Cover Image: Duplex

Duplex

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Member Reviews

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

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another wonderful read from Orson Scott Card, it was a really well done scifi novel with interesting characters. I was hooked from the start and couldn't put the book down.

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I would like to thank Netgalley/Publishers for the free copy of this book. However, I have decided not to write a review at this time.

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Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Started this not knowing it was a sequel. But I was still able to read this one and not feel lost or confused about anything. TBH this was a real slowwww read. I felt there was more talking about the action before and after than the actual action event. Not that big of a fan of it.

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I was hesitant to pick this one up but it surprised me. Its full of very clever humor, has a touch of insightful coming of age and falling in love story. Loveable characters that stick with you after the readings over with a few life lessons sprinkled in. Lots of fun! I really enjoyed it.
Full review to come on YouTube

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Stars: 3.5/5

Overview:
Ryan wakes up to find his contractor dad building walls to turn their big old house into a duplex. The family that moves into the other side includes Bizzy Horvat, the pretty girl he has a crush on at school. Bizzy claims her mother is a witch with the power to curse people with clumsiness or, in Bizzy’s case, astonishing beauty.

When a bee gets caught in Bizzy’s hair, Ryan acts so quickly and radically to save her from getting stung that he attracts the attention of a group of micropotents — people with micropowers. He soon realizes that Bizzy and her mother also have such powers. It becomes Ryan’s job, with the help of the other micropotents, to protect the Horvats from a group of witch hunters from their native country, who are determined to kill Bizzy, her mother, and all the other “witches” — micropotents — who have gathered to protect them (copied from Goodreads profile!)

Review:
This book was really interesting to read because of the unique style in which it was written and the unusual premise and plot as mentioned in the description. I was not immediately hooked and found myself forgetting details until I reached one of the main climatic plot points. Regardless I powered through and enjoyed the story and fell in love with the characters, Bizzy especially!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Ms. Perigrine series from Ransom Riggs. The writing is similar, and the micropowers reminded me a lot of the peculiarities from that series. I gave a 3.5-star review because of the first chapter's slow beginning and somewhat stale interactions. Overall, it was an enjoyable read!

*I received a free review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

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I'd always wanted to read Card but I'm afraid I was disappointed .. tedium is the overwhelming reaction I had .. despite in fact the wit of the dialogue and compact descriptions ... a dysfunctional family has produced a clever, low-self-esteemed nerd who is the narrator . .. inevitably falling in love with the clever-clever new Serbian immigrant at school who inevitably moves into other half of his house .. its having been split in half to accommodate new renters to help financial situation but is it that anyway? Father, son and young immigrant neighbour all talk in same effete, overly intellectualised way .. it's entertaining but kind of grinding. I don't like giving such down reviews and in this case too I don't .. it may really be a matter of taste.

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It had been a long time since I picked up a book by Orson Scott Card. Too long, in fact. I have always enjoyed his work and I do not know why I had not read anything from him in a while. When I saw Duplex, I knew it was time to dive back into his world and I was not to be disappointed.



Ryan wakes up one day to find his father dividing the family’s home into two sides for no apparent reason. Without explanation, his father moves out and another family moves into the other half of the house. He does not know why his father is no longer there, just that he is not and that the family needs the income from renting out half the house in order to make the mortgage payment. The family has been torn apart and life seems bleak to Ryan until he meets Bizzy Horvat: the girl next door. He is soon to learn that she, and he, is much more than that.



Ryan and Bizzy form a friendship quickly and Ryan is secretly hoping for more. When a bee gets caught in Bizzy’s hair, Ryan acts quickly to pull it out and save her from being stung. Bizzy had told Ryan that her mother was a witch and people were watching her because of that but Ryan soon learns differently. There is a group that is gathering people who have micropowers, who they call micropotents, to study them and learn how to better use these limited special abilities. Ryan learns that Bizzy and her mother have these micropowers as well and his world changes forever. He had sworn to keep Bizzy safe while walking her home from school but finds that his micropower is to act quickly and decisively to keep those he cares for safe from harm. When the people watching Bizzy’s mother begin to close in, he is going to find his powers and his willingness to do whatever it is necessary to protect the Horvat family. The witch hunters are closing in and Ryan must find a way to use his powers or risk losing the one he has come to love.



When I started the book, it almost felt like an old friend was welcoming me back into his home. It was easy to sink into this story and it immediately inspired a childlike sense of wonder in me. It is a young adult novel but it is much more than that. Card simply welcomes the reader into his world and immerses him in the urban fantasy that lies within. The emotion of the characters was easy to understand and they are instantly relatable. Ryan and Bizzy are oddballs in their own way and this makes them feel human. The reader gets to watch them grow up as the story progresses and matures a little bit at the same time. This book is more than just a novel. From the emotionally heartrending separation of the household to start to the book to the all-too-real and heartbreaking end, Card is in complete control of the story and the reader can’t help but just go along with it to the end.



The idea of micropowers is a fascinating one that taps into the fact that each one of us has special talents that set us apart and make us unique. As Ryan tries to find his way toward manhood as well as understand his power, his struggles and the moral dilemmas he faces are all too real. Every reader has had to make similar choices in life and it is easy to sympathize with Ryan. Aside from the sense of wonder and the moral aspects of the story, Card makes sure to put plenty of action into the story as well. The tension simmers throughout the story as the plot is slowly revealed and the climax is quick and exciting. This the second novel in a series but I actually did not even realize that until after I read the book. I am not sure if reading the first novel would add to the second or if it is totally stand-alone, but it is definitely not required. Duplex left me breathless at the end and may very well be the best novel that I have read this year. I cannot wait to get my hands on the first one as well as to see where Card is going to take the series in the future.



I would like to thank Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this review copy. Duplex is available now.

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Duplex was surprisingly enjoyable. It had a lot of fun dialog and some complex problems. It mirrored the real world, but had a supernatural angle attached to it. YA and older readers would both enjoy this book.


I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

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I love Orson Scott Card's writing style and his books are always so readable. This one is too, but I didn't realize that this was another book in the micropowers series until I was a few chapters into it. I'm just not a fan of the series and like with all of Card's YA and Middle Grade stories, this one is a preachy, strong morality play. I would not have a problem at all with giving it to my grandkids to read - in fact I think they would enjoy it. I am not the target audience and didn't love reading it. What saved it for me is that Card is super consistent with his writing style, so I can still enjoy reading his books even when I'm not excited about the plots.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review.

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First of all, totally didn’t know this was book two of a series. Second, it was still a really good book!! The bizarreness is fun and humorous and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. This whole idea of micropowers was so interesting and seemed really believable to me. Like almost anyone could have a micropower and it’s such a small impact that no one else would know. Very intriguing.

Bizzy is absolutely my favorite character! She’s sweet, funny, smart, and more than keeps up with Ryan. He’s adorable and all, but Bizzy just kind of steals the show. Her mother is also an interesting character and I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. I picture her as a superstitious woman who will totally spit on the ground to ward off evil. Which I find totally awesome for whatever reason. LOL!

Anyway, the plot is really entertaining and I was eager to see what the fate of Bizzy and Ryan would be. Will bad things happen to them?! How will they get out of tight spots?!?! Does Ryan’s micropower work in all the right situations?!?! Or will things come crashing down around them?? Such drama and a good dash of comedy thrown in too.

I recommend this to those who enjoy young adult books with a little superhero-ishness, humor, some action, danger, a bit of love, and a lot of growing up. There’s a lot to enjoy with this one!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Orson Scott Card for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!!!

Will be posted on Amazon and my blog shortly.

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While this has not taken the cake as my favourite Orson Scott Card book, it most certainly is filled with his flair and was definitely still an enjoyable read. The characters are each have their own unique wit, extreme skill, and at times detached logic (genius really) and way of speaking. The world is both normal and entirely abnormal, filled with random details and characters that can’t help but make you tilt your head. And last but not least, the plot itself is incredibly unique while being both slow and fast and all the while getting you to ponder deeper concepts that transcend the story itself.

That said, the book wasn’t always a fast read because there is often so many details and conversations that drive the plot or give it greater depth. But at the same time, the book was still a page turner in the slower moments because of the way that it got you thinking about things like love, family, and the ability to use random powers for greater purposes. It was also a bit of a page turner in those moments because it’s just so bizarre.

Beyond that, I really don’t know what to say about this book except that it was very honestly and truly an Orson Scott Card book, so if you’ve enjoyed his writing in the past, then I’m sure you would enjoy it now. Duplex was bizarre and funny, fast and slow, real and action packed, and was altogether a good story that I would totally read a sequel to it there ever were one.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an e-book arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Duplex is a coming-of-age story with action, adventure, and romance. The micropower stories allow us to enjoy Card’s skill in creating believable stories and worlds with child protagonists without falling into the darkness of his later stories of Bean and Ender. Very much worth the read.

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I tried to read this book and honestly just could not get into it no matter how many times I tried. I don't want to review a book that I didn't finish as that seems unfair to the author and publisher, but I will happily do so if requested to!

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With Duplex, Orson Scott Card returns to the world of micropotents he created in Lost and Found. This time, instead of following Eziekiel with his power to find lost objects, readers hear about Ryan who has the (not so micro) ability of protection as he struggles to protect his new neighbor and friend, Bizzy, from…someone.

There are several aspects of Duplex that seem unfinished, starting with who, exactly, is after Bizzy and her mother and why. According to Bizzy’s mother, these bad guys are witch-hunters from her home country who hunt those with micropowers, but Bizzy wasn’t too sure on that in the beginning, and it’s never really cleared up. Also unclear is what these hunters want with Bizzy herself. Both murder and kidnapping were options, but even if they did arrive to the final showdown with weapons, it was never really cleared up.

Speaking of Bizzy and her mother, apparently her father lives with them and is in the picture too—except he’s not. Readers never meet him and have no idea how he feels about moving so much, or the fact that his wife’s a cursing witch, or his daughter’s “pretty face,” or—you know—the fact that people are out to get them! It would have been nice to get the non-micropotent view of everything and maybe get a more level idea of what they’re dealing with and how he justifies it without—maybe—calling the cops?

In Lost and Found, Eziekiel had a good reason for not trusting the police, but he still worked with them in the end and built a good relationship with the detective. In Duplex, however, the real police are not to be found until the very end, and they really should have been called. When a hunter impersonating a FBI agent tries to take Bizzy from school and Ryan bashes his head in, the police probably should’ve been called, if not by Ryan, then by the school when Ryan and Bizzy ran. When hunters showed up at Ryan’s house (once again impersonating officers), the police could’ve been called. Also, in this second instance, the impersonating officers’ excuse for knocking on Ryan’s door is that they’ve “had reports of men with concealed weapons in the neighborhood.” Perhaps instead they could question Ryan and Bizzy on the MURDER AT THE SCHOOL THAT MORNING?!?

After this big showdown with other micropotents assisting from the secret passageways between the two sections of the duplex (which Ryan’s dad somehow had the non-micropotent foresight to install), the action is over without much of a wrap-up. The police are finally called and after a very short deposition, everyone goes home.

Overall, this is probably the worst Orson Scott Card book I’ve read. With an unbelievable and unexplained situation, and unrealistic characters who make poor decisions, Duplex was not a good read.

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I was pretty intrigued about the premise of this book, instead of people having superpowers they have micropowers. They can do small things like making someone yawn or knowing if there are any spiders in the area. They're definitely unique and in some cases can actually make a big impact.

The plot unfolds kind of slowly and takes a bit to really get into the story. Ryan is dealing with his father's sudden departure and having his home turned into a duplex. Then a new girl moves in and Ryan is drawn to her. After he saves her from a bee attack, Bizzy introduces Ryan to the world of micropowers and those who hunt the people who have them.

There were fun parts of this, I especially liked seeing Ryan fight off the FBI imposters, and some cool action scenes. I couldn't quite tell if the world was supposed to be contemporary or not, it was a bit ambiguous. I also thought the side plot with Ryan's parents fighting seemed a bit odd and got unexpectedly heavy. I wanted more of Ryan being awesome with his ability and think this would be an interesting graphic novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a complementary copy of this book

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A good story, poignant and well written. I appreciated the well thought characters and the plot as it's quite fast paced and never drags.
It's a story of underdogs, their relationships and coming of age.
The fantasy elements are well woven into the plot.
It can be read as a stand alone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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This was my first read of a novel from Orson Scott Card and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I first became aware of the author when I was lent a copy of his short stories in the 1980s called Unaccompanied Sonata - all the stories were thought provoking, quirky and mind expanding with some staying with me ( Unaccompanied Sonata, Kingsmeat, and the outstanding Enders game) all these years later.
As always I find the authors writing style engaging and I was drawn into the story of Ryan Burke who one day finds that his father is leaving and dividing the family home into two duplex residences. There is some element of teen angst (parents don't understand me) however as a parent to two teen boys the prose resonated with me. Early in the story there is a conversation between Ryan and his father around work - Ryan wants a job from his father but is rebuffed. The passages describing initiative and responsibility struck a deep chord which made me feel seen as a parent - I am not quite sure what a young adult would think of it but I have copied the text and sent it out in our family Whats app!
Getting back to the main theme - Ryan meets a new classmate Bizzy Horvat who we subsequently find has moved into the other side of the duplex he now lives in. Bizzy and Ryan discover that they have micropowers and are contacted by a research (and support) group called GRUT (Group of Rare & Useless Talents) led by Dr. Withunga for micropotents. Micropowers are often bizarre - able to tell if someone has a bellybutton in or out, making people yawn, controlling spiders and so on - the group aims to test and explore these talents in the hope of finding ways they could be useful.
We discover that those with micropowers are seen as witches with groups in society who wish to eliminate them. Bizzy and her family are hiding from such a group from Slovenia and tension mounts as the hunters search comes closer to discovering them. This provides Ryan and his fellow micropotents an opportunity to see what they can really do when they act in concert.
As the story moves forward Ryan matures as an individual, his attachment to Bizzy deepens and links of family are explored. I loved it and now will need to go back and reread some of Cards previous work!
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC all opinions are my own.

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My experience with Orson Scott Card up to this point had only been through his classic Ender’s Game saga. I wasn’t sure what to expect from him outside of that genre and those characters and wasn’t at all prepared for what I found in Duplex. All of the OSC tropes are there: hyper-intelligent kid, expository dialogue that doubles as a moral lecture to the reader, and a sarcasm that wavers between smarmy and witty. At his best, Card utilizes these constant components to his benefit. At his worst, it results in trite and clunky prose that breathes an aura of i-am-really-smart.

Duplex mostly sits between those extremes, though it hovers nearer to the lower end. I never could figure out who Card’s target audience was supposed to be. It’s a middle grade level plot worthy of a Disney Channel Original Movie, is allegedly written for a YA audience, and has teenage characters who in no way talk like teenagers. Ryan is just a normal kid with a normal life until his parents split up and their big house is literally split up to make the titular duplex. Ryan’s dad moves out and Bizzy’s family moves in.

Bizzy and Ryan become fast friends and Bizzy reveals to Ryan that her mom is a witch who can curse people with clumsiness—or, in Bizzy’s case—with astonishing beauty. Card does a pretty terrible job of explaining how this all works. Ryan seems to be the only person immune to Bizzy’s beauty, which prevents her from making friends as it makes the girls jealous and boys tongue-tied (what even.). It’s a cute, if dorky story that just keeps going on and on, interrupted only by scenes that are supposed to explain 1) how poor Ryan’s family is and 2) how much of a jerk his parents are.

I’m pretty sure that the second point was supposed to be that Ryan’s dad is tough-love and hard-work, but there’s an extended scene with him lambasting Ryan for laziness (though it’s not his fault entirely, because all kids are lazy), refusing to give him a job because he won’t work hard, excoriating him for not doing more chores, and projecting a smarmy know-it-all-ness that made me certain that Card’s intention was to portray him as an over-the-top villain. Nope. Dad’s the good guy. It’s Mom who got a secret abortion and played it off as a miscarriage and that secret coming out is what led to the family’s separation. (And that bombshell is just sort of dropped in from left field and never explored, either).

Anyway, the story is actually about how Ryan learns that he has superpowers when he cuts off his sister’s hair and puts a bee in his mouth. I’m not even kidding. A bee gets tangled in his sister’s hair and stings her. Ryan, so very quickly, grabs scissors and cuts the hair off to #freethebee and flicks the stinger out of sister’s scalp. She goes into anaphylactic shock and almost dies, but the doctors say she would have died if Ryan hadn’t acted so quickly. Further, another bee almost flies into Bizzy’s hair, but Ryan valiantly bats it away and then puts it in his mouth before blowing it away from his friend. I am not making any of this up.

As it would turn out, such a feat is not the result of anything natural. Ryan has a superpower…well, a micropower. Bizzy does, too. So does her mom. And so do a group of people who are banding together to study their weird and mostly useless powers. Of course, the micropowers turn out not to be useless and save them from the Slovenian terrorists trying to kidnap Bizzy.

I’ll give Card this: while I was reading the book, I wanted to know what happened next. I liked Bizzy and Ryan. There was potential here. Despite all of the wild things above, he had me invested in the story. But, wow, was this book something. Outside of Bizzy and Ryan, Card fails to develop any of his characters at all. The dialogue is clunky. The pacing is uneven. The action is anemic (until the final, or should I say only, battle).

My experience with Duplex could be summarized by this passage from the book:

“You forget what an incredible stud by little brother is,” said Bizzy. “I think the only thing wrong when he kisses girls is that they can’t stop squealing in excitement, which means that they’re always blowing down his throat, which makes a horrible burping sound.”
“Seriously?” asked Ryan.
She clamped her mouth over his and squealed. The air she expelled made a burping sound going down his throat. He pulled away from the kiss. “You have now officially ruined kissing,” he said.

Except in my version, I’m Ryan, Orson Scott Card is Bizzy, and the squealing is this book being shoved down my throat. It’s officially ruined Orson Scott Card books for me.

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Duplex is the companion novel to Lost and Found. It continues in the same vein - a mix of realistic fiction with a mystery twist. Again, the characters have micropowers - like superpowers but too small, insignificant or useless to be deemed super. They are pretty unique and cool, though.

Duplex is a book that takes a while to read. I enjoyed sinking into its slow pace. That’s not to say nothing happens in the story - it does, everything from guys attacking with guns to fake FBI attempted kidnappings. There’s just a lot of space for inner dialogue and time between events. Time for introspection and relationship building. There’s also just time for great writing and descriptions, a feature of Card’s work.

Life changes for Ryan when he finds his dad has moved out and is dividing their family home into a duplex. Soon, Ryan is sleeping on the couch (he doesn’t have a bedroom anymore) and the rooms on the other side of the new walls and staircase house the Horvat family. Ryan meets Bizzy Horvat at school. She can meet his sarcastic wit and quick jibes like no one he’s ever met. When Ryan reacts so quickly and without thought to a bee in Bizzy’s hair (much like he reacted to a bee that stung his sister), he is approached by a guy who claims to discover people who have micropowers. Ryan’s quick reflexes are apparently a micropower and it turns out that Bizzy and her mother also have micropowers and there are a group of people who will stop at nothing to kill the Horvat family. So, Ryan’s quick responses might just come in handy.

I adored Lost and Found - the first of Card’s micropower novels and highly enjoyed Duplex. While the characters have powers, they sit just outside the realms of possibility, so the books in no way read like fantasy or paranormal novels. The books are a mix of relationships - both romantic and familial - and mystery.

The voice of the characters and the way they speak is highly unrealistic, but it’s also highly enjoyable. Maybe because you’d never find such eloquent language and turns of phrase in your average high school - certainly not in my school - is why this book was so much fun to read. There were a couple lines I thought might be a bit insensitive around Ryan’s reaction to being thought gay - wasn’t sure where his reaction was coming from. And I’m not many teen guys are super focused on their life goal to be married and have kids. However, Ryan’s journey from intelligent, sarcastic teen to responsible and caring young adult was insightful. His conversations with his dad are those every young man needs to have. And I loved how Ryan eventually stood up to his friend, called him out on his bullying behaviour and demanded change.

A unique book, but one I certainly enjoyed. I hope there are further novels in the micropower world.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

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