against Partials, which are mostly robotic creatures with some human DNA. What really decimated the population was not the war, but a devastating virus that has rendered humans incapable of reproducing-- babies die within days of birth after getting the virus. Kira is a young scientist, and with a band of her friends take on the government and the Partials to try desperately to find a cure.

Partials (Partials, #1)There are some really great things about this book-- Kira is a headstrong and engaging protagonist, although I at times sided with Marcus, her boyfriend because I can understand his desire for self preservation over a 1% chance Kira's crazy plan is going to succeed. Samm is a Partial that Kira meets and without giving too much away, their interactions are fascinating and moving at times.

The strong aspects of this book are overshadowed by some of the odd science elements. Perhaps because I'm a scientist, I can't get past bad science in books. Kira describes different forms of the virus as Blob and Spore. Yes, exactly those names. The use of Spore in viral transmission is just so wrong on so many levels. If we are talking about mold or fungi, fine. Just for kicks, I looked up "viral spore" on Google, and my first hit was Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki, and the definition was as follows: "Viral spores were developed by the One Sith scientist Vul Isen during the Second Imperial Civil War as a means of pacifying rebellious worlds without committing substantial Imperial forces. They were capable of poisoning all living organisms on a planet's oceans within days, effectively rendering it uninhabitable. These viral spores were deployed in canisters and were used to great effect as part of the Final Protocol as part of the Genocide of Mon Calamari on Dac. Later, Sith-Imperial bombers of Squadron Quad Victor deployed these during the destruction of Da Soocha."

OK, so I don't know who any of those people are (where do Star Wars fans come up with this stuff?) but I digress. My point is, the science in this book is bad, and I couldn't really get over it.

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* So one of the big reveals is that a pheromone is the cure for the virus and that a small amount in a syringe has the ability to interact with the virus and cure the child. What?! First of all, hormones don't cure viruses, our own immune system does. Second, hormone injections are given over a prolonged period of time to give the desired effect. Not to mention there is a high rate of allergic reactions to these things. That was kind of the last straw for me.

This is not the only book that had these issues. Sometimes even books I really liked had this issue. Case in point, Lauren Oliver's book Delirium, showcased the illness Amor Deliria Nervosa. I get where she's coming from, but defining love as an illness was just too much for me-- and these people are basically getting a frontal lobotomy? Who would ever pass this law? That said, she writes beautifully, and at least she named the illness properly, versus Blob.

OK, nuff said. :-) Have any of you been frustrated when there is bad science in dystopian fiction?

11 comments:

  1. I am studying Biology at Uni and it annoys me when the science doesn't make logical sense in books.

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  2. I am SO glad someone feels the same way! :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I've started and stopped this book at least half a dozen times. Just couldn't get into it.

    The science issue...I had that problem with Monument 14. There was a tsunami that wiped out the east coast of the US. First, the type of tectonic action required for large tsunamis is not present in the Atlantic Ocean- sea floor spreading occurs there. Yes, the author did get it sort of right- there is a type of volcanic action that can cause it- basically in one place. The Canary Islands. Which the author did pick, but it's scientifically unlikely. Plus, they said the tsunami affected the weather on the west coast. I don't think so. And- the whole east coast gets hit by a tsunami and wiped out? That's just not how tsunamis work.

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  4. HAHAHA great comment. This is one of my favorite things to rant about. I'm reading Pure by Baggott right now, and am having the same issues. How can a detonation by nuclear power fuse you to animals, inanimate objects, other people, and doll's heads? I just can't get over that. Once I'm done I'm definitely going to post it! :-)

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  5. I really enjoyed your take on this one, Christina! I appreciate the scientific perspective on the storyline (and I'm looking forward to your take on Pure as well!). I will say this: sometimes I'm really glad I'm so ignorant about science!! Might sound silly but I'm fully aware that it allows me to look past a lot of technical flaws (whether that's good or bad...well, who knows).

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  6. I read Partials and I really liked the book. Yes, I don't know science as I should so I had no problem with the book. But I would definitely have a problem if I knew half of what you know being a scientist. So I definitely understand how you felt about this book. . : )

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  7. Well when I read any book, I have a willing suspension of disbelief. If an explanation makes logical sense, even if it's not actually possible, then I'm okay with it. If it seems that it's done simply for plot purposes and it's easy to see through, then I'm not okay with it. The science in this book didn't bother me. Probably because I don't really like science. I know it's important and everything, but I myself, don't like studying it.

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  8. Thank you for a most interesting post. Partials by Dan Wells looks and sounds like the kind of book i would love to read, hence i was extremely curious as to your thoughts on it. I have not read a huge array of fiction within the Young Adult dystopian genre, but i have read a lot of fantasy and science-fiction. If a story is going to be as believable and sucsessful as possible then it needs to be authentic, especially in these particular genres as everything else is so 'far-fetched' to an extent or created as it were in makebelieve worlds. Its the little details that actually add that ounce of authenticity so as to make it 'real' to those readers who want something out-of-this-world but still real in their minds.

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  9. I think that authors should pay a little bit more attention on verification and plausibility of science facts they use in their books.

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  10. Well I am not very good at science LOL so I never kinda notice they could be talking about the most stupid thing that wouldnt be rational to do with science and I wouldnt have a clue.I did read partials and I did like it but the whole science bit was hard to get my head around and now reading your post some of it wouldnt really make sense kinda shows I wouldnt have a clue if it hits me in the head!

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  11. I actually really like partials and delirium. I havent read fragments, the sequel to partials yet, but I have it on my ipad.

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