[Blog Tour: Review] Persistence of Vision by Liesel K. Hill

Title: Persistence of Vision
Author: Liesel K. Hill
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Published by: Tate Publishing

In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

THOUGHTS:

I've read my fair share of New Adult novels over the past few months, but this is the first New Adult novel I've come across that doesn't adhere to contemporary sub-genre. Upon reading the blurb, I knew that I had to read this book - I love stories with Sci-Fi aspects, and I felt that the time has come for me to explore other novels under the general umbrella of New Adult. And let me tell you - I don't regret reading this novel one bit!

This is not your average dystopian read - as a matter of fact, I'd have to say that I consider this novel to be more Sci-Fi in nature. Readers are introduced to concepts (some truly exist and while some were invented by Hill) that are very scientific, and I was truly awed at how apparent it was that Hill paid due attention to the most infinitesimal of details while writing this novel. Everything was meticulously researched - no random terms were thrown around haphazardly - and every piece of information had its purpose towards the general plotline. Moreover, I didn't come across any plot holes (and we all know that plot holes are rather difficult to escape in dystopian and Sci-Fi novels), and simply put, I'm impressed at how polished and tightly edited this novel was.

The first few chapters were jam-packed with vital information in regards to the world created by Hill, and I suggest that the readers pace themselves to absorb as much as they can. Through everything is explained in a manner that is easy to understand - we relearn things with Maggie as she struggles to recuperate through her time loss - my brain did end up screaming 'information overload' a few times. It actually took me a while to get through the first few parts of the book because there was just too much to learn! Also, because the first part of the story deals with Hill establishing her world and her characters, the pacing is a little slow, but don't let that discourage you - once Maggie accepted her role in the grand scope of things, the story picks up, and you're in for one heck of a ride.

I do wish we could have had known more about the characters though. Obviously, I ended up knowing quite a lot about Maggie since we're in her head most of the time, but the other characters are all the more intriguing, and I think they haven't been explored enough. While I did appreciate that we relearned things with Maggie, I truly wish we could have had the chance to see the POVs of some of the secondary characters. (Can I just mention how cool some of their abilities are? I don't want to spoil things so I won't state what those abilities are exactly, but they're really amazing!) Moreover, I loved how they cared so much about Maggie, and yet at the same time, it was obvious to me that they were hiding something from her and I have to know what that is!

Plotwise, this novel is wholly original. I haven't read anything that is remotely close to what this book brings to the table, and I honestly found myself agog at some of the things that happened throughout the course of the novel. Moreover, I found it incredible that Hill managed to tie together a multitude of different aspects to create an engrossing read, and I can't wait to see what else Hill has in store for her readers in the succeeding sequels!

Rating: 4 Stars