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litwrite's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This is a pretty typical novel of the apocalypse genre that is elevated by above average writing, great characterization, and a surprising, yet not entirely depressing ending. The first third of the book, describing the events of the apocalyptic event, were paced really quickly and an addictive read - but I felt it started to slow down a bit after that, with some parts of the episodic nature of the novel being better than other parts. All in all, a fun, light read for anyone into PA books.
strangethedreamer's review against another edition
1.0
This book would have been a lot better if the main character had died at the beginning and the story was actually about how his wife Beth and his two kids survived the apocalypse.
roaming_rachael's review against another edition
2.0
Started out great and exciting but then got more and more meh. I ended up skipping about 75 pages at the end and didn't miss them. Main character was kind of annoying and whiny. There were tons of little things that happened to them on their journey but they were all basically the same - they need food/water/a vehicle so they come up on a house, someone lives there, they are wary of the person that lives there, person seems nice, ends up trying to kill them, they manage to escape. Ending wasn't worth it although it was different than I expected at least.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
5.0
A 2017 staff favorite highly recommended by Becky. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Send%20of%20the%20world%20running%20club%20Walker__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
cat_uk's review against another edition
5.0
I don't run, so a book about running seems an improbable fit for me, But this is a book about asteroids, destroyed world, separate families and how people respond to all of the above.
I love a good dystopia, and this book, with its plot of getting from Edinburgh to Cornwall in three weeks, allows for exploration of the different ways people cope with the destruction of the world: feral city tribes; isolationism; dictator states and helping hands.
I could totally imagine Stephen Spielberg getting his hands on the film rights to this book and totally p******ing me off with his treatment. It's everyman against overwhelming odds, after all, but Spielberg can never let a tale rest on its own merits, but has to screw around with the endings or else completely belabour the point (qv War of the Worlds and Saving Private Ryan). Spielberg is not one of my favourite directors, I'm sorry to say.
I love a good dystopia, and this book, with its plot of getting from Edinburgh to Cornwall in three weeks, allows for exploration of the different ways people cope with the destruction of the world: feral city tribes; isolationism; dictator states and helping hands.
I could totally imagine Stephen Spielberg getting his hands on the film rights to this book and totally p******ing me off with his treatment. It's everyman against overwhelming odds, after all, but Spielberg can never let a tale rest on its own merits, but has to screw around with the endings or else completely belabour the point (qv War of the Worlds and Saving Private Ryan). Spielberg is not one of my favourite directors, I'm sorry to say.
leyleylena's review against another edition
Condescending, fatphobic and holier-than-thou protagonist POV
readerxxx's review against another edition
4.0
really enjoyed this book. Its refreshing to read a book that actually ends. And the ending...I loved it.
vctrlysn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amyzig's review against another edition
4.0
The end could have been edited down but overall, the story moved swiftly and it was heartbreakingly good. Comparisons to The Martian are pretty accurate.
wolfblade's review against another edition
3.0
I can't decide if I liked this book or not. I'm still thinking about the book, which I suppose is a good thing. However the book has left me feeling a little unsatisfied.
Edgar is kind of an arsehole. He has disengaged from everything, and so the beginning of the book is a bit disjointed as we only see what Edgar cares to notice - which isn't a lot. From a reader's point of view this was a little confusing at times, but I felt it was really well done.
He doesn't give a shit about the potential meteor strike, and hasn't bothered to prepare. He's the world's least hands on father and husband. He's lazy and he complains and he doesn't really like anyone. He was kind of a stand in for the reader, and I thought this was clever.
Almost everyone in this book is selfish, and it's shockingly confronting. At one point two men are trying to barricade themselves in their family run store, and Edgar kicks in the door to get some water and supplies. The store is then picked clean by looters, which means the family in the store have nothing on which to survive. That was also well done I thought.
However the characters were quite thin. I only really liked Harvey and Grimes. However Grimes, one of the main female characters, was fairly cardboard and perhaps only there to create romantic tension. Another character, Richard, was so thin that I actually kept forgetting who he was. Jacob was a bit of an arsehole. Edgar was the only one who really had a character arc - by the end he was a much better person. He was weak and selfish, but as I said before, he represented the reader - to show how unprepared we'd be in the same situation.
The ending is where this all fell apart for me. There was basically no conclusion. A lot of the characters died, which I know is realistic but which I think is a lazy way of dealing with a character. Other characters just disappeared, another convenient and lazy way of dealing with them. And I felt like nothing was achieved by the end - if Edgar had decided to stay put in Edinburgh the story would have had the same conclusion, though less character growth I suppose.
Overall I liked this story for the character growth, the setting, and the apocalypse, but I didn't like the ending, which made me feel like I wasted time reading the book. Well, that's a bit strong. I feel like I could have not read the book and still feel just as satisfied. It started off really strongly, with some good writing, but I think Adrian Walker rushed the ending and didn't take time to wrap up the characters properly.
Edgar is kind of an arsehole. He has disengaged from everything, and so the beginning of the book is a bit disjointed as we only see what Edgar cares to notice - which isn't a lot. From a reader's point of view this was a little confusing at times, but I felt it was really well done.
He doesn't give a shit about the potential meteor strike, and hasn't bothered to prepare. He's the world's least hands on father and husband. He's lazy and he complains and he doesn't really like anyone. He was kind of a stand in for the reader, and I thought this was clever.
Almost everyone in this book is selfish, and it's shockingly confronting. At one point two men are trying to barricade themselves in their family run store, and Edgar kicks in the door to get some water and supplies. The store is then picked clean by looters, which means the family in the store have nothing on which to survive. That was also well done I thought.
However the characters were quite thin. I only really liked Harvey and Grimes. However Grimes, one of the main female characters, was fairly cardboard and perhaps only there to create romantic tension. Another character, Richard, was so thin that I actually kept forgetting who he was. Jacob was a bit of an arsehole. Edgar was the only one who really had a character arc - by the end he was a much better person. He was weak and selfish, but as I said before, he represented the reader - to show how unprepared we'd be in the same situation.
The ending is where this all fell apart for me. There was basically no conclusion. A lot of the characters died, which I know is realistic but which I think is a lazy way of dealing with a character. Other characters just disappeared, another convenient and lazy way of dealing with them. And I felt like nothing was achieved by the end - if Edgar had decided to stay put in Edinburgh the story would have had the same conclusion, though less character growth I suppose.
Overall I liked this story for the character growth, the setting, and the apocalypse, but I didn't like the ending, which made me feel like I wasted time reading the book. Well, that's a bit strong. I feel like I could have not read the book and still feel just as satisfied. It started off really strongly, with some good writing, but I think Adrian Walker rushed the ending and didn't take time to wrap up the characters properly.