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cryosphinx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
My mom got the series for me for Christmas and DEMANDED I read it because I like me some post-apocalyptic novels, not so much vampires but I rolled with it.
What I did like is that this book gives you the moments that led up to the end of the world before jumping forward ~100 years after the fallout. I didn't mind the time skip that much, or the even larger one that comes and goes (because it still makes sense) but the book really slogs when that time skip happens. I understand that Cronin needed to world build the colony but it was hard to keep track of all the new characters, who they were, and who was important. It's just jarring because the pre-apocalypse does the same thing: a ton of characters and who is important and who does what. Then we time skip, dump all those characters, and do it all over.
The book itself could have probably been edited down shorter. Some of sections where the POV changes to one of the other characters spends more time than necessary building a character who ultimately isn't a plot critical character.
I did enjoy the ending sections where the POV changes and gives insight into some the mysteries, but ultimately, some mysteries are left unsolved like
So yes, it gets real slow and boring in some parts but I think it was worth plowing throigh to get some of.the more exciting parts and a lot of the prose IS really good.
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: War, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Miscarriage
tealightfultomes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Pregnancy
minanonim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Torture, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Terminal illness, and Cancer
lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Violence
meganpbennett's review against another edition
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Vomit, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, and Suicide
caughtbetweenpages's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Don't get me wrong, it certainly was entertaining--Cronin's writing style lends itself to fast paced action scenes--but the character work just wasn't there for me. In part because the women characters suffered from an abundance of "written by a man" syndrome (women either get to be nurturing mothers or Action Gals, and all of them are pretty/sexualized by at least one man. Plus, if their suffering doesn't include at least some sexual violence, then how do you even know they're women??), but also because, to make room for so much Theme and Plot, the character work is a lot more "told" than demonstrated. The sort-of exceptions to this are Agent Wolgast and Carter/one of the Twelve, and they're gone by page 200ish/900ish.
I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of the Twelve; it made them more rounded as antagonists, and while Amy was more a plot device and a stereotype of girlhood than a character (and certainly not the protagonist Cronin has stated he wanted her to be), I still enjoyed seeing a girl be a Messianic figure of sorts, even though her Trump Card Nature made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic and abrupt.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Cannibalism, Rape, Violence, and Gore
also TW Military Violence