The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

The Swan Riders (Prisoners of Peace, #2)

by Erin Bow

Greta Stuart had always known her future: die young. She was her country's crown princess, and also its hostage, destined to be the first casualty in an inevitable war.  But when the war came it broke all the rules, and Greta forged a different path.

She is no longer princess. No longer hostage. No longer human. Greta Stuart has become an AI.

If she can survive the transition, Greta will earn a place alongside Talis, the AI who rules the world.  Talis is a big believer in peace through superior firepower.  But some problems are too personal to obliterate from orbit, and for those there are the Swan Riders:  a small band of humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.

Now two of the Swan Riders are escorting Talis and Greta across post-apocalyptic Saskatchewan. But Greta’s fate has stirred her nation into open rebellion, and the dry grassland may hide insurgents who want to rescue her – or see her killed. Including Elian, the boy she saved—the boy who wants to change the world, with a knife if necessary.   Even the infinitely loyal Swan Riders may not be everything they seem.

Greta’s fate—and the fate of her world—are balanced on the edge of a knife in this smart, sly, electrifying adventure

Reviewed by Chelsea on

3 of 5 stars

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*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

What I Loved

This is a series that I want to like SO BADLY and I think that’s messing with my thoughts a bit. I really love the concept of this book. Not many dystopia books have AI in them. I think it’s really cool that computers could take over the world (I mean realistically they won’t but it’s cool). I love that there’s basically this super computer guy who riles the entire world. I think it’s also really cool how he rules with fear. People are terrified he’s going to bomb their cities so they mostly stay in line.

My favourite part of this book was Talis. He’s the super computer guy I was talking to you about. He kind of acts like a human, if a human was super smart and had no emotions. I love how sarcastic he is and I think it’s hilarious. Greta isn’t bad for a character either. She’s strong but can be really stupid sometimes. In this book she’s transitioning from human to computer (I don’t understand it either) so she’s a little messed up. We see her old personality from the previous book as well as a new personality from being all knowing.

What I Didn't Love

This would be a much better books if I could understand anything that’s happening at any point. Seriously though. I don’t know how people understand what’s going on. Or maybe they don’t but that doesn’t bother them as much as it does me. It drives me crazy when I don’t get something. The biggest point I couldn’t wrap my head around was that somehow humans became AI. There was some kind of surgery and BAM, they’re no longer human. They often have some human characteristics but they’re basically a human/computer mix. I think? I don’t really know. That’s the biggest thing that bothered me. I just didn’t understand the concept even though it’s a cool one.

Also the swan riders are humans but they have some kind of computer embedded into them so that an AI can “borrow” their body. It’s very strange but cool though, once again, I don’t understand how it works. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I need to understand how something could possibly work. When something doesn’t make sense it’s all I can focus on. This was a good book but I just felt lost most of the time and could have used with some more blunt descriptions.

Who I'd Recommend To

This is a book I’d recommend to people who are looking for something different. It’s not all that similar to anything I’ve read before. It’s a dystopia book but there’s actually a lot of science in here (without being too scientific) and I think there’s a lot of really interesting things happening.

See the full review at Books for Thought

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 September, 2016: Finished reading
  • 8 September, 2016: Reviewed