Hollowland by Amanda Hocking: My Review
Well, what a disappointment this book was! For starters, it wasn’t even dystopia, but post-apocalyptic – even the author admits to this during the novel. Secondly, you would think that all zombie books are good? Nope.
Even from the onset of this novel, I was having my doubts. The main character, Remy, was just amazing – so amazing in fact that I didn’t believe it. When the zombies are outsmarting the government, this teenager is ESCAPING. And kicking butt to boot! I guess it’s a fine line between awesome and annoying?
And speaking of the government, it seems Hocking has hand-picked them from a kindergarten class. Several times you realise just how smart the zombies are compared to the authority. There were many moments when I was ready to throw my book at the wall because it was that simple to work out the twists and turns well before they had even arrived. Not to mention the fact that I kept shouting at the characters as they blundered their way through this book.
In between all the over explanations, I found myself wondering if young adults would actually like this book. Unfortunately, the answer is yes. There are plenty of laugh out loud lines in the book, as well as a romance between the main character and a famous rock star and a secondary character who is obsessed with clothes. There were also a few poignant moments when the author brings adult concepts to the audience with grace and good humour.
The bit that surprised me the most though was just how good Hocking is at sucking you in. I found by the end of the book that I was almost tempted to buy the second one, just to see what happened next. This is the reason why Amanda Hocking became an Indie superstar! And it’s for this reason that Hollowlands gets 3 stars out of 5 from me rather than 2 stars.
The next book on my reading list is: I Am Alive by Cameron Jace
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Interesting. Thanks for the insights.
I liked this book more than you did (haha I never wanted to throw it at the wall…) but I also didn’t come into looking for a dystopian–I was looking for something light and funny, so I was into it. I think expectations when you come into a book really affect the experience.
I didn’t pick up the sequel, though I was tempted like you were. I heard is was very different from the first one.
See, I am STILL tempted to pick up the second one, so I just might do it sooner rather than later with your comment
haha, your post actually made me consider picking up the second one again, actually.
Cool! I really think I will buy the second one now. So many people have commented on how much better it is
I actually really liked Hollowland and did indeed buy the second book, which was pretty good. It’s better than that lame vampire series of hers, for sure.
Trylle is the vampire one? I have that on my Kindle and was going to tackle it shortly :-/
Trylle is trolls. There’s another one that has vampires. I read that she hasn’t finished the series, and doesn’t know if she will.
Trolls! Oh, cool
Certainly will be reading this one soon then 
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