Scan barcode
logantea's review
3.0
This book doesn’t seem sure what it wants to be. Somewhat grounded sci-fi thriller? Conspiracy theory fanfic? Screed against the US government intelligence complex and a world hijacked by shady special interests?
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It’s setup as a loosely based on reality piece of fiction, that through mixing truth and fiction tells a hidden truth. The writing style is somewhat dry, but that actually serves to enhance the idea that this is almost a historical account (despite being fiction). The multiple narratives are all interesting and populated with characters I was drawn to care about. However, as the novel goes on it seems to become overly ambitious and loses focus.
There’s 4 regular narratives you have to keep track of in this book, but then it will randomly throw in a chapter of conspiracy theory fanservice that simply recounts recorded alien sightings and does nothing to advance the plot. When they occurred at the beginning of the book they worked to enhance the mood, but as the book went on they simply became cumbersome roadblocks that brought the well paced plot to a startling halt.
I also felt the writer of the book was much less adept at writing fight sequences than they were at building the tension during the investigation and world building sections of the book, which meant my eyes started to glaze over and I completely lost interest during the final fight sequence. This was made all the more frustrating by the fact that it doesn’t lead to a satisfying conclusion. By the end everyone is double crossing everyone else and it's not clear what anyone's goal is or who they're even working for.
Overall it’s a decent and enjoyable read that seems to get so caught up in what it’s trying to do (expose conspiracies and rail against government secrecy) that it loses track of where the story is actually going. It spends most of the book seeming like it wants to be a somewhat grounded conspiracy theory thriller, but by the end there’s dozens of UFOs fighting all over earth and it’s never clear why the hell anyone is benefitting from keeping the UFOs secret when it seems that every powerful nation on earth has a buttload of them lying around that they’re not afraid to constantly use. There's Nazi's too -- and they serve no purpose besides giving a reason for some old dude to have written a diary about alien tech that someone can find and make it all the more strange and implausible that people are still hiding this UFO tech when it's apparently been in operation since the 40s.
It seems like perhaps some of my confusion and reservations about the end of this book are setup to be resolved by a sequel, but I don’t think the fact that there’s a sequel coming is a valid excuse for badly written and unsatisfying endings. And at this point the logic of this conspiracy is so unbelievable and confusing that I'm not sure they could manage to tie a nice bow around it. But I suppose maybe that's my fault for expecting any consistent logic in a book purporting to expose the truth of an alien conspiracy.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It’s setup as a loosely based on reality piece of fiction, that through mixing truth and fiction tells a hidden truth. The writing style is somewhat dry, but that actually serves to enhance the idea that this is almost a historical account (despite being fiction). The multiple narratives are all interesting and populated with characters I was drawn to care about. However, as the novel goes on it seems to become overly ambitious and loses focus.
There’s 4 regular narratives you have to keep track of in this book, but then it will randomly throw in a chapter of conspiracy theory fanservice that simply recounts recorded alien sightings and does nothing to advance the plot. When they occurred at the beginning of the book they worked to enhance the mood, but as the book went on they simply became cumbersome roadblocks that brought the well paced plot to a startling halt.
I also felt the writer of the book was much less adept at writing fight sequences than they were at building the tension during the investigation and world building sections of the book, which meant my eyes started to glaze over and I completely lost interest during the final fight sequence. This was made all the more frustrating by the fact that it doesn’t lead to a satisfying conclusion. By the end everyone is double crossing everyone else and it's not clear what anyone's goal is or who they're even working for.
Overall it’s a decent and enjoyable read that seems to get so caught up in what it’s trying to do (expose conspiracies and rail against government secrecy) that it loses track of where the story is actually going. It spends most of the book seeming like it wants to be a somewhat grounded conspiracy theory thriller, but by the end there’s dozens of UFOs fighting all over earth and it’s never clear why the hell anyone is benefitting from keeping the UFOs secret when it seems that every powerful nation on earth has a buttload of them lying around that they’re not afraid to constantly use. There's Nazi's too -- and they serve no purpose besides giving a reason for some old dude to have written a diary about alien tech that someone can find and make it all the more strange and implausible that people are still hiding this UFO tech when it's apparently been in operation since the 40s.
It seems like perhaps some of my confusion and reservations about the end of this book are setup to be resolved by a sequel, but I don’t think the fact that there’s a sequel coming is a valid excuse for badly written and unsatisfying endings. And at this point the logic of this conspiracy is so unbelievable and confusing that I'm not sure they could manage to tie a nice bow around it. But I suppose maybe that's my fault for expecting any consistent logic in a book purporting to expose the truth of an alien conspiracy.
pikamonster's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
An interesting read. A little boring and the characters felt very one dimensional. I understand why but this book almost put me in a reading slump. Even the big reveals felt dull. I fully understand what they're doing but I feel like the execution could have been a little better.
missy182's review
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism
Mentions of the Holocaust and nazisbmobley's review
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
deathwilldie's review
3.0
It took me about halfway through the book to enjoy it a bit. The ending was good but in general I felt like there wasn't enough things going on to keep my interest for very long.
wendyblacke's review
5.0
This is a big chunk of a book, but I'm glad I made the time commitment to it because it has been one of the most thoroughly engaging books I've read in a good long time.
The story itself is unreal, with twists and turns you don't expect. It's outlandish, but in a really good way that takes you for a ride and doesn't let go. The characters are well developed and believable, and they way all their different lines come together is satisfying. The ending wraps up nicely, leaving you wanting to explore the topic further.
I'm a skeptical person in the matters presented in the book, so whether or not the events in this book are based off of real events is something I will certainly need to do further research on, but whatever your degree of alien belief, you will enjoy this read. It's a wild ride.
The story itself is unreal, with twists and turns you don't expect. It's outlandish, but in a really good way that takes you for a ride and doesn't let go. The characters are well developed and believable, and they way all their different lines come together is satisfying. The ending wraps up nicely, leaving you wanting to explore the topic further.
I'm a skeptical person in the matters presented in the book, so whether or not the events in this book are based off of real events is something I will certainly need to do further research on, but whatever your degree of alien belief, you will enjoy this read. It's a wild ride.
readingwithkelsey's review against another edition
3.5
Warning: As a major Blink-182/Tom Delonge/AVA fan, so keep in mind there is probably some sort of bias pertained to my enjoyment of the book.
This book has taken me so long to complete, but I cannot say that I did not enjoy the journey - and like waaay more than I thought I would. The novel focuses on "true" stories that Delonge and Hartley have collected and compiled over the years woven into a sci-fi thriller novel follow four seemingly differing perspectives and the one common thread being they all have somehow found themselves around strange airborne phenomena. I've been debating my overall rating for this book now that I have finished it. I was very engaged whenever I was reading the book, but it took quite a bit for me to choose to pick up this book over the others I was reading. Part of this was due to two specific characters and their plotlines (very heavily military focused and entrenched in Area 51/US Soldier lore, US Soldier vs. Operation Paperclip discovery), which granted were interesting but also stuff seen before - unless of course, you are not a history buff/ into alien lore like this. But for me, it felt like themes I have seen over and over again in alien sci-fi thriller novels. However, the two other characters had really thrilling chapters that I was always excited to get to and their storylines felt creepy, which I loved. I also really enjoyed the discussions on lore v. science v. government v. religion that is strung throughout the novel and I felt pretty clever when I was starting to piece things together (also - how known historical events link back to alien lore was fun to read as well). Overall, the book was really enjoyable but there are definitely slumps between chapters and some parts were a slog to get through.
This book has taken me so long to complete, but I cannot say that I did not enjoy the journey - and like waaay more than I thought I would. The novel focuses on "true" stories that Delonge and Hartley have collected and compiled over the years woven into a sci-fi thriller novel follow four seemingly differing perspectives and the one common thread being they all have somehow found themselves around strange airborne phenomena. I've been debating my overall rating for this book now that I have finished it. I was very engaged whenever I was reading the book, but it took quite a bit for me to choose to pick up this book over the others I was reading. Part of this was due to two specific characters and their plotlines (very heavily military focused and entrenched in Area 51/US Soldier lore, US Soldier vs. Operation Paperclip discovery), which granted were interesting but also stuff seen before - unless of course, you are not a history buff/ into alien lore like this. But for me, it felt like themes I have seen over and over again in alien sci-fi thriller novels. However, the two other characters had really thrilling chapters that I was always excited to get to and their storylines felt creepy, which I loved. I also really enjoyed the discussions on lore v. science v. government v. religion that is strung throughout the novel and I felt pretty clever when I was starting to piece things together (also - how known historical events link back to alien lore was fun to read as well). Overall, the book was really enjoyable but there are definitely slumps between chapters and some parts were a slog to get through.
hybum's review
5.0
Wowzers. This is a pretty incredible book. I'm not sure if this franchise is the biggest thing since the Renaissance, as Peter Levenda describes it, but it is pretty freaking awesome. Very long, but very fast paced. It drew me in right from the first chapter, and I stayed up late to finish it once I hit the last 100 pages, something I haven't done with a book in a while. The storyline played out very much like a movie, following the events of several different characters. At times, it was difficult to keep up with who was who, but for the most part it was pretty easy to follow. A lot of it made me think, huh, this might be real. It's tough to delve into it without giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say that I'm taking it as a work of pretty much total fiction. Intriguing, with ideas that I think could be true, but I'm not buying into the grand scheme. Until further notice. For those interested, the AVA EP is incredible as well. Excellent music.
maisonelliott's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75