Patrick Carman’s Tremor is the second book in the Pulse Trilogy.
After the confrontation between Clare Quinn, Wade Quinn, Faith Daniels and Dylan Gilmore, both opposing sides spent months training. Faith and Dylan met up with the other drifters and Faith is now training to use her second pulse effectively. Clare and Wade are also training. The story starts at the tail end of the training. Faith has developed her powers, but so have her enemies. Both sides have struck a balance. Each has an army of one-pulse individuals and a handful of powerful second-pulses. The winning side decides the fate for the States.
Rarely is there a protagonist with as much hate as Faith Daniels. She dedicates her life to killing Clare, the girl who murdered her best friend. On more than one occasion, she is warned against seeking a path of revenge, but she ignores them, thinking that her second will make her invincible. In that respect, she isn't wrong. Second pulses are immune to everything except one element. Faith often thinks of herself as superior to the first-pulses and a tendency to disobey orders. While this can be annoying, we learn that she is not alone. Most of the second-pulses have a superiority complex and anger issues. There is no confirmed link between the two so far.
Tremor is a book that is far more exciting than its predecessor. The book starts slow as it reintroduces the characters and summarizes the events of the past few months, but kicks up as the plot moves on. In Pulse, it took forever for the story to pick up. In Tremor, the book has ensnared the reader by the second part. It accumulates tension until it is released at an exhilarating climax. Sadly, the world of Pulse is not expanded in this novel. A bit of the history surrounding Hotspur Chance is revealed, but the story never goes beyond the confines of the States. The states of other countries aren’t touched upon and aren’t affected by the events of the plot. Patrick Carmen does put an interesting spin on the dystopian genre by making the good guys defend the government rather than tear it down. This book also has a significantly higher amount of action when compared to Pulse.
I give this 358 page book 4 stars.
Series Analysis
The Pulse Trilogy, by Patrick Carman was an entertaining read. The trilogy includes Pulse, Tremor, and Quake. It is a dystopian series taking place in 2051. A few people are gifted with a pulse, a strong telekinetic power. While it has a great concept, it is a book for tween readers. It isn't meant for experienced YA readers; instead, it if for kids being introduced to the YA section. Goodreads gives this series an average of 3.82 stars and this site gives it 4 stars.
Pulse
Pulse takes place in the year 2051. In many places around the world, there are places called the States. The States are huge, massively-populate areas and are the optimal place to live. People live outside the States, but the number is dwindling each day. In this world, there also exist people with the "Pulse". People with the "Pulse" have a strong telekinetic power. People with a "Second Pulse" have a much greater telekinetic power and the ability to deflect objects. Intels are people with enhanced intelligence.