Book Review: The 100 (The Hundred, #1)

Author| Kass Morgan (Twitter)  Edition| Kindle eBook  Rating| 3 Stars

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So I've seen a few episodes from the show, but only a few.  I thought I'd read the book and see how it lined up with what I've watched and whether it was any good.

I was pleasantly surprised.  It's not anything special, but it's not as bad as some of the reviews out there made it seem.  The show is far better, though, so if you have to choose between the two, go with that one.

The 100 follows one hundred juvenile delinquents who are sent to earth to see if it's livable again.  There are four revolving narrators- Clarke, Bellamy, Glass, and Wells.  All expect Glass are on earth, she tells the story of what is happening in space.  Earth is an interesting place, and they must discover the hazards and how to survive them.  We also get a peek at how they all ended up imprisoned in the first place.

In the show there is no Glass, which is a shame.  I really liked her character and thought she played an important role.  The show doesn't really lose anything in losing her, really, but I liked her in the book.  There are also major differences between the characters from the show and the book.  Clarke is still pretty much the main character, but her role is greatly diminished in the book.  She's less of a hero and more of just a medic.  She doesn't take a leadership position, really, but does have weight among the other characters.  Wells is the one who really takes a leadership position, and he becomes a much more interesting character.  He's also got a dark side that the show doesn't really get into.  Bellamy is pretty much the same, except he has much of a softer spot for Clarke and they even end up together a few times.

The story was bland.  Very little happened.  With the amount of POV's it's hard to get a lot done, I suppose.  Had the book been a little longer it wouldn't have been as much of a problem.  Also, it wasn't as dark as it could have been.  The show does a better job at actually showing people survive, Lord of the Flies style.

The show is, in the end, better because it takes the best parts of the book and repurposes them to fit a more interesting story line.  I don't know if I'll continue with this series, but it's not bad by any long shot.  Click here to add it to your goodreads.