Pandemonium Enhanced Edition (Delirium Trilogy, #2)

by Lauren Oliver

Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don't.

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That's all you need to know. We'll let Lena do the rest of the talking . . .

• ISBN10: 0062200844
• ISBN13: 9780062200846
• Publish Date: 28 February 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

Lauren Oliver frustrates me. Not because her books are bad; quite the opposite, in fact. It's just that they're not as good as they could be. It's not even just that I feel like it's a waste of her obvious writing talent. It's that I KNOW she is capable of constructing a smart, unusually beautiful novel, because Before I Fall is exactly that.

Pandemonium was on track to be far, far better than Delirium, and Delirium wasn't even bad. It was a mixed bag, and I didn't adore it, but it was overall a solid book. Delirium seemed to take all the issues I had with Pandemonium and shove them out the window. Here was a book that focused on the society that wasn't described very richly in Delirium, that explored wider societal issues.

And then the ending happened.

That is why I can't possibly give Pandemonium five stars. That is why Lauren Oliver continues to frustrate me. The vast majority of Pandemonium was immensely interesting, with two intertwining storylines, rich description, and compelling, fully-realized characters. Lena continued to grow and develop, and I found her sympathetic and interesting - something that is rare in a lot of the YA dystopian I read. Raven was a fantastic character, because I never knew how to feel about her. She's tough and organized and true to herself, but I always got a strange feeling from her. Lauren Oliver is OBVIOUSLY a great writer - so the end disappointed me much, much more than it would have had she not proven time and time again that she is capable of so much more.

Pandemonium went full circle, back to the themes of Delirium. I mean, it's cool if you're into that, but I was so enjoying having a book that was NOT focused on the romance, and that gave a glimpse into a society without love. I will read the next book in the series, and I hope Oliver will prove me wrong. I really hope the love triangle situation she's set up won't be the focus of the next book, because that would be awfully disappointing.

[Kelsenator]

Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

When I first started this book, I was a bit confused. The chapters are increments of “now” and “then”. Then being just after she escaped at the end of the first book, and Now which tells of her living as a hidden Invalid in society. After a few chapters though, you catch on quickly, and I started to really like that format for telling the story.

I found that at the end of most of the chapters there would be almost mini-cliffhangers, then it would go to the other type of chapter instead of continue. It was a great way to get me hooked with what was currently happening and what happened before to get Lena in the current position.

For the Then, we find out how she survives in the Wilds, who she meets and how she starts to change. To become stronger, both physically and mentally, and deal with the fact that Alex is presumed dead and she will never see him again. It’s hard for her, but she has to do it.

The Now scenes, she is living in another city, pretending to be a regular student, who’s involved with the DFA (delirium free America) while she helps her group keep an eye on things. During a rally, there is an attack, and she gets kidnapped and locked in a room with Julian (who you will learn about in the book), and she doesn’t know how they will escape. But something else seems to be bothering her, and there are too many coincidences for her not to worry.

I really did enjoy this book, the first one was still my favourite, but this one did not disappoint. I’m really excited to see what happens in the next one, especially after that ending! I wasn’t expecting that last part at all.

Recommended for Dystopian fans!

[Amber]

Finished it in one sitting, AH!
----
Has everyone bought their copy? I hope so!

Pandemonium was, quite simply, BRILLIANT. I have been waiting for this book for an entire year and I have been dying to read it. I definitely wasn't disappointed, despite having expectations that were pretty much through the roof.

Lauren Oliver has written Pandemonium in a slightly different style to Delirium. The chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now", with the "Now" chapters taking place in a city and the "Then" chapters starting when Lena was running around in the wilderness after escaping her city in the previous novel.

I really liked the new style this book had going on. I don't think I've read a book that was set out quite like this, and I found that it enhanced the story by having non-stop action right from the beginning. I think the book would have been good if it had been written the usual way - from start to finish - but the alternating chapters gave us two different views on Lena and the other characters, as well as making sure there were no boring points in the novel, and it made Pandemonium FANTASTIC. Something was always happening, and my heart was almost jumping out of my chest through most of it.

Lena did annoy me, though. She thought about Alex a lot, which was understandable seeing as she lost him, but she also compared Julian to Alex CONSTANTLY and it got on my nerves. I wish she could have been able to see him for who he is instead of a comparison to Alex.

She also kept talking about love being a disease, and I was disappointed because after everything she had been through in Delirium - and everything she goes through in this novel - I would have thought the government's brainwashing would have worn off. I guess not, though. I hope to see some improvement with her views in the final book. Other than that, Lena was a strong character and watching her grow between "Then" and "Now" was beautiful to watch.

Julian is the new love interest, and I thought he was adorable. I won't say too much about who he is or what his role is in this novel, but I loved him.

The cliffhanger got to me. WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!?! Now I have to wait ANOTHER year for the third - and final - book in the trilogy. I'm dying to know what happens. I did see the ending coming, not because I read spoilers but because it was just something I was expecting to happen. However, there are several suprises in this novel that I wasn't expecting, and I was thoroughly impressed at how well Lauren Oliver hid these things from me.

As for if I enjoyed it more or less than Delirium, I really don't know. I think I like them both the same, some things I preferred in Delirium and other things I enjoyed more in Pandemonium. It's the same series, and I don't think it's necessary for me to compare the two. I loved them both so, so much! (I also love Before I Fall, Lauren's first novel, but that's besides the point. /book pushing).

Please go out and buy this book if you haven't already. I promise you will not regret it!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Pandemonium is book two in Lauren Oliver’s trilogy Delirium. Having recently finished book one, I was anxious to get my hands on this novel. Oliver delivered with Pandemonium and left me yet again craving more. She took me on an intense ride that had my palms sweating and my heart racing.

The novel picks up after Lena has been in the wilds, and the author cleverly takes us between then (her experiences in the Wilds since escaping) and now (what is currently happening to her). Oliver simplifies this by splitting the chapters between then and now. It was easy to follow, but a few times I felt like only reading now or vise versa when the plot became too intense.

In the chapters depicting then, we meet Raven,Tank and many more inlanders. Lena is injured and in a bad way at the beginning. Deep down she knows Alex is dead, but cannot admit this. Life is hard in the wilds, but Raven teaches Lena how to survive. Here we watch Lena mature, find her inner strength and grow into the character we see in now. The world that Oliver paints here is a tough and beautiful one. There is a beauty to the harsh landscape. The people are leaner, depend on each other and have made make shift communities. Despite how hard survival is in the wilds, Lena finds peace here. These people become her make shift family. I really liked these unique characters. Oliver made them each individuals and gave them voice.

The chapters that are dedicated to now are intense as Lena and the others assume identities within Manhattan, NY. They are following the movements of the DFA (a group that encourage young people to seek the Cure). At one of their rallies, Lena meets Julian, the son of the DFA leader. He is not yet cured, but is eighteen. Medical circumstances have prevented him from the procedure, but he tells the youth group he will have it done at the convention. Lena is told by Raven to keep an eye on Julian "no matter what" at the gathering in Times Square. Lena and Julian are captured by a protester group, and the tale that unfolds is fast paced, action packed and romantic. Together they must find a way to escape their captures. Julian begins to have feels for Lena and Lena for the first time feels alive. She has feelings for Julian, even though it feels like a betrayal to Alex. I found myself swept up in their story.

The tale that Oliver weaves between the then and now is spectacular. I couldn’t get enough and just when I thought things would work out, that we could all breathe a moment….Oliver drops a bomb shell on the last few pages and ends the book with a major cliffhanger. I was mad, but then I was excited, and then I was rushing to Goodreads to see when the next book will be available. I love when a book has me this engaged and I cannot wait to read the next book.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium is a captivating, dangerous revolutionary tale of forbidden love, overwhelming strength in the face of overwhelming odds, and one girl's fight against the resistance to discover who she is. It is a spectacularly written tale of love and heartbreak, the struggle against resistance, and the journey of discovering one's inner self. Oliver's novel packs a highly intense emotional punch that will hit you hard and land you. It's beautifully written and highly suspenseful, it will keep you flipping the pages until you reach the end, begging for more. Pandemonium does a wonderful job of showing just how dreadfully repressing one society can be and introduces questions that have their own unique way of nagging at your mind.

It is a strong compelling novel that continues the story where Delirium left off, building on strong vivid character development, introducing multi-complex layers added to the story already told, and imagery that lands you in the book right alongside the character's themselves feeling everything they're feeling and more. Lena has struggled with the decision to avoid having the government mandated treatment done and has chosen to become part of an Invalid community, where she has taken up ranks in fighting for a world where love is no longer considered to be a disease. She has truly transformed herself into a warrior, while having experienced the loss of Alex. She still persists and does it not only for herself and other's, but for him as well. I was truly amazed and inspired by how strong and beautiful and such a survivor, she has grown into. It's as if she's coming into her own, in a sense. I truly loved this stronger newer version of Lena, compared to the girl who couldn't quite take care of herself, was a bit on the insecure side of life, and was always so afraid most of the time. Of course, she still has her weaker moments, but for the most part this girl is a suvivor in every sense of the word. Lena has come quite a long way, since her days prior to escaping to the Wilds.

Oliver does a magnificent job of weaving new character's into the plot and showcasing the burdens a couple of them shoulder, which ends up coming to light later on in the book in such a heartbreaking and devastating way. As the next phase of this adventure continues to mount, new questions come to the forefront, some are asked and answered and some aren't. There are new plot twists and turns, that will leave you breathless in anticipation of more to come. And there at the heart of all of the fighting, the surviving, the resistance, beats the heart of love at its very core. The letting go and moving on to the learning to let love in once more. It's such a beautiful story, full of so many moments of heartbreak, love, loyalty, friendship, suvival, and a fight for the greater good. It's not the end of the story that stays with you, but the journey that's so compelling and touching that you can't help but want to fight alongside these wonderful character's.

If you thought Delirium made you cry, then Pandemonium will hit you where you'll really feel it and leave you reeling from the force of its blow. I am incredibly in love with how opposite Pandemonium is, when compared to Delirium. In all honesty though, I don't really think that you could compare the two, because I tend to think that they are two halves of a whole and you can't have one without the other. There is a balance there, between the two of them and a definite sense of growth. What Lauren Oliver did with Pandemonium is absolutely flawlness, in my opinion. Her prose is beautiful, the structure of the story, the imagery, the vivid character's with colorful personalities and strong complex thought provoking questions that arise. This is a book that you will absolutely not want to miss out, fans of The Hunger Games will definitely enjoy this wonderful dystopian trilogy.

[Jo]

As I write this review, I have literally just finished reading Pandemonium and I am completely reeling! It's incredible!

When I received my ARC for review, I didn't start reading immediately. I loved Delirium so much, I was worried about Pandemonium; what if it didn't match up? What if I didn't like it? Eventually, the other part of me demanding to know what happened next got too loud to ignore, so I picked it up, and... I don't really know what to say other than wow!

There isn't a huge amount I can say about the story of Pandemonium without spoiling it, because so much happens, but I'll do what I can. Pandemonium is written in alternating chapters of Now and Then; Then being what happened after Lena crossed the border into the Wilds, and Now being, well, several months after. It's almost like reading two stories. What's brilliant is that both stories are so exciting, that at various points in the book, you're desperate to read more Then rather than Now, and at other times the other way round. Sometimes, because there is Now, you worry less about Then as you know that whatever happens in the Then chapters, Lena gets to the point that starts as Now at the very beginning of the book. Yet at other times, it's almost like you forget that and need more Then. However, the story progressions of both are almost identical, so when you get to high emotional and dangerous points in one, you can be almost certain you'll be coming up to one in the other story. And it's fantastic!

The action has stepped up quite a bit in Pandemonium. It almost feels like Delirium, although absolutely incredible, was a set up book. Now we know pretty much everything about amor deliria nervosa and the cure, how Lena finds out it's actually amazing, realises her how life has been just so wrong, Pandemonium picks up with rebellion, because obviously, the cure can't be continually administered. But it's all baby steps. Then things start going badly wrong. Hence so much action it's incredible! Action-wise, I loved how although Lena thinks her way through things, uses what she's learnt and tries to plan, she hasn't suddenly become a soldier or warrior type. She's terrified, and still very much the Lena we know. She has doubts, she loses faith that things will work out at times, and feels powerless. She's a kick-ass heroine, but in a completely real way.

Despite all this, there are some beautiful, sweet moments, where Lena remembers what it is she's fighting for, and it's just wonderful. However, with all the action and danger and general crappyness of those who are in charge, there are the lows too. We discover more about what those in charge do that the general public doesn't know about, undercover and out of sight. There are some terribly sad moments that will bring tears to your eyes, and some terribly appalling moments that will leave you disgusted. But it will also make you think, as some of these things happen even in our own world, and shock you into realising just how awful we, the human race, can be.

As with any book written by Oliver, Pandemonium is written so beautifully! I have to say that I was so caught up in the actual story, that I'm sure I missed a fair amount of the beautiful writing as I didn't notice much. It will take me a second read to actually catch the almost poetic lines I missed, but those I did notice completely wowed me. As silly as it may sound, I came close to tears at some of Oliver's descriptions, they were so beautiful! The way this lady writes leaves me in complete awe!

There is a killer, killer cliffhanger, one that rivals that of Delirium, and I cannot believe Oliver has done it to us again! I am absolutely dying for Requiem! Oooh, it's going to be good, but I can't believe it will be the final book. It makes me so sad!

However, I have to mention the cover. I don't like it. I can't quite say why, it might be the colour, or the fact it doesn't seem to say anything about the book - though running is important for Lena in the book. It just doesn't do it for me. Just not a fan, really.

Overall, a fantastic book that asks the question, what would you give, what would you sacrifice, how much would you fight to be free to love?

From Once Upon a Bookcase - my book blog