Project Nemesis series by Brendan Reichs
Happy New Year! After my unplanned hiatus in December is time to get back into blogging again. And since I’m still catching up with all the book reviews I never got to do last year, this one comes at a special time. One year ago, I got introduced to the Project Nemesis series by Brendan Reichs. It was part of my first reading experiment, and I had no idea the journey it would put me through. I wasn’t even supposed to finish the series. Although I never had a reading experience like this, hence I’m writing this post.
The Project Nemesis by Brendan Reichs is a three-book post-apocalyptic YA series. The story is told from two points of view, Min and Noah, which share something awful. Since their 8th birthday, and every couple of years, they are brutally murdered and come back alive the next day as if nothing has happened. This seems more like the start of a fantasy series than sci-fi, but I promise there is nothing magical about this strange birthday “present”.
Book 1 – Nemesis
Publication year: 2017 Length: 13 hours 10 minutes Pace: Slow to Medium Story focus: Character
It all kicks off with Min dying once again on her birthday. No matter how many times happens, it’s always terrifying. But this time, she is determined it will be the last. As she embarks on a mission to figure out what is happening to her, the little town of Fire Lake is suddenly flooded with the military. An asteroid is coming to Earth and promises to wipe out every single life.
A lot starts to happen as the story starts to unravel. When Min begins to uncover her inexplicable deaths, the panic created by the asteroid takes over. And then, the characters start focusing on what the military is doing in town. Although all the mysteries aren’t explored by the characters. They have a lack of adventurous spirit. They talk about going out to find answers but never actually doing anything. There were a lot of whys, but they didn’t go out to answer them. And most, if not all, of the answers we (the reader) get, are because other characters share that information, not because the protagonists went out to find them.
The lack of initiative was one reason that I didn’t enjoy this book. I read over 400 pages of characters vocalising the same questions I had. And when I wanted them to go out and explore, something else would distract them. Now, I know why so much information was kept from the reader and the characters. Those answers are slowly revealed as the story moves along in the other books. And giving away any bit of information would affect the plot twists later. Although I would appreciate the book more if the lack of information wouldn’t interfere with the adventure part of the story.
Even after reading the whole series, I don’t find Nemesis to be a good reading experience. Clearly, the book exists only to set the scene, introduce the characters, have time to delve into their past and explain the two main problems: Min and Noah’s deaths and the life-threatening asteroid. The story is character-focus and moves to a medium to slow pace. There isn’t much action other than the last few pages when everything goes crazy. The book isn’t supposed to be high-action or mind-blowing. The objective is to lay down the cards for what will come next. It’s a book that needs a continuation to make the story worth something.
Book 2 – Genesis
Publication year: 2018 Length: 15 hours 28 minutes Pace: Medium Story focus: Character and Plot
Genesis begins where Nemesis left off. The story starts after the disaster has struck Earth. The teenagers all wake up in a deserted Fire Lake and have to figure out how to live together and understand what is happening to them and where everyone else went. I’m not going to dive into more detail because I want this three-bundle review to be spoiler free. Instead, let’s focus on how it compares with the first one.
The lack of action in Nemesis is now mended in the second one. More questions are answered, even though they weren’t my cup of tea. The plot falls into a sci-fi theme I’m learning I don’t like. A sort of resolution to a problem that doesn’t satisfy me. So I wasn’t having much luck with this series. If it wasn’t the characters, it was the plot. Although I still enjoyed reading Genesis more.
As the characters uncovered secrets, they began creating moral discussions. The characters were changing and growing in the face of the adversities they were dealing with, especially with each other. More secondary characters were brought to the plot, which became a little overwhelming to keep track of everyone. But it was more interesting to read, and the characters didn’t feel so static. It felt like there was a plot from start to finish, even though the story wasn’t done yet. There was a sensation of finality to the plot, while book three would be a new adventure.
Book 3 – Chrysalis
Publication year: 2019 Length: 11 hours 23 minutes Pace: Fast Story focus: Plot
When I opened Chrysalis, I was expecting a new adventure. All the questions left unanswered in Nemesis have been answered in Genesis. So at first glance, there wasn’t much more to explore from that plot line. That story was finished, the murderous birthdays explained, the asteroid was dealt with, and Chrysalis was going to be something new. Kind of the story of the aftermath. Although, this isn’t true.
When the story starts to develop, it begins exposing new secrets, new information about Project Nemesis never discovered before. It was one surprise after another. When I thought I understood the plot, there was a curve ball that would shatter what I already knew. And as the story kept spilling out the true intention of Project Nemesis, I loved it more each time.
The book was the culmination of everything. Of what I didn’t like in the other two books. Of the relationships between the characters. Of the different plots and tropes. And all coming together in a satisfying thriller finale.
I was expecting to read a book like The 100 by Kass Morgan, but instead got something like 2001: Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clark. And that is revealing a lot! It was the book I enjoyed the most, and it was worth it to go through the other two books in order to reach this one. All the secrets, the half answers, and the mystery was needed for the story to have these revelations. For the ending to be this amazing.
Project Nemesis as a whole
One thing I find interesting is how each book takes after a sub-genre of sci-fi. Nemesis falls into the apocalyptic genre since it revolves around the moment leading up to the end of the world without going past it. Genesis, on the other hand, takes the virtual reality sub-genre. Two very different routes. And then Chrysalis does another 180-degree turn to the space opera sub-genre. They are all so different and take on a plot in each book that looks disconnected, but they blend beautifully in the end. And this is one of the things I find so unique about this series.
Looking at series like Divergent by Veronica Roth or the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, they stay in the same sub-genre for every book. It revolves around this one focal point: a dystopian world. And everything that happens is related to the world. It’s a response or a consequence, but it’s always connected to the same point. With Project Nemesis, there isn’t necessarily one single point that provokes the reaction of the characters. There is something in common, the Project Nemesis, but that is something unknown to the characters and the reader. And so the characters react to the challenges they are facing, at the moment, which change for every book. And those challenges represent the different sub-genres.
Chrysalis was a book to tie everything together. To justify a slower development, the secrets and the questions unanswered. Even though Nemesis and Genesis could be merged into one book to have a plot from start to finish, the story would never be as good as it is without Chrysalis. I would even go as far as saying that this might be even better as one single book instead of a story sliced in three. I imagine myself reading a 1000 pages adventure with all these sub-genres showing up at different times. After all, this is a continuous journey, and the story’s climax only happens in the last book.
Just thinking how close I was to abandoning the series and missing all the fun and adventure gives me shivers. There are so many twists and turns that, little by little, made the story progressively much better. I would never have guessed the path it would take on each book, but I knew some directions would improve my enjoyment more than others. Luckily, in the end, it overcame my expectations. This was a story that started weakly but became phenomenal.
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