24. A Little Untrusting

The book:  Push (The Game #2)
The author:  Eve Silver
The rating:  4.5 stars

This has very little relevance to the following review, but the entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't get "Push" by Matchbox Twenty out of head.  M'kay, moving right along...

I know that I've complained about Middle Novel Syndrome a lot in the past, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Push was just as good as its predecessor - I'd go so far as to argue that it was a bit better.  Miki's 'real world' life felt a bit less one-dimensional, there was nary a mention of the love triangle that had plagued the first novel, and the pacing was superb.  When reading novels on my eReader, I have a habit of checking every couple of minutes to see what percent of the book I've completed thus far, but I was so utterly engrossed in Push that it came as a complete surprise when I turned the last page to find that there weren't any chapters left.  The cliffhanger ending was the perfect level of satisfaction and mystery, leaving me without a doubt in my mind that I will be diving into the next book in the series the moment it hits shelves.  Quite frankly, after Rush I had expected the series to be of the 'And then...' variety, but Silver is weaving one coherent story.  Despite my once having called Rush 'empty calories,' it is becoming more and more apparent that The Game is a full-bodied and unique series (although again, if Crash pulls an Ender's Game twist, I'm going to have to apply some heavy penalties in the uniqueness department).

Hopefully this doesn't come across as a tad sadistic, but one of my favourite plot elements is when something awful happens to one of the protagonists and we get the chance to see the reactions of the other characters; I feel that it allows us to see inside a character or a relationship so much better.  I'm not talking about the ending of Allegiant, but moreso our hero going missing, or getting amnesia, or suffering from a Heroic BSOD.  I suppose it's just a specific type of dramatic irony, but done well, it can be a huge helper in selling me on a relationship, and that was the case in Push.  Jackson's disappearance from the end of Rush isn't immediately resolved, and Miki's thoughts and actions in relation to his absence allowed me to become much more invested in their relationship than I otherwise might.  At times, their touchy-feely courtship did rub me the wrong way, but due to the solid foundation that had been thus established, it wasn't unbearable.

As to the plot itself, given the fact that the story is well-spread across the installments, I think I'll have to read Crash before I'll be able to make a judgement.  The story has potential - the groundwork has been laid - but I have the feeling that The Game is one of those series where the conclusion will make or break everything that has come before.  A bad ending makes the setup trite, overdetailed, and ham-handed.  An amazing ending, on the other hand... well, I guess just time will tell.