The Museum of Second Chances - AE Warren

This review originally appeared on nbmagazine.co.uk  as part of their blog tour for the Tomorrow's Ancestors Series. 

There’s something about dystopian fiction that creates an indefinable mood that endures no matter what the situation or who the protagonists may be. And reading this debut from AE Warren did nothing to swerve me from that opinion! Reading this it was as if the spirit of Katniss, Tris and Thomas even were watching over this narrative nodding approvingly as Elise diverges her way through a maze of typical dystopian hierarchies. 

The setting is The Museum of Evolution, and that set me wondering how prophetic that might be in years to come if we continue to annihilate our planet. It’s an original premise. With the aim of reversing extinction and creating a kind of conservation zoo for extinct species the museum is not the cuddly place you might expect. Or maybe it is if you are a visitor. But there’s much going on in terms of bureaucracies and conventions that suggest one slip and you’ll be on the receiving end of potential extinction yourself. 

However our heroine, Elise, is made of strong stuff with a secret to keep that is both a blessing, and a curse if the ‘management’ were to discover it. She’s an intelligent protagonist and I guess the intention is that she mirrors our own thoughts about what is going in within the Museum. The action flits between the museum and Elise’s home where her parents and aurally challenged brother, Nathan, reside under a mantle of undisclosed anxiety that is revealed fully later in the book and precipitates a course of action for Elise that is the perfect springboard for another book in the series. Elise’s work in the Museum is that of Companion to an extinct species of human that is being ‘unextincted’. More than that I’ll not say! 

It’s a laudable debut with a sustained narrative and some solid characterisations that demand the reader keep on their toes and reevaluate these people as the action progresses. It is straightforward story telling, too, any past information is a ‘within the narrative reveal’ with no need for flashbacks. There is a goodly balance of nail biting moments and tender moments and for devotees of The Hunger Games, Maze Runner and Divergent this should satisfy. It satisfied me! But I’m sick! I was offered the chance to participate in both blogtours for this and the follow up book and I just went for this due to other commitments. Now I’m kicking myself because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! And I want to know NOW! It has to be a good book that does that, doesn’t it?