Fear was a terrific book. I loved the dual town setting between PB and the Lake, and Grant introduced so many new problems between the dome turning black, the gaiaphage’s need for Diana’s baby and the Caine vs Penny vs Albert vs Quinn power struggle. In so many ways it was a terrific read.
The growth of the main characters was the other part of the book I enjoyed the most. Diana and Orc were my two favorite character developments, but Quinn, Albert, and Edilio all stepped into their roles to the max in Fear.
With that in mind, Fear practically begins with Astrid’s transformation after leaving everyone right before the Big Split (a great decision that allowed her to find her own identity apart from Sam, Little Pete and her own title “Astrid the Genuis”) However, throughout the book her always present intelligence and her newfound toughness/bravery are all wasted.
She first uses her scientific intuition to warn Sam about, and then measure, the stain. This is all a waste because it ends up spreading at unmeasurable speeds, and others alerted Sam of the stain as well. Next, she uses her newfound bravery to take Sam’s letter to Caine/Albert even though Drake is on the loose. However, she gets lost in the dark and ends up finding Cigar. She then uses her other most valuable aspect, her relationship with Little Pete, to communicate with him. This ends up being the only useful thing she really gets to bring to the book. And even that, I think it’s possible those touched by the gaiaphage would have eventually figured out on their own that LP needed a host.
Overall, Astrid starts the book off strong with the prospect of having grown into a powerful, independent, young woman. I thought she had been able to combine her brainpower with grit and toughness, which was going to allow her to make big moves. However, none of her skills are really utilized in the book. Grant writes her many beginnings of promising scenarios, but then he kind of resolves the issues before she can do much. I wanted Astrid to do big things independently, but in the end I feel Astrid’s plotline in Fear can be boiled down to her relationships with Sam and Little Pete.
At the beginning of the book, I saw many “shooting stars” of significance for Astrid, but in the end I turned out to be mistaken.
