Beautiful Chaos (Garcia and Stohl novel)

Last updated
Beautiful Chaos
BeautifulChaos2011book.jpg
Cover to the 2011 first edition hardback
AuthorKami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Caster Chronicles
Genre Young adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher Little, Brown
Publication date
October 18, 2011
ISBN 978-0-316-12352-5
Preceded by Beautiful Darkness  
Followed by Beautiful Redemption  

Beautiful Chaos is a fantasy young adult novel by authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The book is the third entry in the Caster Chronicles series and was released on October 18, 2011.

Contents

Beautiful Chaos debuted at number 45 on the USA Today bestseller list. [1]

Plot

Beautiful Chaos takes place shortly after the events in the previous book. Lena and Ethan are once again a couple, but her Claiming both the Light and Dark has some serious repercussions, as it disturbed the Order of things. Meanwhile Ethan finds himself slowly changing. He is unable to eat even his favorite foods without becoming nauseous, begins to hear voices, see mysterious writings, and his dreams make it impossible for him to sleep. Ethan also finds himself beginning to slowly lose his memories as well as seeing a stranger in his mirror, something that Amma reacts abnormally to. Suspicious, Ethan and Link follow Amma as she travels to visit a male Seer. They decide to return later to visit him, where they discover that due to Ethan being revived in the events in Beautiful Creatures , his soul was brought back too quickly and was fractured as a result. Part of his soul resides in the underworld and unless Ethan brings the two back together, he will eventually change more and ultimately lose himself completely. Link inquires as to how this would be possible, only for the Seer to mention that he and Amma made a deal and then refuse to elaborate.

As the chaos in Gatlin increases, Ethan and Lena attempt to find a way to save the town. They discover that the "One Who is Two" must be sacrificed for Order to be brought back into balance. It is believed that this person is Lena, as she had claimed both the Light and the Dark, only for them to find that it cannot be her because she is destined to bind the new Order once this person is sacrificed. The group briefly believes that it is John and the group travels to the town's water tower so John can commit suicide. Once there, John shares a brief moment with Liv, whom he has grown to love, before jumping from the tower. John narrowly avoids death, as it is revealed through one of the voices in Ethan's head that John is not the sacrifice and the group is transported back to Ethan's room by the Seer.

Ethan eventually discovers that he is the one destined to be the sacrifice to restore Order and spends the rest of the night in Lena's arms. The next day, he spends his last hours with his loved ones, later going to find Lena so he can say goodbye. Lena begs him not to become the sacrifice and that nothing else matters but him. The two exchange gifts, Ethan giving Lena his map of the various locations he'd planned on traveling to and Lena giving him her memory necklace. Ethan makes Lena swear to bind the new Order after his death, only for Lena to become hysterical. For their last moments together he holds her until it is time for him to go. After leaving Lena, Ethan looked over his house and father one last time, as well as confronting Amma over her knowledge of his death and sacrifice.

Ethan arrives at the tower with John, only for Amma to appear and state that she was present for his birth and would do the same for his death, even though this is not that day. She attempts several times to save Ethan using her power and the power of her ancestors, which is interrupted with Macon's arrival and eventually ends with the Greats turning their backs on her. Ethan then climbs up the water tower and tries to jump, only to be stopped by his other half. The two fight, eventually toppling off the side of the water tower and slamming into the ground. Before he falls, Ethan thinks of Lena.

Reception

Critical reception for Beautiful Chaos has been mostly positive, [2] with TeenReads calling the book's ending "mind-boggling". [3] [4] RT Book Reviews gave the book 4 1/2 stars, saying it was "a must-read for series followers". [5] VOYA wrote that the book was "multilayered", but sometimes inconsistent. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three</i> Novel by Stephen King

The Drawing of the Three is a dark fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the second book in the Dark Tower series, published by Grant in 1987. The series was inspired by Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning. The story is a continuation of The Gunslinger and follows Roland of Gilead and his quest towards the Dark Tower. The subtitle of this novel is RENEWAL.

<i>Chaos Legion</i> 2003 video game

Chaos Legion is a third-person hack and slash video game developed and published by Capcom. The video game received a novelization by Tow Ubukata shortly after release.

<i>Zagreus</i> (audio drama) 2003 Doctor Who audio drama

Zagreus is a 2003 Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was presented on three compact discs, and was made by Big Finish as their primary release to celebrate forty years of Doctor Who. As of February 2015, it is being sold as a download.

<i>The Dark</i> (Curley novel) 2003 novel by Marianne Curley

The Dark is a fantasy novel written by Marianne Curley. It is the second book in the Guardians of Time Trilogy.

"Drums of Tombalku" is an American fantasy short story, one of the original ones written in the 1930s by Robert E. Howard featuring Conan the Cimmerian. Howard left it as an untitled synopsis which was not published in his lifetime. The tale was finalized by L. Sprague de Camp and in this form first published in the collection Conan the Adventurer (1966). It has first been published in its original form in the collection The Pool of the Black One and later in The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934).

<i>Ys</i> (anime) Two Japanese anime series

Ys are two different anime series, released as original video animation series, both of which are based on the video game series Ys. The first series spans seven episodes and covers the general plotline of the first game of the series, Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished. The plot centers on Adol Christin as he journeys to the island of Esteria in search of adventure. Upon arrival, he learns that a dark priest known as Dark Fact has been tearing the island apart in search of six mystical tomes of power, the Books of Ys.

The Sacrifice (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 1st episode of the 1st season of Fear Itself

"The Sacrifice" is the first episode of the television series Fear Itself. The episode originally aired on June 5, 2008. It was based on Del Howinson's short story titled "The Lost Herd." The plot revolves around four men who become stranded in an old fort—to find that it is home to an ancient vampire.

Guardians of Time is a trilogy of novels written by Marianne Curley. The plot of the trilogy consists of the Guardians of Time, trying to protect the past, present, and future by traveling into the past to thwart their enemies, the Order of Chaos, who are trying to change past events to give themselves more power.

<i>Beautiful Darkness</i>

Beautiful Darkness is a young adult fantasy novel written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The second novel in the Caster Chronicles, it was published by Little, Brown on October 12, 2010.

<i>Beautiful Creatures</i> (novel) 2009 American young adult novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures is a 2009 American young adult novel written by authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and the first book in the Caster Chronicles series. The book was published on December 1, 2009 by Little, Brown, and Company. In the UK, Beautiful Creatures is published by Penguin Books.

<i>Beautiful Creatures</i> (2013 film) 2013 film by Richard LaGravenese

Beautiful Creatures is a 2013 American romantic gothic fantasy film written for the screen and directed by Richard LaGravenese. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann, and Emma Thompson.

<i>Beautiful Redemption</i> (novel) Book by Kami Garcia

Beautiful Redemption is a 2012 young adult novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and the final book in the Caster Chronicles series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kami Garcia</span> American writer

Kami Garcia is an American writer. She is known for writing young adult fiction and graphic novels for DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Stohl</span> American author

Margaret Stohl is an American novelist. She is the author of 14 novels, as well as 5 volumes of comics and several video games. She lives in Santa Monica, California.

<i>Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea</i> (novel)

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a young adult Gothic horror novel written by April Genevieve Tucholke and published on August 15, 2013 by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Books.

Caster Chronicles is a series of young adult fiction novels written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl that were published in the United States by Little, Brown and Company. It comprises four novels that were published between 2009 and 2012. In 2014, it was followed by a second series set in the same universe, Dangerous Creatures. The series is told from the viewpoint of the teenage boy Ethan Wate.

Brona Croft, later known as Lily Frankenstein, is a character on Showtime's Penny Dreadful, portrayed by Billie Piper. Created by writer John Logan, Brona begins the series as an Irish immigrant living in London. An original take on the Bride of Frankenstein story, Piper's character and acting have been acclaimed by critics, calling her "alternately elegant, bewitching, coarse, and frightening."

References

  1. "Beautiful Chaos". USA Today. October 27, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011.
  2. "Beautiful Chaos". Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28.
  3. "Beautiful Chaos: A Beautiful Creatures Novel". TeenReads. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012.
  4. "Audiobook Reviews: BEAUTIFUL CHAOS". AudioFile. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. Parsons, Ellen. "BEAUTIFUL CHAOS by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl". RT Book Reviews. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015.
  6. "Beautiful Chaos". VOYA.