Persistence of Vision by Liesel K. Hill Blog Tour Stop and Review

Goodreads Summary:
In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

*New Adult futuristic dystopian fantasy

Publication Date: January 29, 2013

Sci-fi and fantasy books are usually hit or miss for me. I either really enjoy them or I find myself baffled over the complexities of the plot. Although the Persistence of Vision was leaden with scientific theories, I didn’t feel like I was completely lost and had to refer to World Book every five minutes to figure out what the heck was going on.

The plot had elements reminiscent of The Host, one of my favorite books. The character of Doc reminded me of Jeb and the fact that the characters were part of a resistance hiding out in a cavern designed to house humans. I liked the time in the caves and how Maggie was introduced to the rules of the new society. Although there were big sections of explanation without a ton of action, I felt the concepts were intriguing enough to keep the book interesting.

An enjoyable aspect of the novel was that the plot seemed like it was something that could actually happen. I don’t know where the author came up with the idea that mapping the brain would lead to all of these changes in society and the appearance of supernatural powers, but it was intriguing. The Collectives were also an interesting idea and I loved the fight for individualism within the future society.

I liked Maggie as the main character. She was tough and willing to give up so much to help these “strangers.” I think both Maggie and Marcus needed more physical descriptions because I couldn’t picture either of them in my head while reading. The world building was done so well, it would’ve been great to know more about the characters in this world. The baddies of the book were super creepy. The cover freaked me out before I had even read a word. There were some great twists with the characters too that were unexpected.

I wasn’t feeling the romance of the book. I just didn’t feel a connection to Marcus and thought he came off as very boring. SPOILER ALERT I kind of realized I wasn’t a fan when I kept yelling at Maggie to go for his brother. I thought her chemistry with David was palpable and I’d love to see something come out of it (maybe a forbidden romance?) in subsequent novels. I thought it was annoying how Marcus treated his brother, it made him seem kind of jerky after everything David did to escape and his efforts to help Maggie. END OF SPOILER

There’s plenty of room for so many stories to take place in the world Hill created. I’m very excited to read any sequels about Maggie and the members of the Interchron.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the author for a copy of this book for review!