Who has been following my reviews knows I have a hard time resisting anything that slightly resembles a nice Dystopian story, so The City Centre obviously made its way to my shelves when it was a freebie on Amazon. On the one hand it is great that there is so much to choose from in the genre, but it also becomes increasingly clear just how difficult it is to stay even remotely original when writing these stories.
The main character is special, of course. Not only has she an important role in the City, as she is the leading candidate to become Queen for the next 18 years, she is also the only one who has the feeling that some things are off in the otherwise completely nice and 'beautified' City. So, it is not surprising that a rebel happens to meet her and teaches her how seriously the system is she has been living in. Subsequently, you've guessed it, it is her who has to take it down. Oh, and why do all these books have to 'retire' people with promises of splendor while it is obvious from the start that they are going to be killed/mistreated?
The one thing that did stand out was that there were no pretentious that is was an Utopian community. It is clear from the beginning that everyone and everything surrounds and supports the Royal Court. It made me wonder why they even designed some of the lower classes at all. It was a quick read and it was also quite enjoyable, but it was also so predictable that I'm not sure I would pick up the next book.
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