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wanderingreader's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
4.5
thehokx's review against another edition
5.0
Moral of the story: more British kids should be orphans?
tobinlopes's review against another edition
3.0
My second Willis book after Blackout and it was a good one. If you like character driven pieces these are for you. Willis was meticulous in putting this one together and she does get a little of the "meta" going with her subtext. (I actually guessed the reveal about 300 pages in.)
It was a long book and I felt it dragged a bit in places but that's probably because I tend to lean towards plot-driven stuff more than character-driven.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in WWII fiction and character dramas.
I gave in 7.5/10 on my personal scale.
-tpl
It was a long book and I felt it dragged a bit in places but that's probably because I tend to lean towards plot-driven stuff more than character-driven.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in WWII fiction and character dramas.
I gave in 7.5/10 on my personal scale.
-tpl
sammeshchaninov's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
While Blackout (the first book) is a little slower, All Clear (the second book) is much more fast paced with non stop action for hundreds of pages. I absolutely loved learning more about the Blitz from these books and felt a very emotional connection to the chat by the end. Have recommended it to many people and am now reading more books about the Blitz.
shanellewrites's review against another edition
2.0
So...here's the thing...
I adore Connie Willis. Her writing is exquisite. Her plots are amazing. She is pure genius. The plot of this book (and by that I mean both Blackout and All Clear, which I will treat as one book here) is pretty incredible. The ending is like, my mind BLOWN! Brilliant.
BUT...there were some MAJOR issues with the line/content editing. This book is extremely repetitive. I honestly felt like I read the same three scenes for more than half of it. Also the use of cliff hangers and then "oh, just kidding" was ridiculously, annoyingly overused to the point it backfired major time. This book really needed some tightening. And I noticed numerous sentence fragments. Those can be great tools when done well and sparingly, but there were too many - especially at the first part of All Clear - and it just made me annoyed at the editor. Again.
Again, I don't think Willis' writing is the problem here. I think it was poor line/content editing. So many parts are absolutely brilliant, but they really got muddled down with an insane number of scenes where I just rolled my eyes and legitimately thought, "We're going through this thought process AGAIN?" I honestly thought at multiple points throughout the book that nearly half of it could be cut without really losing anything.
That said, again her writing is gorgeous. Characters are wonderful, plot is not only brilliant of itself but brilliantly executed (minus the repetitiveness).
I really wanted to give this book four or five stars, but through so much of it I was so annoyed that I really couldn't. However, I am still a huge Connie Willis fan and am excited to read more of her books.
Anyone else feel it was monstrously repetitive? Or at least does anyone else have extremely conflicting feelings about this book? (In fact, I don't think I have finished any other book in my life feeling more conflict about it than this one...)
I adore Connie Willis. Her writing is exquisite. Her plots are amazing. She is pure genius. The plot of this book (and by that I mean both Blackout and All Clear, which I will treat as one book here) is pretty incredible. The ending is like, my mind BLOWN! Brilliant.
BUT...there were some MAJOR issues with the line/content editing. This book is extremely repetitive. I honestly felt like I read the same three scenes for more than half of it. Also the use of cliff hangers and then "oh, just kidding" was ridiculously, annoyingly overused to the point it backfired major time. This book really needed some tightening. And I noticed numerous sentence fragments. Those can be great tools when done well and sparingly, but there were too many - especially at the first part of All Clear - and it just made me annoyed at the editor. Again.
Again, I don't think Willis' writing is the problem here. I think it was poor line/content editing. So many parts are absolutely brilliant, but they really got muddled down with an insane number of scenes where I just rolled my eyes and legitimately thought, "We're going through this thought process AGAIN?" I honestly thought at multiple points throughout the book that nearly half of it could be cut without really losing anything.
That said, again her writing is gorgeous. Characters are wonderful, plot is not only brilliant of itself but brilliantly executed (minus the repetitiveness).
I really wanted to give this book four or five stars, but through so much of it I was so annoyed that I really couldn't. However, I am still a huge Connie Willis fan and am excited to read more of her books.
Anyone else feel it was monstrously repetitive? Or at least does anyone else have extremely conflicting feelings about this book? (In fact, I don't think I have finished any other book in my life feeling more conflict about it than this one...)
cjchilds66's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but way too long. The author needed a heavier hand applied during the editing process. There is a good story in there, but it should have been told in half as many pages.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I really enjoyed All Clear as it helped me understand some things from Blackout much better. Both books could have been a bit shorter simply by cutting out the excess worrying over whether they had changed events or not. However, I still found the story very compelling and it opened my eyes to what life would have been like during the Blitz. Plus, I really appreciated the Agatha Christie and The Importance of Being Ernest references as I love both.
soundracer's review against another edition
4.0
Connie Willis was recommended to me by like-minded friends who are science fiction fans -- and "Blackout" and then "All Clear" were the first books of hers that I read. I was intrigued with the premise of "Blackout" but was ultimately very disappointed in the cliff-hanger ending. I wondered if "All Clear" would redeem Willis for me.
Well, yes and no. There are some very fine things about this story (the Hodbins are back!) but unfortunately Willis once again really drags things out, with meandering plots and seemingly endless ruminations by the main characters. The first third of "All Clear" is a real test for the reader. I mused that an appropriate subtitle was "All About Traveling in Time -- for Readers With Plenty Of It."
But, finally -- things start to pick up. The description and plotting around the night that St. Paul's is bombed are enthralling. And once Willis begins to weave the plot lines together the book really does become a page-turner. And, credit where credit is due, the ending reveals one of the more inventive twists on time travel that I've come across.
So, partial redemption. Enough that at some point I will read some of Willis' earlier -- and shorter -- works.
Well, yes and no. There are some very fine things about this story (the Hodbins are back!) but unfortunately Willis once again really drags things out, with meandering plots and seemingly endless ruminations by the main characters. The first third of "All Clear" is a real test for the reader. I mused that an appropriate subtitle was "All About Traveling in Time -- for Readers With Plenty Of It."
But, finally -- things start to pick up. The description and plotting around the night that St. Paul's is bombed are enthralling. And once Willis begins to weave the plot lines together the book really does become a page-turner. And, credit where credit is due, the ending reveals one of the more inventive twists on time travel that I've come across.
So, partial redemption. Enough that at some point I will read some of Willis' earlier -- and shorter -- works.
eva_ave's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
msmelinda's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good, but looooooong. Especially considering this wasn’t a sequel, just a continuation of part 2. I learned a lot about WWII and didn’t feel bored while I was reading; it was creative and there were good characters, but my main takeaway? LONG.