Lights Out on "Ember"

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
My initial post of it is here.

Well, I can’t say I didn’t like it. I enjoyed it, yes. My theories proved wrong. (Oh well.) I discovered shortly after buying the book that it is in fact a series of (currently) four novels. But I’m sorry to say that I will not be picking up the others. Again, it’s not bad…I just didn’t feel such a love for it that I needed to know what happens next. In fact, the first chapter of The City of Sparks had been included in my copy. I almost didn’t even read it. But since I had to wait for someone to arrive, I did. And with my apologies to DuPrau, I’m not interested. Ember itself is a bit heavy-handed. I do not intend that as a slam, as I have also been guilty of this literary ‘crime.’ All in all it’s very well done. Well paced, clues and answers neatly in place to keep the interest and momentum. But I just can’t say I love it. I did have a lot of fun discussing its ramifications and symbolism with Sunshine.

I am still going to see the movie. My copy had photos from the movie (yes, I wound up with one of those “Now a Major Motion Picture” editions) and half of the pictures make me wonder where on earth they got such a notion or objects or scenes. For practically none of it is in the book. Having watched the trailer again, they seem to have beefed up the “puzzle” and “adventure” aspect of the novel beyond what is actually there. So it will be interesting to see what their spin on all if it is. My guess is that it will end up being much the same as my reaction to The Spiderwick Chronicles. I longed for a hybrid of the movie and the book, as each had elements that were missing or could have enhanced the other. I’ll let you know when I see the movie version of The City of Ember.