Chosen Ones is the first adult fiction novel from Veronica Roth of Divergent fame. That said, it feels very YA. It’s sort of an Avengers/X-Men type of story that also includes magic and ultimately is a coming of age story for one character. I didn’t love it as there are some problems with it, but I also enjoyed parts of it so I have a mixed review here.
Chosen Ones has a lot of really interesting ideas within it. The story begins at the 10 year anniversary of when the “Chosen Ones” defeated the “Dark One,” an evil magical being. The story feels taken right from Marvel in many ways. I mean, a group with various abilities assembles to defeat an enemy? Yes we’ve seen it before. But, since this all takes place 10 years LATER, it begins with an exploration of the aftermath of those events and that is an interesting twist. We are introduced to characters who are still struggling, even 10 years later, to grapple with what they lost. PTSD, addiction, and interesting reactions to fame are explored. The story is told in third person yet focuses entirely on Sloane, which made the narrative voice choice an odd one. I think this would have all been a lot more convincing if it was just told from her POV. Sloane is cynical, abrasive, and doesn’t know how to get over what happened and move on to a normal life.
The story sort of goes nowhere for awhile, and then, without giving away too much of the plot, parallel universes are explored. This is always interesting but also not a new concept; V.E. Schwab does it much better with the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy (a series so compelling there are Take me to Kell London t-shirts). As Sloane tries to make sense of this other world, we are left to consider what makes someone good or evil, loyalty, and to try to understand a head scratching and sometimes dull application of magic. The story bogs down heavily here and nothing much happens for much too long.
Finally, Sloane has some revelations, things pick up speed again, and then things finally get really good. Magic stops being pedantically explained and just gets interesting, and some fun twists are thrown in. The end wrapped up quite firmly and satisfactorily so I am unsure why this is first in a series. It feels like this story is very much over, although characters can always have a new chapter in their lives!
Overall, I liked the idea of exploring how heroes feel after they are done being heroes, I liked Sloane’s journey of self discovery, and I really enjoyed some of the creativity of the story. However, there are also plot points that are murky, absolutely no character development for anyone except Sloane, and some very slow and slogging parts to the novel. Be prepared for some slow parts, but also be prepared for some really interesting ideas.
One final note…as with the Divergent series, this is set in Chicago. I found this to be enjoyable since I love Chicago also.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read this one well past its publication date of spring 2020. I barely read anything in 2020. Mea culpa.
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