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 better than the first! Jun 18, 2009
I really enjoyed this novel...even more than THE TAKERS which was great too. don't hesitate to go get these novels...its a great series unlike anything I've ever read before!
 Ok sequel Jun 18, 2008
After finishing The Takers I was in dire need to read this book, the 2nd in the series. However, I didn't care for this one as much. I had trouble following this book and then ending left me wondering just what in the world was going on. However, it's not a bad book. It plays into this series perfectly. To me, Delon City felt much darker and had more gore than The Takers. And the mystery side of it had me too confused. However, if you loved The Takers you MUST read this book and the next one (The Pure) as well. If you started with this book and are lost, read The Takers, this isn't the kind of series you can read out of order.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Time to kill? Mar 24, 2008
I loved this book.
People can love F. Scott Fitzgerald, as our sacrificial friend Pepper Sands does, or people can love Stephen King, as Oz seems interested in The Stand, but it's rare you can talk about the two on the same page. King usually gets the credit for the hooks and suspense. Fitzgerald typically gets the credit for the incredible grasp of the interworkings of human psychology in interpersonal relationships. Ridley's nailed them both.
Delon City is a reader's pleasure and an academic's dream. Lines like "Yeah, people say things" (Oz, 57), "Cruelty is the heartbeat of nature" and "You spend too much time denying your true nature"(Delon Roy, 64), and "You can't escape the collective" (Delon Roy, 192), all jump out of the context of the story to let us examine deeply complicated aspects of human nature. Why do people say things? Why are we so cruel - and should we be OK with it? Why do we put on the faces we do - what's it get us when the world forces us to be honest? Have we become such collectivists - an Ayn Rand nightmare on American soil - that we can't escape our own creation? The pages are, also, soaked in adolescent insecurity, and the reader stands between two mirrors reflecting each other as Oz literally falls to the confusion about his place in the world while battling Dali-esque time and possible insanity. While Ridley wins awards for adolescent literature, he continues to tell tales of humanity that adults should seriously examine.
But there are so many layers. While time drips like a clock on a branch, Oz discovers there are no good and bad guys, there are only various people struggling for power. Questions raised by Oz's assumption that the Takers have a "duty as a creature of the night" and Newell's reliance on the way things have been "written" force a reader to go way beyond the action of the tale and consider the most essential philosophical questions about God, fate, and time. Here the Delons, though any of the other seven races of monsters work metaphorically as well, remind us simply that the illusion of power is that it's not eternal. It's not complete. Humanity may not be on top forever, and that's much more serious than purple monsters with spidery dread locks. Plus, the lack of a definite ending comes as existentially perfect for all of these motifs to work themselves together and create the truths that are in the tale.
The Greeks used myth to explain existence. Delon City gives modern readers a fun read while allowing them to question their existence and find their own paths, their own purpose, and their own true selves in a world that, all too often, offers no answers, confusion, and cruel monsters.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
R.W. Ridley continues to deliver with Delon City!! Apr 09, 2007
What can I say but WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel, The Takers, but this new installment to the OZ Chronicles takes the horrifying action to new depths of complexity. I flew threw this novel...it just begs to be read. Without giving away any of the wonderful surprises you'll find in the book, let me just say, "The most tragic revelation was finding myself on the last page with a cliffhanger and realizing I'll have to wait for book 3 to get back into this awesome story!"--James Somers, Author: The Chronicles of Soone: "Heir to the King", and "The Rise of Lucin."
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Surprise Ending Feb 02, 2007
Another great one by R.W. Ridley. The characters draw you in and the imagery is amazingly creative. (Talk about taking a little sister to the extreme!) And the story will definitely keep you guessing. Can't wait for book 3!
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