It’s been
quite a while since I finished Allegiant by Veronica Roth, but truthfully I was so completely
underwhelmed and disappointed that I could not be bothered to write a
review. Allegiant commences where Insurgent left off. Tris and co, not satisfied with the new
status quo, joins the rebellion and sets off to discover what lies beyond the
boundaries. They discover that their
city is embroiled in an experiment conducted by the Bureau of Genetic
Welfare. Following the Purity
war which resulted from attempts to genetically remove negative behaviors from
societies, the Bureau was founded to use selective breeding to repair the
genetic damage they caused, over several generations by forcibly isolating
several populations, including Tris’ home.
These populations were organised into factions to better monitor certain behavioural traits. The divergents turn out to be genetically
pure individuals whose DNA shows none of the genetic damage caused by previous
genetic tampering. The divergent’s
importance was however vastly overstated in the video made by Edith Prior (an
indication that Roth had no idea how she wanted to end the series at the time
she wrote Insurgent). Tris, Tobias and friends ultimately discover
more secrecy and manipulation by the Bureau and take it upon themselves to
right to wrongs of past and present.
Sadly, this
was a very disappointing conclusion to the Divergent trilogy. It felt like completely different authors had
written Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant. The author just didn’t have the same
voice. It felt like the Roth had no idea
how she wanted to end the series and ultimately just grabbed at straws and
rushed to release the final product.
Tris dying felt absolutely unnecessary – and I don’t say this simply
because her death disappointed me. I
truly don’t see why she had to die. It
makes no sense and in no way enhances the story. It felt… superfluous. It felt like Roth threw it in there for shock
value. She wanted Tris to sacrifice
herself for the greater good (I suppose this was meant to be ironic since Tris
had finally decided that she didn’t want to die), but then she needed a much
better crafted storyline to justify it; because it fell flat. When a
character death falls flat, it’s a massive disservice to that character and the
audience. Tris deserved a better ending, or at least a better death - something vital. Uriah’s death upset me more than Tris’ death did because (he was a favourite
of mine, yes, but more than that) it was relevant and believable and necessary
for the plot. Tris death was none of those things.
 |
| Movie poster |
I was
curious as to how the movie would portray the events and watched it the very
evening I finished the book. If 10% of
the movie is based on the book, it’s a lot.
They made massive, massive changes; the largest of which is having Tris
survive. Granted, at the time they were
planning another sequel (which is also evident by the ending), but while the
movie is in no way a masterpiece, it is a vast improvement from the book. Either way I’m sad to say that while
Divergent was thrilling and Insurgent was entertaining, completing the Divergent trilogy now feels like a
complete waste of my time (too much time and energy I’ll never get back) and
the utter disappointment that is Allegiant
will prevent me from recommending this series to those who have not yet
experienced it.
Product Information:
Title: Allegiant
Series: Divergent (not standalone)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Year: 2013
Pages: 545
ISBN-10: 0062420097ISBN-13: 978-0062420091
ASIN: B00BKZUVGM
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