Specials: Uglies, Book 3 Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B000TYDR4I | Format: PDF
Specials: Uglies, Book 3 Description
Tally never wanted to be Special, but some talents cannot be denied. Specials keep the Pretties happy and naive, keep the Uglies wishing to be Pretty and - most importantly - keep the Smokies powerless. But their latest mission is to end the New Smoke forever, and there is still a little part of Tally that is telling her to think for herself, that remembers a time when Tally lived happily among the Smokies. Maybe the Specials aren't really protecting anyone but themselves.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 10 hours and 48 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Audible.com Release Date: July 18, 2007
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B000TYDR4I
Specials is the final book in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy (after Uglies and Pretties). In this installment, Tally wakes up from surgery and finds herself part of an ultra-cool team of Specials (bio-engineered, covert law enforcement personnel) called the Cutters. She has snazzy techno-features, like embedded computer chips, unbreakable ceramic bones, and razors that come out of her fingernails. She's the ultimate weapon.
It's a bit disturbing to read a book in which the heroine of the series has been essentially co-opted by the bad guys. Tally now works for Shay, her complex best friend, and is expected to find and betray the New Smokies (her friends of the first book). But she does maintain traces of her former self, and she is particularly motivated to find Zane (her now brain-damaged love from the second book), and convince Dr. Cable to transform Zane into a Special, too. However, when she does find Zane, she is revolted by his weakness, by his not being "special" like she is. She struggles with herself, knowing deep inside that she loves him, but programmed to see the world so keenly that his imperfections grate on her, and so sure of her own superiority that she can't really imagine being with him again.
A series of adventures follow, during which Tally and Shay pull a stunt that turns out to have disastrous consequences, and then set off on the trail of the New Smoke. Tally re-encounters David (her love from before she met Zane), and has to go up against the seemingly invincible Dr. Cable. The ending is satisfying in many ways, although the resolution of the Zane vs. David choice is a bit of an anti-climax.
Overall, I found it a fascinating story, full of unexpected twists, chases, and cool special effects.
This is a review on the audio book version of "Specials" performed brilliantly by Carine Montbertrand.
I will assume that anyone reading this book has read the previous books in this series. If not than stop reading this review and go read them. The last we saw of Tally Youngblood, she had escaped pretty town and on her own made it to the New Smoke ready to reunite with her boyfriend Zane. Poor afflicted Zane, who took the cure with her and started to experience terrible headaches. At the Smoke, Tally is told by her old beau Ugly David that the cure pills were meant to be taken together (although in their directions they never said so!) and Zane got the Nanobytes that apparently lurved to snack on brain matter nonstop, while Tally got the pill that stopped those Nanos from that third trip to the buffet. Tally realizes that she has cured herself of pretty-mindedness. She is sort of like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix but without the leather outfit or Laurence Fishburne.
Tally is soon revisited by her old friend Shay, who is now a Special by her own choice. Shay wants Tally to be Special too, and whisks her back to Pretty town for yet another operation. Specials are like the Men in Black from our society, you hear of them but never see them, yet you fear them anyway. They don't have the brain lesions, so they aren't airheads like the Pretties. Specials have all sorts of add-ons, for sight and stealth and strength. They have "skintennas" built in so they can talk to each other on a network, they can see in the dark, and have tattoos covering their bodies. They also have wolf like features and sharpened teeth, the better to eat you with my dear!
Tally, as a special, is deadly beautiful.
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