Ashley Brooke's Reviews > Wired

Wired by Robin Wasserman
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it was ok

Can we get some closure please? And maybe a less confusing ending? Possibly a bit of romance? And let's not end this trilogy like it's being followed by another book, unless you really ARE following it up with another book.

Sorry, this book really let me down.

Big Review:
Lia Kahn is a mech-- a machine with memories and feelings of the deceased Lia Kahn. 'Wired' is the third book in a trilogy that follows her, her family, and mech friends as they learn if peace can really be had between orgs and mechs.

Okay, folks, if the 2/5 star rating didn't tell you, I'm not a fan of 'Wired'. I was on board with her first two titles and typically recommend them for those looking for good sci-fi. This book, however, not so much. There are low points and very few high points in 'Wired'.

Let's start with the high points, shall we? 'Wired' showcased a lot of Zo, Lia's 'org' sister. We've seen the relationship crumble in the earlier books and it was nice to see the sisters rebuild their bonds. Their banter back and forth was cute, especially when Jude was involved.

Jude is the other high point of the novel, and for no other reason than I've always found him a bit intriguing. He's the Han Solo character who you have to root for, even if he's a scoundrel.

Now onto the shortcomings... And boy were there shortcomings! The main problem is the writing. Lia's voice has always been a bit hard to follow, but this was way worse. Conversations were hard to follow and action was just confusing. So many new plot elements were introduced, only to be left open-ended and unfinished.

Even the main story of this novel and this series was pretty poorly executed. I understand cliff hanger endings when you're reading the first or second book in a trilogy, but if you are finishing the story, never visiting that world again, why not at least resolve the main storyline? Preferably in a way that isn't completely confusing to the reader. I kid you not, I had a lot of trouble following the last few chapters. I still don't know what exactly happened to Lia. If you have any idea's, please leave them here, because I'd like to know.

This whole novel rubbed me the wrong way. I expected something that would wrap up Lia's story, but got a whole lot of crazy plot lines and no real conclusion. It felt a lot like the third book in a four book series.

I would NOT recommend this unless you have read the first two books and feel you need to finish the series. And what does that mean for me recommending the series to new readers? I don't know. Maybe I still will, maybe I won't. I really hope Wasserman is considering writing a companion following two specific characters (you'll know who if you read 'Wired') and left this book without much conclusion because of that. Even as I think about that, though, I might be hard pressed to pick up another novel in this series...

This book was just highly disappointing.
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Reading Progress

May 29, 2010 – Shelved
October 18, 2010 – Started Reading
October 20, 2010 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)

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Melyssa what do you think so far?


Ashley Brooke Not a huge fan Melyssa, as you can see by my mini rant. I liked the series premise and really wanted this to be good, but the writing was so-so and confusing and the story was so open-ended!!! I'm still confused by the last chapter.


Melyssa I completely agree. Completely. There was absolutely no closure. I felt like half the time I didn't know who was speaking and what was happening... The last chapter sucked big ones... I actually finished it in a class and slammed it down on the table and had to catch myself before I yelled out. It's like she was so rushed in finishing it that she just left exposed wiring. Pun intended...


Ashley Brooke SPOILERS--- DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS-----


I felt the same way after staying up a few nights to read it. It was almost a complete waste of time.

So, in your mind, what did Lia turn into at the end? Did she enter the main computer database? That's how I read it. I could be completely off, though. Like I said, she lost me. I feel really bad for Jude and Zo, especially Jude. The only thing that I liked about this novel was that we got to really see Zo's change of heart.

SPOILER OVER


Melyssa ANOTHER SPOILER COMIN' YOUR WAY! (Haha)

I really enjoyed seeing Zo for who she really was... I thought that Jude would finally get what he wanted: Lia. Which isn't fair by the way... Jude totally loved her. I could see it from the beginning... And I think that Lia became the computer in the end. But see... that's where I could be wrong. Haha. Who knows what the author was wanting us to get from the train-wreck of a last chapter.


Ashley Brooke SPOILERS-- You've Been Warned

At least we both have similar ideas on the end! I agree, Jude was totally gypped. Someone deserved to live happily ever after, for goodness sake (and I wanted that to be Jude and Lia)!!!

SPOILERS OVER


Melyssa Me too! :\ So sad... Maybe she meant it to end that way so she could set it up for another... And for a second I thought it was going to be a pairing of Jude and Zo. Only for a split second though... ;)


Ashley Brooke I had that whole Jude/Zo thought, too, at the end. But I don't think Jude would stoop to falling for an org, even if she looks just like Lia.


Kimberly SPOILERS AHEAD! :)

I have never been so appalled or utterly disappointed with the ending of a book series in my entire life. Skinned and Crashed were easily two of my favourite novels, and Wired ruined the entire trilogy for me. I couldn't agree with your rant more.

Regarding the last chapter, which couldn't possibly have been more ambiguous, I have a slightly different view than the ones you two have mentioned. I do agree that in the end she was most definitely in the main computer, but I don't believe that it was permanent. Since she was still conscious and aware of where she was and what she was doing, I believe they still had her data, and therefore her "self" stored somewhere. I think the conversation that Jude and Lia had earlier in regards to Riley's data still being intact was included as somewhat of an answer to the ending of the book. They discussed whether they thought he would be alert or in pain while in the database, and their questions were never resolved in that conversation. But in the end of this chapter, Lia, too, was obviously stored in a computer, just like Riley was. So, as dubious as the ending was, I believe that Lia was still intended to be alive as well. I suppose that Robin Wasserman left it up to the reader to decide whether or not she would get downloaded into a new body.

Regarding the lack of any real romance, I once again agree with you. The only inkling at any kind of romance that the readers got was the occasional mention of the "sex" that Riley and Lia had, or the occasional hug and kiss exchanged between the two. The trilogy was truly disappointing in that department, but the story still managed to captivate me to a certain degree without it. The tension in the third novel between Jude and Lia after Riley "died," however, absolutely tortured me. They should have ended up together

I suppose with an ending such as this, though, we can imagine that Lia got downloaded into another body and her and Jude lived happily ever after. Tada!


Melyssa Tada! That's RIGHT! She better have gotten downloaded... That's it! I've made up my mind that's what happened... :)


Ashley Brooke SPOILERS! WHAT'S NEW?

Welcome to the conversation, Kimberly! I'm with you-- deciding Lia got downloaded into a new body. (I just wish the author had told us!!!!!)

With the romance, the problem I had most was that, as you pointed out, there were so many moments between Jude and Lia that just stopped. I wanted them to at least confess their undying love for each other or something. (I don't know if Riley fans would go for that-- I didn't really like Riley in this book, though.)

I agree you don't need a hard-core romance for sci-fi novels to be fantastic... Look at Enders Game and Enders Shadow! But I think this once called for more than we got!


message 12: by Roseanne (last edited Dec 01, 2010 04:51PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Roseanne I completely disagree with the end of Wired. It's so ... dumb. the writing style changes... it almost read like poetry instead the end of a book (like it should have been)

Spoilers: ******************************************************

I also believe that Lia uploaded into the server, not a computer.... because she sees out of every computer connected to that server. She's everywhere and nowhere. She sees her loved ones looking on her shot up mech body. It hurts to see this but she's now got the power to control it. Everything feeds through the internet in this world. Now she is the internet. This made the cover make sense "She is the Future" --- but, please. What's the point of all the story about murder and family and humanity if in one short chapter everything is fixed by a power fix.

This would be an awesome prelude to another book, but sucks as a last chapter... being sucked into a server hardly ties up all the loose ends ...

I stared, reread and stared and reread that last disastrous chapter... I even docked my review by one full star because of that dumb-*** chapter.


Bridget Being totally honest, I felt the entire series except for the last chapter was utterly unmemorable, but because of the ending, I still think about it. Lia's transcendence was sort of inevitable considering her immortality and sort of the ultimate happy ending. Humans would never accept her, and she just had to accept her expansion beyond humanity. By the end, she had come to herself and come into her full power - she notes herself that no one can hurt her now and she can do anything she wants. This is the best!


Dharshini Anushya Totally agreeing with you 💯


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