They Say the Ends Justify The MeansWhen Menrva, a geneticist in the subterranean city of survivors known as Bunker, responds to a call for help from Cowl, her former best friend, and Bas, a renegade cyborg, she makes a vital mistake and places all three of them in danger. As they struggle to escape City guards, cyborg soldiers, desperate scavengers, and ravenous aliens, they find in each other … each other something they never expected: family.
During a battle, an attacking cyborg manages to overcome her programming just long enough to deliver a cryptic message. The trio is forced to decide if they will risk death – or worse, capture – to seek out the truth about the City, or if they will fight only for themselves.
This fast-paced, gritty first book of the Malfunction Trilogy introduces a future caught between destruction and oppression, where Menrva and her friends must decide if the ends justify the means.
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A really good first part to this exciting dystopian series! A great follow on from the prequel! None stop adventure & adversary for the main characters! A good fun read! I do recommend this writers work as everything I have read I have really enjoyed!
*4.5
Malfunction is a gritty yet enticing read that focusses on the relationship developments of three central characters, Menrva, Bas, and Cowl. Each uniquely flawed and carrying the burdens of the brokeness they bear. Set in an utterly dark and deteriorating setting—alien-invaded Earth—Purrazzi depicts humanity’s struggle for survival with minimal resources and ravenous enemies. Her descriptions are often vivid and somewhat gruesome; the depth of despair among the citizens cast out of the Hub and into the Pit makes for an interesting backdrop for her central characters to interact and develop their relationships. In fact, it is the depravity of their situation that brings out the warmth of their affections for each other as the plot progresses. I loved watching the vulnerability of each character as they made tough decisions and found themselves in greater danger. I also enjoyed the variation of the threats posed by the alien enemy as well as the human enemy. Both adversaries were well-developed and held up as substantial obstacles for Menrva, Bas, and Cowl to rise against.
The two small issues I had with the book did not affect my enjoyment of the story but slightly reduce my rating. First, the author spends a lot of time humanizing Bas and emphasizing his humanity, so it was a bit difficult for me to believe the number of superhuman/inhuman things he was able to survive and do throughout the book. The thing that grounded this aspect of the book for me, however, was the reminder that the Earth in this novel is vastly different than our Earth and the story took place in a vastly dystopian society. I chose to focus instead on the emotional depth that this added to the relationship developments and how it helped set up an exciting conclusion. The second was the numerous minor typos—the occasional missing period, a few missing articles, and a few miscellaneous others. These issues did not take away from the book’s readability but slightly affected the book’s quality.
Overall, I thought the book was outstanding. There are a few instances of intense violence and mild swearing that may not appeal to sensitive readers. Still, Purrazzi handles some tough topics and poises several thought-provoking moments throughout her writing. I’m a bit squeamish about medical/surgical descriptions, so those few scenes may have affected me more than others.
Malfunction was an excellent start for this trilogy, and I am excited to continue reading the rest of the series. If you’re not ready to commit to a whole trilogy, I’d recommend reading Topside. It’s a short story from the Malfunction Universe, and it was a fantastic preview. I read Topside before Malfunction, and it sparked my interest in the series with an adrenaline rush sparked from the well-paced action and intense emotions.
Hands down one of my favorite dystopian sci-fi reads.