The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow – Review

The Scorpion Rules is the type of book that isn’t always easy, but the moral questions that it asks will really get you thinking. In this dystopian an AI named Talis has taken over the world by force – to save us from ourselves. This AI sees the destruction that war has caused to the human race and the earth and he decides that he can do better. So, basically, he takes hostages. Every ruling family of every country has to have a child who will rule after them, and that child is kept in a Precepture until they’re eighteen (at which time someone else with a child has to rule until they have one). But here’s the kicker – if the country declares war or commits acts of war for ANY reason, the child is killed.

Greta and Elián’s countries are on the brink of war, and Greta knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s sacrificed. As frightened as she is by this idea, she has been taught since she was a young child that her death would be for the greater good. She believes in the peace that Talis has created and she doesn’t really question path her life has taken – much. But when Elián shows up at the Precepture, his rebellion makes Greta realize that maybe she should be questioning – and when things take an even darker turn than she ever imagined, she finds herself wanting to live – and maybe even change things.

What fed my addiction:

• The moral questions presented. Even though Talis is an AI, you find out that he was actually originally a human. What this means is that he has a very human personality, and he actually ends up being one of the most charming and engaging villains you will ever read. In fact, you’re never even quite sure if Talis actually is a villain – after all, he’s saved humanity from destroying itself, right? And in war, so often we kill in order to preserve – that’s kind of what war is in a lot of cases – both sides feel that they need to kill in order to stop something even worse from happening. It’s all a matter of perspective when you go to decide who’s right and who’s wrong and when you try to determine which is worse – the act of war (killing) or the conditions that would exist without the war. So, is Talis’s murder of innocent children to prevent war worse than the deaths of innocent children who die during war? It’s quite a quandary, and it will really get your head spinning if you think about it too much (which I love to do!). I love books that present these types of moral questions and don’t necessarily give pat answers.
• The romance. If you read the synopsis of this book, you might think that you know pretty much how the romance in this book will play out. Let’s face it, we’ve all read this story before, right? Well, it didn’t play out all the easily. I found the romance in this book surprising and refreshing, and that’s all I’ll say about that.
• The action. This book kept me guessing and moved in directions that constantly surprised me. I was engrossed in the story, wondering what would become of Greta and her friends – a lot of times it didn’t look good!!

What left me wanting more:

• Greta’s lack of personality. Here’s the thing – Greta has lived her life following the rules. She hasn’t really ever questioned the world around her beyond what she’s learned in a classroom, and she has a very logical and almost detached personality. She is a product of her environment, so this is not surprising, but it does make it harder to connect to Greta as a main character, especially in the beginning. Still, her character growth made up for this for me, because she became a much stronger character by the end of the book, and her journey went in a very unexpected direction. Though there was one little thing that bothered me slightly. View Spoiler »DId anyone else think it was weird that Greta would have done almost anything to avoid the torture of the apple press, but she then volunteered for something that was described to her as the worst pain imaginable without really seeming to give that aspect ALL that much thought? Seemed odd to me. « Hide Spoiler

So, overall, I found this to be an extremely thought-provoking dystopian. I’m eager to see where Bow brings the series next! I give this book 4/5 stars.

***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

About the Author

Hi! My name is Erin Bow — physicist turned poet turned author of young adult novels that will make you cry on the bus. I’m a white girl, forty-something, feminist, geeky enough to do the Vulcan salute with both hands — in public. I live in Canada. I love to cook, hate to clean, and yes, I do own a cat.

In the beginning, I was a city girl from farm country—born in Des Moines and raised in Omaha—where I was fond of tromping through wood lots and reading books by flashlight. In high school I captained the debate team, founded the math club, and didn’t date much.
In university I studied particle physics, and worked briefly at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, Switzerland. Physics was awesome, but graduate school kind of sucked, and at some point I remembered that I wanted to write books.
Books: I have five of them — two novels, and two volumes of poetry and a memoir (the poetry under my maiden name, Erin Noteboom). My poetry has won the CBC Canadian Literary Award, and several other awards. My two novels, Plain Kate and Sorrow’s Knot, also have a fistful of awards, including Canada’s top award for children’s literature, the TD. No one read the memoir.
Right now I’m looking forward to the publication of my third novel, which I think is the best thing I’ve written: The Scorpion Rules, coming fall 2015 from Simon & Schuster.

Did you notice I got to Canada in there somewhere? Yeah, that was true love. I’m married to a Canadian boy, James Bow, who also writes young adult novels. We have two small daughters, both of whom want to be scientists.

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