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being_b's review against another edition
4.0
That was some fun science horror with some extremely cinematic action sequences. Basically what I wanted the movie Prometheus to be.
stayshiny's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Heavy with the science lingo and explanations, but once you get past that it's incredibly interesting and intense, especially at the end. I enjoyed the characters and the anthropology/ancient civilization aspect.
maitland's review against another edition
1.0
I have been in a funk with books lately it seems. I don’t know if I have become more picky or if I just have been unlucky with the books I have chosen. This book advertises itself as being a thriller about five of the world’s top scientists “ brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human...”
For 200 pages of this 342 page book (on Kindle) there was nothing but confusing descriptions of scientific theory that, without special degrees and a dictionary were indecipherable. And had nothing at all to do with this non-human mystery. Other than a few sentences in the prologue there is 200 pages with nothing about them. 200 pages. I believe the “non-human” enemies finally got teased at about page 197. Then nothing again for awhile before something finally happens.
None of the characters are memorable, relatable, or really had any reason to be there “based on their scientific field”. I am struggling to name 5 characters from the book.
One character was there to look angry. One character was there to, for some reason even though he is immediately considered suspicious and off putting by everyone else, become the person who’s orders everyone follows for no apparent reason while also saying his background is crazy.
One character is there because she predicted a seismic event which comes into play for about half a page. And the fourth scientist is there because the author wanted another character. There was zero point to him being there and he did nothing to further the plot.
As far as the fifth top scientist. I can’t even think of who it was. Basically all the characters in the book were scientists. I’m not sure what in the book conveyed how any of them were some of the world’s top scientists.
This book was a total waste of time. Tedious to read and without much of a payoff. I do not recommend it at all.
For 200 pages of this 342 page book (on Kindle) there was nothing but confusing descriptions of scientific theory that, without special degrees and a dictionary were indecipherable. And had nothing at all to do with this non-human mystery. Other than a few sentences in the prologue there is 200 pages with nothing about them. 200 pages. I believe the “non-human” enemies finally got teased at about page 197. Then nothing again for awhile before something finally happens.
None of the characters are memorable, relatable, or really had any reason to be there “based on their scientific field”. I am struggling to name 5 characters from the book.
One character was there to look angry. One character was there to, for some reason even though he is immediately considered suspicious and off putting by everyone else, become the person who’s orders everyone follows for no apparent reason while also saying his background is crazy.
One character is there because she predicted a seismic event which comes into play for about half a page. And the fourth scientist is there because the author wanted another character. There was zero point to him being there and he did nothing to further the plot.
As far as the fifth top scientist. I can’t even think of who it was. Basically all the characters in the book were scientists. I’m not sure what in the book conveyed how any of them were some of the world’s top scientists.
This book was a total waste of time. Tedious to read and without much of a payoff. I do not recommend it at all.
tiredwitch's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really interesting. There was a lot of jargon I had to get through slowly but overall I enjoyed it a lot! I do wish most of the action wasn't in the last 100 or so pages, but it was a cool ride nonetheless.
kenleyneufeld's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
andropupsi's review against another edition
I really tried to read this but there's so much technical jargon and its not really explained in a way I can understand that I just lost my interest. Its' a good book but not a book for me.
vexatiousbird's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Pretty average thriller. POV divided between 6 or so characters and I didn’t really connect with any of them - they felt formulaic, like stock characters with backstories and distinctive quirks tacked on to avoid them being seen as cookie cutter. Lots of tell rather than show. Weird that it took until fully halfway through the book to tell the reader that one of the MCs prefers solitude and is socially awkward, with little to indicate this earlier.
The writing itself is decent. The plot is pretty interesting to see unravel, and there are some thrills but few twists. Feels like the author watches a lot of Ancient Aliens.
A couple awkwardly inserted conservative viewpoints detracted a bit from my enjoyment. Author makes a point of establishing climate change denialism as a valid and common viewpoint among supposedly top tier scientists.
The writing itself is decent. The plot is pretty interesting to see unravel, and there are some thrills but few twists. Feels like the author watches a lot of Ancient Aliens.
A couple awkwardly inserted conservative viewpoints detracted a bit from my enjoyment. Author makes a point of establishing climate change denialism as a valid and common viewpoint among supposedly top tier scientists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Body horror and Animal death
amethystfae's review against another edition
I am extremely very much not the target audience of this book. Interesting premise, but with too much focus around things I just don't care about.
waybackwhen's review against another edition
DNF at 37% (over 100 pages) . Far too much Wikipedia science jargon and very little in the way of an intriguing plot. I read science books for science, not goofy novels like Subhuman (which of course can hold similar information but usually shouldn’t hold near as much as a textbook which this does for some reason). At 37% read I couldn’t tell what exactly was supposed to happen. It’s STILL building up the premise, and based off the description, the eventual “horror” or “thriller” aspect is to come but I ask: when? You should have reeled me in at over a third in and there isn’t even a preview of what’s to come so I can’t in good conscience attempt to finish a book that I am not interested in reading. Sorry.
ehamlett's review against another edition
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death