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_belle's review against another edition
adventurous
3.75
3.75 stars ⭐
I liked it but not as much as it may have deserved. I respect the amount of effort and dedication and I appreciate the research that went into writing this book, but it was just too long. I think if this book had been trimmed a good 100 pages (at least), it would have worked better for me, but unfortunately the excessive length made it difficult for me to enjoy it to the extent I would have liked. Which is a shame.
It starts off as a very slow burn, which I actually didn't mind. Especially being a topic that interests me, I am a big fan of astronomy and that coupled with a doomsday scenario, is the reason I picked this book up. I read and enjoyed the first 2 parts of the book. I liked Rick's presentation and I loved the introduction to Arcadia and the dystopian angle. I also really enjoyed the politics game that was being played. Rob's cave was great & I loved the hacking part too.
I thought the build up with the introduction of the many characters was done very well, but was definitely over-written and needed to be edited down. I found myself getting quite weary by the half way point, knowing how much further I had left to go. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the 2nd half as much, and ended up skimming through most of it just to get to the end. I wasn't really a fan of the cat and mouse game going on, it's just not what I wanted from the story but that's my personal preference.
I think it was really well written, so many great ideas, amazing premise, but I think in this case the author tried a little too hard.
I liked it but not as much as it may have deserved. I respect the amount of effort and dedication and I appreciate the research that went into writing this book, but it was just too long. I think if this book had been trimmed a good 100 pages (at least), it would have worked better for me, but unfortunately the excessive length made it difficult for me to enjoy it to the extent I would have liked. Which is a shame.
It starts off as a very slow burn, which I actually didn't mind. Especially being a topic that interests me, I am a big fan of astronomy and that coupled with a doomsday scenario, is the reason I picked this book up. I read and enjoyed the first 2 parts of the book. I liked Rick's presentation and I loved the introduction to Arcadia and the dystopian angle. I also really enjoyed the politics game that was being played. Rob's cave was great & I loved the hacking part too.
I thought the build up with the introduction of the many characters was done very well, but was definitely over-written and needed to be edited down. I found myself getting quite weary by the half way point, knowing how much further I had left to go. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the 2nd half as much, and ended up skimming through most of it just to get to the end. I wasn't really a fan of the cat and mouse game going on, it's just not what I wanted from the story but that's my personal preference.
I think it was really well written, so many great ideas, amazing premise, but I think in this case the author tried a little too hard.
hollymmcg's review
adventurous
dark
informative
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? It's complicated
2.0
A debut novel with a well-researched, interesting, and terrifyingly plausible story that suffered from lack of editing and over-explanation.
The author should be applauded for bringing together various storylines and characters in a story that did ultimately have me wanting to read to the end to see how it all wrapped up. Unfortunately the novel significantly struggled with editing and over-explanation of the subject matter. Spelling and grammar mistakes were not caught and distracted from the story. Conversation was stilted and unnatural. Explanations of science, military tactics/equipment, and politics were gone over in far too much detail, completely taking away from what should have been fast-paced and exciting scenes, making them tedious and long winded.
I want to highlight that I appreciate and celebrate the amount of work the author clearly put in to making this book accurate. He's obviously passionate for accuracy and you can tell he wants the story well told. I think he would have benefited from a few more revisions and more editing.
The author should be applauded for bringing together various storylines and characters in a story that did ultimately have me wanting to read to the end to see how it all wrapped up. Unfortunately the novel significantly struggled with editing and over-explanation of the subject matter. Spelling and grammar mistakes were not caught and distracted from the story. Conversation was stilted and unnatural. Explanations of science, military tactics/equipment, and politics were gone over in far too much detail, completely taking away from what should have been fast-paced and exciting scenes, making them tedious and long winded.
I want to highlight that I appreciate and celebrate the amount of work the author clearly put in to making this book accurate. He's obviously passionate for accuracy and you can tell he wants the story well told. I think he would have benefited from a few more revisions and more editing.
cluthringer's review
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tswynters's review
3.0
Asteroids: Escape from the Arcadians is a fast paced story that features an unlikely hero who fights to save his loved ones from a terrifying natural disaster and the actions of a corrupt government. Rick, unlike many sci-fi heroes, has a close emotional relationship with his wife. Rob is another character of interest with his doomsday shelter. The book almost reminded me of a cross between Independence day (with Rick being a Jeff Goldblum type character and Rob being the crazy ex-pilot who keeps talking about alien invasions). Actually, the book could be considered a cross between Independence Day and Armageddon. For me, this was a fun campy scifi. I think some of the prose could have been shortened and some areas felt like filler. The urgency of the impending attack could be played up more as it relates to each character, showing their individual urgencies, because at times the wording was too much that it severely slowed down the pace of the story.
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