Reviews

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

blutangclan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.75

karter's review against another edition

4.0

For an audio book it surprisingly kept me engaged throughout so kudos to that. Good tension and spooky in places. Bit convenient tie up at the end especially regarding Jemma but it's fiction lol

mshultz89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-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? No

3.0

I really liked the writing of this book. It definitely flowed well and had just enough going on to keep me intrigued. However, I was never scared at all. I felt like it took a long time to get to anything really happening. So it ended up being very mid for me personally. 

ultramarine316's review against another edition

4.0

I don't usually like to describe a book as "A meets B" because that formulation get applied to things with only a very shallow similarity to either A or B, but I definitely would say this book is X-files meet Indiana Jones.

I enjoyed it and will probably read the next one; you do have to be ready to suspend all the disbelief though and just treat it as a fun thrill ride.

comradestylin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A gripping modern day mystery involving the unnatural, conspiracies and DaVinci Code-esque shenanigans. The ending felt a bit flat compared to the very exciting buildup and reveal of the mystery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Gore and Violence

taylormayriley's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars

This was really fun, and as described it was very much like Indiana Jones on acid. In fact, I really can't think of a better way to describe [b:The Anomaly|36342156|The Anomaly|Michael Rutger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508879817s/36342156.jpg|58022145]!

The mystery, oddness, and subtle horror kept me on the edge of my seat, enough so that I read this well into the night/wee hours of the morning. The main character was likable, if not lovable, and his interest in the weird, probably-not-true, conspiracy-theory history added depth and (frankly) made him relatable (at least to me). His companions were unique and each multi-faceted...despite how quickly I read this I did care about their fate.

I highly recommend for those looking for a unique, fun, edge-of-seat beach read this summer!

thereadingrunnner's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting read. Had a lot of good surprises and twists to keep me guessing as to what would happen next. Sci-fi books are not usually my thing, so a few of the supernatural things had me ready to move on in the story and didn't captivate me, but I believe that has more to do with my taste in novels than the writing/story. Overall, I'm glad I read it.

missmagpie's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

While the prose is good, the plot and the characters are so incredibly boring that getting to the end of this book was a slog. There is only one scene that I genuinely loved -

when, after a completely unexpected moment of alien-style body horror that shocks both us and the main characters, one of the characters IMMEDIATELY runs up and curbs stomps the creature to death. My man! That's how you survive the horror novel. Truly made me laugh out loud for several minutes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

vineela0705's review against another edition

3.0

I see X-Files, I read the book.

The protagonist Nolan Moore is an arrogant and smug bastard, albeit knowledgeable and level-headed in the face of danger. So, nailed the Indiana Jones vibe. The goodreads blurb did justice to the plot. The story delivered all that was promised in the blurb. The plot picked pace after an uneventful first 200 pages.

The novel has its ups. The discussions between Nolan and Gemma on the history of Grand Canyon and epistemology were, in my opinion, the high point of the story. The legend of the Hopi prophecy inspiring the story, was very interesting. I found more info on the same - https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/hopi-prophecy-and-end-fourth-world-part-1-002280.

The author took the Lovecraftian route with the ancient creatures trope. But his narration did not do justice to the plot. I couldn't feel the danger or gravity of the situation at any point. Yes, it does remind me of the movie Cabin In the Woods, but it is nowhere as chilling and thrilling as the movie. The climax was bland and disappointing. But that could be the author's plan to make the reader anticipate for the second book, in hopes that Moore will bounce back and give the world a grand expose we were waiting for.

One thing I just couldn't get over was that we have no clue of the Moore's physical personality, other than that he's 43 years old.

PS: For some reason, I kept imagining Ken as Danny DeVito with the grumpy behavior and the paunch. With the English accent, it was so bloody funny.

zoer03's review against another edition

5.0

Ok a bit dramatic and um completely bizarre and implausible. But very good story and loved the suspense of what would happen next. Very good .