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biehlet's review against another edition
5.0
This book was phenomenal! It was unique in its writing styles which followed the flow of story well. At first, the world of the book is disjointed and exclusive of others beyond the self, but in the end it has been tied back together with the characters and the writing styles. The plot was interesting, and it kept my attention through out. A concept of a world that has lost time is intriguing to think about. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
You can't help but smile when you read the sections from the dog's point of view. He is such a good boy. :-)
You can't help but smile when you read the sections from the dog's point of view. He is such a good boy. :-)
goldengeode's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
flatterina's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book!
It was a fast read with interesting perspectives. Sure, it took a bit gettung used to the five different tenses and narrators, but once I got into it, and especially after I got the message behind it, it was quite fun.
The idea of an apocalypse happening of course isn't new, but I thoroughly enjoyed how this was dealt with. Sure, there were a few riots and crimes in the beginning but while reading I found myself thinking that it'd actually be not that bad living in "A Book Without Dragons"' postapocalyptic society. Everyone was so nice to each other, discussing different ideas and 'spreading words'. It was the happiest possible outcome I've read about so far.
Also, Cider! Do I need to say anything else? I don't think so. I almost cried during one if his chapters.
What I am substracting one star for, though, is the ending. I was so pumped for everyone living in some happy hippie world for ever and all times, and then everything is taken away in the course of a few sentences. And in the end it's like nothing ever happened, except for people maybe being even more miserable than before because they know now how it could have been.
It was a fast read with interesting perspectives. Sure, it took a bit gettung used to the five different tenses and narrators, but once I got into it, and especially after I got the message behind it, it was quite fun.
The idea of an apocalypse happening of course isn't new, but I thoroughly enjoyed how this was dealt with. Sure, there were a few riots and crimes in the beginning but while reading I found myself thinking that it'd actually be not that bad living in "A Book Without Dragons"' postapocalyptic society. Everyone was so nice to each other, discussing different ideas and 'spreading words'. It was the happiest possible outcome I've read about so far.
Also, Cider! Do I need to say anything else? I don't think so. I almost cried during one if his chapters.
What I am substracting one star for, though, is the ending. I was so pumped for everyone living in some happy hippie world for ever and all times, and then everything is taken away in the course of a few sentences. And in the end it's like nothing ever happened, except for people maybe being even more miserable than before because they know now how it could have been.
lydsansthekidd's review against another edition
3.0
"It's like we're all in a story together, but we were each in different tenses. Imagine if there was a book where every time you switched to a new character, the writing style changed. It would bounce between past and present and first person and third and second, and it would be a nightmare!
"A book like that would be so confusing and disorienting and no one would ever want to read it. But that's not where we are anymore. For the first time, we're all finally in the same tense. And it's even more than that! It's like, we're not even separate points of view anymore. It's omniscient. There aren't any boundaries between my problems and your problems. We're finally telling the story together."
The best explanation I can offer for this book is delivered by one of the characters at the climax of the book itself. In the beginning, this book is told using the unique voices of multiple characters through various points of view. Mid-chapter, the character will change and introduce their own personal problems. The only factor that seems to tie them all together is that they all live in the same town and that time is on the fritz (but that's the case all around the world). As the book goes on though, they all come to interact with one another until the point of view combines, and they're all in the same place. This was one of the major things that drew me to read the book in the first place, and I was more than pleased when it finally paid off.
As the name of the book implies, if you're looking for fire-breathing fire lizards, you're in the wrong place. The title is not a clever ruse, simply truth. The only hint of a dragon is reoccurring references to the book Quest for the Enchanted Dragon. Instead, the evil to be slain comes in the form of what is known as Unitime. The original concept of Unitime was to unify time all over the world and then have all machines run under this system in order to eliminate most crimes and human error. Fourteen years after its creation, time has suddenly stopped syncing up with itself, which, understandably, causes mass panic.
Our story begins here, starting with the five characters being introduced to the concept that time isn't running how it should. The police chief Snowiks is about to retire after a career that he sees as pretty unsuccessful. He's spent most of his life waiting for a big case that would never come. He starts receiving calls from panicked people about the fact that time isn't running how it should. Bethany works as a secretary for a laboratory. Since the laboratory runs on Unitime, it shuts down, leaving her at home. Her husband, a philosophy professor at the local college, invites her to come to work with him, but she just doesn't see the point. He knows that she doesn't understand the sort of thing, or want to for that matter, all she wants is for them to have a baby. Zabby, short for Elizabeth, works as a waitress at a dinner. Originally, she wanted to be a nurse, but that just didn't pan out for her. Instead, she has to listen to people try to make small talk about the fact that time isn't working right. Then, there's Cider, the bestest pupper ever who just can't understand why his family is so upset. Finally, there's Willow Ayres, the co-creator of Unitime that everyone is relying on to fix it.
People soon began sharing all sorts of information and preforming all sorts of experiments. Zabby and Willow couldn't be more proud. Everyone seems happier, well almost everyone. The brother of the man who helped Willow create Unitime is out for revenge. He contacts Chief in the hopes that he can open up his brother's case and finally bring Willow to justice. Chief soon goes down a rabbithole that he wasn't expecting, digging up more and more information that suggests there might have been foul play.
His search is deterred though when Bethany makes her way back to the police station. She was a person he had helped in the past with a stalker, a feat she is still grateful for. Now she wants to help Zabby get away from her abusive father. Zabby isn't pleased about the invasion of her privacy at first, but eventually, she realizes that she deserves better and she testifies in court with the help of the officer and her new friends.
In the end, many of the characters reach a happy conclusion. Zabby doesn't have to live with her father. Cider has a newer and better family. Bethany and her husband realize that they want to try to make their marriage work. Chief feels better about himself; even though he never worked on a big case, he did change people's lives.
Willow, however, realizes that he has to leave now that Quinton is on his tail. He refuses to put his bodyguard in danger, so he tries to leave town. When he almost has an accident, he panics, having flashbacks to the car accident. Quinton manages to get a hold of him. He takes Willow to his house as a prisoner and intends to force him to reveal to everyone the truth.
At the same time, Cider remembers that he wants to go home. He figures he'll take his new friends, and wouldn't you know it? The door is open because Quinton is Daddy. All of the characters then end up in the same place. The narrative finally comes together. Now that Quinton has hostages, Chief gets the chance to try to talk him down. When Ralph approaches the mysterious box that Willow had taken with him, Quinton shoots him in his surprise. Apparently, Zabby does better with practical application because she remembers her classes and manages to save him from dying of a collapsed lung.
Finally, Willow agrees to reveal the truth. He was the one who crashed Unitime. The box he has been protecting is what's known as a randomizer. It's what threw off time. Willow intentionally made this happen because he wanted people to come together. Knowing his plan, Quinton's brother tried to kill him via car crash, even if it meant taking his own life. Quinton comes to terms with what happened, but he doesn't agree with Willow. He shoots at the randomizer. Willow jumps in the way. Both of them are destroyed. Quinton, with nothing left to live for now (I guess???) shoots himself in the head.
In the end, everything goes back to how it was except now Bethany has a better marriage, Zabby is going back to school, and Cider has a new loving family.
I love all of the unique voices. The story has enough intrigue to it that it kept me reading, but at a certain point, had I not been invested in these characters, I might have lost interest. Willow and Zabby's friendship is super pure. I was sad when he took the time to say goodbye to her. Bethany's need to fill the hole left by the lack of child with Zabby was also incredibly heartbreaking. AND ALL CIDER WANTED WAS CUDDLES! HE WAS SUCH A GOOD BOY! As much as this story is about solving the problem with Unitime, it is a story about finding unity and love.
I think one of my biggest beefs with this book was the ending. An ideal and happy world seems to be reached, but then it quickly returns to normal. People suck again, but it's fine because some of us remember when it was better? No. I know that's probably what would really happen, but it almost felt like the book had multiple conclusions. The first one where it seems like everyone has had their epiphanies and then the one where and we just accept that life moves on and won't ever be as good again. I'd have been pretty happy with the "first" conclusion." In fairness, I do get it because Unitime wasn't technically fixed according to the true definition of "fixed."
Anyway, this was a great introduction to Berrier. I look forward to one day picking up one of her other books. Hopefully, I'll see her in person at con again so I can just buy it then.
"A book like that would be so confusing and disorienting and no one would ever want to read it. But that's not where we are anymore. For the first time, we're all finally in the same tense. And it's even more than that! It's like, we're not even separate points of view anymore. It's omniscient. There aren't any boundaries between my problems and your problems. We're finally telling the story together."
The best explanation I can offer for this book is delivered by one of the characters at the climax of the book itself. In the beginning, this book is told using the unique voices of multiple characters through various points of view. Mid-chapter, the character will change and introduce their own personal problems. The only factor that seems to tie them all together is that they all live in the same town and that time is on the fritz (but that's the case all around the world). As the book goes on though, they all come to interact with one another until the point of view combines, and they're all in the same place. This was one of the major things that drew me to read the book in the first place, and I was more than pleased when it finally paid off.
As the name of the book implies, if you're looking for fire-breathing fire lizards, you're in the wrong place. The title is not a clever ruse, simply truth. The only hint of a dragon is reoccurring references to the book Quest for the Enchanted Dragon. Instead, the evil to be slain comes in the form of what is known as Unitime. The original concept of Unitime was to unify time all over the world and then have all machines run under this system in order to eliminate most crimes and human error. Fourteen years after its creation, time has suddenly stopped syncing up with itself, which, understandably, causes mass panic.
Our story begins here, starting with the five characters being introduced to the concept that time isn't running how it should. The police chief Snowiks is about to retire after a career that he sees as pretty unsuccessful. He's spent most of his life waiting for a big case that would never come. He starts receiving calls from panicked people about the fact that time isn't running how it should. Bethany works as a secretary for a laboratory. Since the laboratory runs on Unitime, it shuts down, leaving her at home. Her husband, a philosophy professor at the local college, invites her to come to work with him, but she just doesn't see the point. He knows that she doesn't understand the sort of thing, or want to for that matter, all she wants is for them to have a baby. Zabby, short for Elizabeth, works as a waitress at a dinner. Originally, she wanted to be a nurse, but that just didn't pan out for her. Instead, she has to listen to people try to make small talk about the fact that time isn't working right. Then, there's Cider, the bestest pupper ever who just can't understand why his family is so upset. Finally, there's Willow Ayres, the co-creator of Unitime that everyone is relying on to fix it.
Spoiler
Because something is wrong with Mommy, Daddy kicks Cider out of their home. The pup then makes friends with Zabby on her way from home. She goes in to take care of the dog, only for them to be discovered by her alcoholic father. He hits Cider, and they both run away. Zabby knows all too well what it's like to be hit by her father. At this point, she begins to avoid going home. Following Cider, she comes across the local bed and breakfast that has been housing Willow while he's been trying to fix Unitime. No one is going to look in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Willow and Zabby begin to form a heartwarming friendship. Through her prompting, he releases a video requesting that instead of relying on him to be the hero that slays the dragon, everyone should come together to figure out how to continue without Unitime. People soon come out of their houses and begin conversing with each other, including Bethany's husband Ralph.People soon began sharing all sorts of information and preforming all sorts of experiments. Zabby and Willow couldn't be more proud. Everyone seems happier, well almost everyone. The brother of the man who helped Willow create Unitime is out for revenge. He contacts Chief in the hopes that he can open up his brother's case and finally bring Willow to justice. Chief soon goes down a rabbithole that he wasn't expecting, digging up more and more information that suggests there might have been foul play.
His search is deterred though when Bethany makes her way back to the police station. She was a person he had helped in the past with a stalker, a feat she is still grateful for. Now she wants to help Zabby get away from her abusive father. Zabby isn't pleased about the invasion of her privacy at first, but eventually, she realizes that she deserves better and she testifies in court with the help of the officer and her new friends.
In the end, many of the characters reach a happy conclusion. Zabby doesn't have to live with her father. Cider has a newer and better family. Bethany and her husband realize that they want to try to make their marriage work. Chief feels better about himself; even though he never worked on a big case, he did change people's lives.
Willow, however, realizes that he has to leave now that Quinton is on his tail. He refuses to put his bodyguard in danger, so he tries to leave town. When he almost has an accident, he panics, having flashbacks to the car accident. Quinton manages to get a hold of him. He takes Willow to his house as a prisoner and intends to force him to reveal to everyone the truth.
At the same time, Cider remembers that he wants to go home. He figures he'll take his new friends, and wouldn't you know it? The door is open because Quinton is Daddy. All of the characters then end up in the same place. The narrative finally comes together. Now that Quinton has hostages, Chief gets the chance to try to talk him down. When Ralph approaches the mysterious box that Willow had taken with him, Quinton shoots him in his surprise. Apparently, Zabby does better with practical application because she remembers her classes and manages to save him from dying of a collapsed lung.
Finally, Willow agrees to reveal the truth. He was the one who crashed Unitime. The box he has been protecting is what's known as a randomizer. It's what threw off time. Willow intentionally made this happen because he wanted people to come together. Knowing his plan, Quinton's brother tried to kill him via car crash, even if it meant taking his own life. Quinton comes to terms with what happened, but he doesn't agree with Willow. He shoots at the randomizer. Willow jumps in the way. Both of them are destroyed. Quinton, with nothing left to live for now (I guess???) shoots himself in the head.
In the end, everything goes back to how it was except now Bethany has a better marriage, Zabby is going back to school, and Cider has a new loving family.
I love all of the unique voices. The story has enough intrigue to it that it kept me reading, but at a certain point, had I not been invested in these characters, I might have lost interest. Willow and Zabby's friendship is super pure. I was sad when he took the time to say goodbye to her. Bethany's need to fill the hole left by the lack of child with Zabby was also incredibly heartbreaking. AND ALL CIDER WANTED WAS CUDDLES! HE WAS SUCH A GOOD BOY! As much as this story is about solving the problem with Unitime, it is a story about finding unity and love.
I think one of my biggest beefs with this book was the ending. An ideal and happy world seems to be reached, but then it quickly returns to normal. People suck again, but it's fine because some of us remember when it was better? No. I know that's probably what would really happen, but it almost felt like the book had multiple conclusions. The first one where it seems like everyone has had their epiphanies and then the one where
Spoiler
Willow dies and Quinton shoots himself for some reason? I didn't really have enough backing to fully understand why he did this beyond "My wife is dead," which is a valid reason, but even then, it didn't totally FEEL like that was why he did itAnyway, this was a great introduction to Berrier. I look forward to one day picking up one of her other books. Hopefully, I'll see her in person at con again so I can just buy it then.
dankeohane's review
5.0
This was an original, imaginative and extremely well-written book. I'd picked it up at a writer's conference but before I could read it, my 20 year old daughter grabbed it and read it in two days (a major record for her). Seeing her excitement at finishing the novel, my wife then read it in a day and a half (another record set) and also loved it. I finally got to read it myself (had no choice, the other two insisted). Haven't read such a clever, interesting book in quite some time. At first I was taken aback by the changes in perspective and tense (one character is written in first person, past tense, another third person, present tense - there's even one whose scenes are in third person FUTURE tense... what? but it works - and kudos to Berrier, very few writers can swing some of these methods well, let alone all of them). I quickly understood it was deliberate and rolled with it. It added to the enjoyment of the book. In fact, it was critical. Anyway, buy this book, relax and trust the author to bring you along for the ride.
ricksilva's review
5.0
This was a kind of small-town cyberpunk tragedy, set in a near-future where the single computer system that runs all other systems has begun to fail, starting with clocks showing the wrong time.
Small inconveniences rapidly escalate into a situation that is looking apocalyptic, as five characters (including a dog who pretty nearly steals the show) that at first seem to have no connection to each other are brought together in a series of events that will affect them and the world around them forever.
The book starts with a different point-of-view and writing style for each character, a device that is transformed into a metaphor for the larger issues addressed in the story. I didn't find the clash of narration styles to be a hindrance to my enjoyment of the story, and the author does a nice job of using the mechanism of those styles coming together to build tension as the book reaches its climactic scenes.
The characters are very engaging, without there being the standard heroes and villains (that one might find in a book with dragons; this is part of the point here).
The future technology isn't given all that much attention, but there is excellent detail work on other aspects of life in the small-town setting. The pacing is great, and I thought the ending was pretty powerful.
Small inconveniences rapidly escalate into a situation that is looking apocalyptic, as five characters (including a dog who pretty nearly steals the show) that at first seem to have no connection to each other are brought together in a series of events that will affect them and the world around them forever.
The book starts with a different point-of-view and writing style for each character, a device that is transformed into a metaphor for the larger issues addressed in the story. I didn't find the clash of narration styles to be a hindrance to my enjoyment of the story, and the author does a nice job of using the mechanism of those styles coming together to build tension as the book reaches its climactic scenes.
The characters are very engaging, without there being the standard heroes and villains (that one might find in a book with dragons; this is part of the point here).
The future technology isn't given all that much attention, but there is excellent detail work on other aspects of life in the small-town setting. The pacing is great, and I thought the ending was pretty powerful.
sarahvinnet's review
4.0
This book makes you think about the tradeoffs of striving for peace, of “slaying dragons.” The plot is deceptively meandering. Be prepared for both pleasantness and gut wrenching. The main idea was unusual, well considered, and expertly executed. The characters were relatable and human, and the dialogue flowed naturally. It’s very well constructed and a worthwhile read, but I would have difficulty rereading it. If you need an escape that puts your problems in a perspective and asks you to reevaluate, this is it.
astraeal's review
3.0
I don't really know how to feel about this book. We have different characters but the more we read the more they become connected with each other. I like how with each narrative, the perspective and writing style changed, it was interesting, but as their story (and themselves) grow the narrative itself change and at one point everything was the same and it was difficult to distingue from who we were reading. I like the fact the narratives were all different and the fact they change as their character change themselves, but it became way too confusing.
The story itself about the technology and how people act around/without it was interesting, but I find like everything was for nothing at the end, so that was disappointing.
The story itself about the technology and how people act around/without it was interesting, but I find like everything was for nothing at the end, so that was disappointing.
audreyhoyt00's review
4.0
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley
I thought it was a fun and fast paced book that had a really interesting premise.
I was apprehensive about reading a book written in different tenses. I was worried it would be jarring to switch from one to the other but I thought it was done so well and gave each character a distinctive voice. After the first few sections, I stopped noticing the changes because it just flowed so well. I still think the idea is a little gimmicky but I really enjoyed it.
There is a dog that gave me all of the feelings. I am not an animal person at all and normally get annoyed when books lean on the fact that most people love animals. This dog made me almost like dogs.
I thought it was a fun and fast paced book that had a really interesting premise.
I was apprehensive about reading a book written in different tenses. I was worried it would be jarring to switch from one to the other but I thought it was done so well and gave each character a distinctive voice. After the first few sections, I stopped noticing the changes because it just flowed so well. I still think the idea is a little gimmicky but I really enjoyed it.
There is a dog that gave me all of the feelings. I am not an animal person at all and normally get annoyed when books lean on the fact that most people love animals. This dog made me almost like dogs.
storiesforhisglory's review
5.0
Awwwww
Beautiful and heartwrenching and heartwarming, all at the same time. I loved these characters and their story. And sheesh, Cider deserved better. What a sweetheart.
Beautiful and heartwrenching and heartwarming, all at the same time. I loved these characters and their story. And sheesh, Cider deserved better. What a sweetheart.