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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This was a fast-paced and entertaining read, but ultimately I found the mechanics of the ending to be very abrupt and the overall plot resolution a bit lackluster— but I think that’s because I saw that the book is classified as paranormal fiction and was hoping for a nonhuman monster.
EDIT: The more I think about this book the less I liked it. There were so many loose ends and nothing was ever properly explained! Very sloppy.
EDIT: The more I think about this book the less I liked it. There were so many loose ends and nothing was ever properly explained! Very sloppy.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Fairly suspenseful novel. Writing was good and it had a driving plot. The author sprinkles in a lot of biology course detail, so if you're into learning, you're going to learn a lot, but it can get dry on occasion. Sometimes I don't want the author to explain every single detail to me, but eh... I know a little more about decomposition than I knew before.
Very engaging, exciting read. I loved the main character, even if he did read a bit like the antisocial genius characature that murder shows like so much. The science here is probably dubious but read realistically enough to my mind that I enjoyed it a lot. The plot is fast paced and energetic. Can’t wait to read the next in the series!
The Naturalist read as a companion to those wacky procedural/investigative shows you often see on CBS. Take your pick: the Mentalist, Numbers, and others where one person or group of persons have some innate ability to see something others don't. Lie to Me is another example. If you buy the premise that, one, the character has those abilities and two, he would not be summarily arrested for interfering with an ongoing investigation, you could enjoy this book.
The problem is there is no real surprise. If Grishom from CSI is talking to a suspect fifteen or twenty minutes into the show, you know that person is innocent. And, you also know, by the end of the show the real villain will be found and your returning cast will return. Same here. Quirky character with whizbang scientific knowledge is a suspect early. Of course he didn't do it and I'm not even marking that as a spoiler cause come on.
The enticing part about those shows is the whizbang stuff along the way. And seeing how much collateral damage is done. With this book, however, the damage is already done. The victims are dead and buried. And as you don't really meet their loved ones, there is limited emotional investment.
So, you know how it'll end and there is no investment in the journey. Seems a solid meh. It's an episode of CSI that you'll watch just to say you've watched them all, but is otherwise not memorable. Not bad, just not memorable.
The problem is there is no real surprise. If Grishom from CSI is talking to a suspect fifteen or twenty minutes into the show, you know that person is innocent. And, you also know, by the end of the show the real villain will be found and your returning cast will return. Same here. Quirky character with whizbang scientific knowledge is a suspect early. Of course he didn't do it and I'm not even marking that as a spoiler cause come on.
The enticing part about those shows is the whizbang stuff along the way. And seeing how much collateral damage is done. With this book, however, the damage is already done. The victims are dead and buried. And as you don't really meet their loved ones, there is limited emotional investment.
So, you know how it'll end and there is no investment in the journey. Seems a solid meh. It's an episode of CSI that you'll watch just to say you've watched them all, but is otherwise not memorable. Not bad, just not memorable.
Raced through this. Fast paced, intriguing. Lots of tracing paths of inquiry and detecting, solving puzzles. Scientists solving crime puzzles is a win. Will definitely finish this series.
There really wasn't much to like. I like and read a lot of "sciency thrillers," so I feel like I have the authority to pronounce this book sub-par in science, thrills, and general character and plot development.
The "science" bits feel like the author was doing some general interest pop-sci reading and filling out note cards with random interesting facts/techniques he ran across. Then he sat down, sketched out a plot for a book, and then tried to figure out where he could shoe-horn a random science blurb in. There is no science-based theme, and you certainly won't learn anything. In this regard, I consider this book as something approaching the opposite of Jurrasic Park for example. The main character is a "computational biologist" which is just an excuse for the author to throw in a hodge-podge of random facts without any sort of underlying logic. The only way in which the protagonist's professional title is relevant is that he has a silly "AI" program that he relies on for problem solving. This is really a transparently lazy magic box plot device generator.
Speaking of lazy writing, the main character is also inconsistently written. He is often whiny and self-pitying but somehow also gritty and iron-willed when it suits the plot. He is explicitly described as being socially inept and clueless several times. However, at other times, he intuits subtle behavioral clues which lead to large deductive leaps. In several instances, he also perpetrates bold and successful "social engineering" exploits (i.e. he cons people). These things are hardly consistent. The plot itself has other evidence of lazy shortcuts. The protagonist starts working on cold cases spanning 30 years of time and somehow every single blind leap in his investigation pays off right away, first time. I guess the author wanted to keep things moving, but this begins to feel untethered from reality which reduces my level of engagement.
Low engagement leads me to my other complaint; specifically, the plot itself was not that thrilling. This is a problem for a thriller. For most of the book, there did not appear to be any imminent danger to any characters in whom the reader has an interest. This book could bill itself as a mystery, but not a thriller.
Despite all those problems, it felt like it had potential to turn into a decent book even though that potential was never realized. This was at least enough to prevent me from feeling bitter about reading it, so that saved it from only getting one star.
The "science" bits feel like the author was doing some general interest pop-sci reading and filling out note cards with random interesting facts/techniques he ran across. Then he sat down, sketched out a plot for a book, and then tried to figure out where he could shoe-horn a random science blurb in. There is no science-based theme, and you certainly won't learn anything. In this regard, I consider this book as something approaching the opposite of Jurrasic Park for example. The main character is a "computational biologist" which is just an excuse for the author to throw in a hodge-podge of random facts without any sort of underlying logic. The only way in which the protagonist's professional title is relevant is that he has a silly "AI" program that he relies on for problem solving. This is really a transparently lazy magic box plot device generator.
Speaking of lazy writing, the main character is also inconsistently written. He is often whiny and self-pitying but somehow also gritty and iron-willed when it suits the plot. He is explicitly described as being socially inept and clueless several times. However, at other times, he intuits subtle behavioral clues which lead to large deductive leaps. In several instances, he also perpetrates bold and successful "social engineering" exploits (i.e. he cons people). These things are hardly consistent. The plot itself has other evidence of lazy shortcuts. The protagonist starts working on cold cases spanning 30 years of time and somehow every single blind leap in his investigation pays off right away, first time. I guess the author wanted to keep things moving, but this begins to feel untethered from reality which reduces my level of engagement.
Low engagement leads me to my other complaint; specifically, the plot itself was not that thrilling. This is a problem for a thriller. For most of the book, there did not appear to be any imminent danger to any characters in whom the reader has an interest. This book could bill itself as a mystery, but not a thriller.
Despite all those problems, it felt like it had potential to turn into a decent book even though that potential was never realized. This was at least enough to prevent me from feeling bitter about reading it, so that saved it from only getting one star.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes