sreddous's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.5
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
This is a complex thriller that tackles a lot of legitimately-realistic, threatening topics. The pacing is overall really easy to follow and well-balanced -- there's good action and tension here. I definitely “smelled danger at all times” which made things exciting.
Honestly, what I think needs some tweaking in this book to support the scary plot points and action scenes is the dialogue. There are a lot of lines of dialogue about complicated topics that are passed off as quirky banter and not actually explored. I got uncomfortable from the way that the characters seemed to comment on and tease each other and others about size/fatness, race, and gender. I think a lot of this was supposed to be humor but it didn’t work for me. If some of the “You don’t have any kids, Hunter.” “There’s always time, darling...” “You need your head examined. You’re beyond heterosexual. A threat to all women!” kinds of lines were cut and the team acted more professionally, it’d be more interesting.
I think ‘having banter’ often feels like a higher priority even than making sure that things make sense or are factual in the first place, which kept taking me out of the experience. Here’s a not-spoilery example near the middle of the book: there’s a scene where a guy is singing Britney Spears’s song, “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman” to a younger teammate. Another character comments, “She’s never heard that song…she’s not American. Not everyone is.” Which is…silly. That song was on tons of international top-40 lists, c'moooon.
But aside from that, this was an engaging read with nice descriptions of the diverse landscapes and a believable overall threat. Overall, this book tackles a lot of topics that definitely need to be tackled these days even in fiction, and the action and tension is well-built-up-to.
This is a complex thriller that tackles a lot of legitimately-realistic, threatening topics. The pacing is overall really easy to follow and well-balanced -- there's good action and tension here. I definitely “smelled danger at all times” which made things exciting.
Honestly, what I think needs some tweaking in this book to support the scary plot points and action scenes is the dialogue. There are a lot of lines of dialogue about complicated topics that are passed off as quirky banter and not actually explored. I got uncomfortable from the way that the characters seemed to comment on and tease each other and others about size/fatness, race, and gender. I think a lot of this was supposed to be humor but it didn’t work for me. If some of the “You don’t have any kids, Hunter.” “There’s always time, darling...” “You need your head examined. You’re beyond heterosexual. A threat to all women!” kinds of lines were cut and the team acted more professionally, it’d be more interesting.
I think ‘having banter’ often feels like a higher priority even than making sure that things make sense or are factual in the first place, which kept taking me out of the experience. Here’s a not-spoilery example near the middle of the book: there’s a scene where a guy is singing Britney Spears’s song, “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman” to a younger teammate. Another character comments, “She’s never heard that song…she’s not American. Not everyone is.” Which is…silly. That song was on tons of international top-40 lists, c'moooon.
But aside from that, this was an engaging read with nice descriptions of the diverse landscapes and a believable overall threat. Overall, this book tackles a lot of topics that definitely need to be tackled these days even in fiction, and the action and tension is well-built-up-to.
tifflesy's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I received an invite to review a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
How far would you go to be one of the last humans on earth? The novel The Green Panthers tries to show exactly what could befall our world should those with excess money and power attempt to quash the "little man" in the year 2029.
The story starts out quite promising with The Green Panthers, a team of random people with various skills all named after shades of green, trying to save an endangered species. However, they stumble upon something much greater that has the implications of a much more dire, nefarious plot at hand. At this point, the story starts to become more fantastical to the point of unbelievability which is unfortunate (for me). The premise of Vater's novel is an amazing one and had it not had so many bizarre elements (especially one starting with the letter "E" but I don't want to spoil the story) then I would have been able to give a solid 4.5 stars. With that being said, if you're up for an outlandish Captain Planet-type of novel, then this is the story for you.
How far would you go to be one of the last humans on earth? The novel The Green Panthers tries to show exactly what could befall our world should those with excess money and power attempt to quash the "little man" in the year 2029.
The story starts out quite promising with The Green Panthers, a team of random people with various skills all named after shades of green, trying to save an endangered species. However, they stumble upon something much greater that has the implications of a much more dire, nefarious plot at hand. At this point, the story starts to become more fantastical to the point of unbelievability which is unfortunate (for me). The premise of Vater's novel is an amazing one and had it not had so many bizarre elements (especially one starting with the letter "E" but I don't want to spoil the story) then I would have been able to give a solid 4.5 stars. With that being said, if you're up for an outlandish Captain Planet-type of novel, then this is the story for you.
trishacole's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
There’s a phenomenal connection with the Panthers because it begs more questions, How did they meet, How can they live all over the world and trust each other with tasks of this magnitude. The girl and her ability to connect to big cats in the beginning totally got me, and I stayed along for the rest of the ride and got to know some wacky and dangerous characters. Glad I did.
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