EDIT: 7/16/2015 - Guess that 5 star rating was worth it - 3 reads in 3 years. Reading t again so I'm super fresh for the final installment.


EDIT 3/28/14 - I was horrified to discover that I hadn't purchased this book for my Kindle but had only borrowed it from the Kindle Lenders list. I've rectified that lack, gotten the audiobook and have pre-ordered the sequel, Blightborn as well.

EDIT 10/21/13 - I am now thinking that I should have given this book 5 stars and am changing my rating. Why? Because I cannot get it out of my head! I keep wondering about the next installment and going to see if there is any info on it. I read this book in August and now--in October--I'm still as anxious to get my hands on some more. Thats a great feeling and perfect example on how much the book affected me.

Message to [a:Chuck Wendig|17152|Chuck Wendig|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1294919586p2/17152.jpg]---pleeeeease offer some info on Book 2
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This book was quite good and I added the series to my auto-buy list. For those who tried to compare this to The Hunger games--I ain't buying it. The only similarities IMO are YA and dystopian.

The Hunger Games didn't have the cruelty, darkness or desperation in this book. And the POV shifts were smoothly done.

I am more than eager for the next books in this series. Well done Mr. Wendig. ( )

The earth has been taken over by non-edible genetically-modified crops and, the elite live in flotillas in the sky while the farmers toil away in the fields. On the ground, amidst pollen storms, The Blight and, aggressive corn— Cael and his family & friends struggle against the system (The Empyrean) to survive. Taken to scavenging, Cael and his crew discover an unsanctioned garden out in the fields and the impossible starts to look possible... The settings, characters and plot points are all sketched in; but seem to lack full development or color, which in turn enervates the action or drama of any given scene. Overall, a bit of a disappointment if you're looking for something dark or edgy (cf 'Blackbirds' (Miriam Black #1)). ( )

Apparently Chuck Wendig has written a lot of books, including a lot of books about writing that I've seen recommended various places. Before checking out what he had to say about writing, I thought I'd check out his fiction, and I picked this up when the Kindle version popped up in my Amazon recommendations.

I'm a little conflicted by this one. On the one hand, Wendig has built one heck of a nasty dystopia out of the widening gulf between the very rich and everyone else, GMOs gone wild, and the dominance of corn in Midwestern farming. While it's a bit implausible, it's sure a great place for a story. And the story that starts here is an interesting one, with rival faction leaders competing for the same love interest, treachery and dirty dealings, a mysterious discovery, and more.

The problem for me is that the main character, Cael McAvoy, is a complete jerk. He's hotheaded, rude, pushy, demanding, selfish, arrogant, and a whiner to boot. Sure, he takes care of his seriously ill mother, but he's grumpy about it. In other words, he's a stereotypical surly teenager. If Cael has a single redeeming feature, it's not obviously apparent.

So, while I'm happy to read a story set in this world, I'm not excited to be reading a story about this character. In fact, I might have set the book down unfinished, except that the folks Cael is surrounded by are interesting and sympathetic, and I found myself caring what happens to them, especially when Cael pushes them around and browbeats them into following his crazy, dangerous, and/or stupid plans. I imagine I will continue to read the series, but I'm not exactly looking forward to the experience, if that makes sense.
( )

This is a pretty cool mix between rural farmer YA life and a wickedly evil genetic nightmare of a world with a richer world floating above them. I mean, sure, it's about friendship and rivalries and getting on rickety hoverboats and avoiding the specter of genetic mutations deep in the plants that start turning people into walking cornfields.

Details. It's all in the details. :)

The YA stuff was certainly competent even if I'm not all about the rural farmland stuff. I really, really loved the horror elements, however. The worldbuilding made the craziest stuff fairly commonplace and it really set me on edge. :) A lot of WTF moments that I loved.

Other than that, we hardly got any page-time with the OTHER folks in the sky, but I get the feeling we're gonna. Especially now that everything in Cael's life has gone to hell. :) ( )

This is book one of the Heartland trilogy.

I’ve finally obtained, and read, a book one of a Chuck Wendig series.

yesssssssssss

But in all seriousness, my ongoing battle with Barnes & Noble, Chuck Wendig, and my propensity for obtaining book threes in trilogies has been the topic of some discussion on both here and my Twitter for a while now. I’ve spoken to Chuck about it. We’ve discussed ways of getting me books, to the point where he had my address for a while so we could location triangulate or some such. (I assume that’s what it was, at least. Chuck, please don’t come kill me.)

I finally found some good copies of the first two books for the Heartland trilogy, as well as the Miriam Black books, so look forward to way too much Wendig on my blog. So it’s with great joy that I finally get to talk about these books.

UNDER THE EMPYREAN SKY is everything a book one should be. We meet the characters–we learn who to love and who to hate–we learn the rules of the world. And then everything gets thrown on its head. (Of course.) We grow attached to Cael, Lane, Rigo, and Gwennie; we know well enough that Boyland and his crew are junk. We hear about the sentient(?) and ill-mannered “corn” crop that now owns the land: Hiram’s Golden Prolific. Not to mention the flotillas above, where the rich and prosperous live and send naught but refuse down to the people below.

And then comes Obligation Day – the day on which all eligible young adults are sworn to their partners. Then the food, the dust storm, Cael’s mother. A thousand little events that I don’t want to give away for fear of taking away any moment of wonder as this all unfolds. Slowly but surely, Cael realizes how much more there is to the world–and to the people he knows–than he could have ever imagined.

Even the book jacket itself is vague, and for once I’m glad of it. There’s just enough to pull you in, and then (like Cael) we start to find the layers of the world for ourselves.

And then the end of the book comes, and you are hanging off one hell of a cliff. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so happy to know that I owned the whole series, because there was NO way I could leave Cael where he was at the end of the book. Some may complain that most of the twists and turns are predictable–and I won’t argue that fact. What makes that worth it for me is that even when I know it’s going to happen, I still want to see the characters get there, and find out how they react.

It’s entertaining seeing Wendig’s writing from either side of the published page, because it’s both so very similar and not in the slightest the same. Chuck makes no apologies for his language; his blog is publicly noted as Not Safe for Work, and probably Not Safe for Life. He knows how to use the language though, profane or not, and he’s hysterical as often as he is helpful. And while you see the flavor of the humor come through in Cael and his friends, I never had any trouble keeping the voices separate in my head. This is not always the case, I’ve found, much to my dismay.

So I can safely give this one of my highest compliments: I’m attempting to ration myself and read a different book in-between each of the Heartland books. …and it’s proving very difficult. Bravo, Mr. Wendig.

Rating: **** (Recommended) ( )