Review: The Eden Trilogy #1: The Bane

Title: The Eden Trilogy #1: The Bane

Author: Keary Taylor

Date of Publication: March 5, 2013 (Originally March 1, 2011)

Formats Available: Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: Before the Evolution there was TorBane: technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter. It had the ability to grow new organs and limbs, to heal the world. Until it evolved out of control and spread like the common cold. The machine took over, the soul vanished, and the Bane were born. The Bane won't stop until every last person has been infected. With less than two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction.

Eve knows the stories of the Evolution, the time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. But she doesn't need memories to know this world is her reality. This is a world that is quickly losing its humanity, one Bane at a time.

Fighting to keep one of the last remaining human colonies alive, Eve finds herself torn between her dedication to the colony, and the discovery of love. There is Avian and West – one a soldier, one a keeper of secrets. And in the end, Eve will make a choice that will change the future of mankind.

My Review:

From page one I knew that The Bane was going to be an absolutely fantastic read. The first page instantly drew me in and by the end of the novel I was already eager to get my hands the on sequel. Keary has created a compelling world with a whole new spin on the world wide plague idea. With great world building, interesting characters, and a sprinkling of romance this novel had everything it needed to be a hugely entertaining read, and it did just that.

I absolutely adored the dystopian world that Keary created. The idea of technology combining with DNA to create a race of brain-dead monsters intent on infecting the whole world fascinated me and Keary executed the idea perfectly. The majority of the first half of the novel focused on the day to day workings of Eden and introducing the Bane; while it wasn't necessarily action packed Keary's writing kept it interesting and I loved learning about the world and immersing myself in the terrifying landscape the characters found themselves in. As the novel progressed the plot got more exciting and by the end of the novel I was absolutely riveted. The world building in this novel was absolutely fantastic, I felt like I was living there right along with the characters and I think that's half the reason I got as into the story as I did.

Eve was a great main character; I was intrigued by her past and I enjoyed her personality. She was tough without being heartless and I really admired her dedication to protecting Eden and everyone who lived there. The love triangle aspect was a little annoying and before long I got sick of Eve's constant back and forth and slightly whiny attitude between Avian and West but thankfully the fantastic plot distracted me a little from all that. Avian, without a doubt, was my other favorite character (there was never a question who I was rooting for in the love triangle), I always have a little bit more respect for boys who aren't afraid to cry or let their emotions show and unlike West Avian wasn't afraid to let his emotions show. West always had a bit of an untrustworthy air about him and I just didn't feel the connection with him that I felt with Avian.

The only reason this novel didn't get five stars from me was the love triangle. The wonderful plot and world building distracted me a bit from how annoying the love triangle was but that doesn't change the fact that it was there. A love triangle of epic proportions I was constantly waiting for Eve to finally make up her mind so we could get on with the actual romance instead of all the back and forth between Avian and West. I felt like the love triangle took up a bigger part of the novel than it should have and, while fairly well done, I feel like the novel would have been stronger if the love triangle hadn't stolen so much of the spotlight. The only other complaint I would have was the few typos in the novel, while they weren't hugely noticeable and didn't make the novel hard to read they were just a little annoying and made the novel feel a little less professional than it deserved.

Even though I was a little irritated by the love triangle I still definitely recommend The Bane to fans of dystopian and post apocalyptic settings. Readers who dislike love triangles (like me) may be a little put off at first but I'm happy I stuck it out, besides the love triangle is over now and I have a feeling the next books in the series will be just as great as this one!

4/5

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.