Renegades (Renegades Trilogy, #1)

by Marissa Meyer

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Readers know from The Lunar Chronicles and Heartless that Marissa Meyer is a master of writing fantasy.  In Renegades she proves she can also write superheroes and science fiction.  The book is somewhat of an inverse take on Steelheart (Brandon Sanderson), exploring what happens when humanity suddenly gains superpowers; in Steelheart, the villains take over the world, but in Renegades, the heroes win.  But the twist that really makes Renegades worth reading is that sometimes the heroes don’t seem to act like heroes at all.

Meyers books are interesting in that the plots tend to be painfully obvious, yet also imbues a level of nuance into her books that is frequently lacking in other young adult novels.  (Sorry, I love YA…but it’s true.)  In Renegades, she explore the idea that both the heroes and the villains may have valid philosophical viewpoints—and also briefly the fact that ordinary humans don’t seem to have much of a say in the new society at all.

The book is written in two points of view.  One is Nova’s, an Anarchist (“villain”) who has decided to infiltrate the ranks of the Renegades.  The other is Adrian’s, a Renegade (“hero”) through and through.  Meyer skillfully develops the characters in such a way that readers will find themselves sympathizing with both, and I have to admit my admiration for an author who can make me see the point of view of a character willing to plan the assassination of her society’s leader.

The plot, too, is interesting.  I have seen some reviews to the effect that Renegades is “slow paced” or even “boring,” which had me concerned before I started reading for myself.  Personally, I never thought the book was slow, and I enjoyed reading about Nova’s infiltration of her enemy’s ranks and the various missions she is assigned to—from both the Anarchists and the Renegades.

The tone of the book is different because it’s a take on superheroes rather than fairy tales, but overall I think Renegades stands up to Meyers’s previous work, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.