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denisem's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.25
There is a complete turn of events in the last part I cannot quite understand where it came from. It is a spy book up until then, and all of a sudden it is an… apocalyptic? Dystopian? Alien-zombie? Time travel type of thing?
melissa_keen's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A great read, by all accounts - but about 75% of the way through, this book takes a very unexpected turn...
The Year of the Locust is Terry Hayes' second novel. He is a terrific writer - his first novel, I Am Pilgrim, is one of my favourite books. This book starts out in a similar fashion, introducing us to a new character who is also part of the world of espionage. A terrorist threat looms, and our protagonist must save the day - exciting stuff! The characters are well fleshed out, the baddie is brilliantly believable and scary. The first 600 pages were brilliant.
However, about 75% of the way through, the book takes a completely different direction. It suddenly becomes a time travel/zombie apocalypse/sci-fi story. I found this really jarring and, if I'm honest, very disappointing - it was like suddenly reading a completely different book. I felt the writing felt quite lazy at this section of the book, too. Weird decisions are made that don't feel in line with the characters. It's almost like Terry had someone finish writing the book for him. However, I was very much bought in by this pointz so I pushed on to the finish.
While the ending was satisfying, I can't shake the feeling that the odd ending didn't align with the way the rest of the novel was written (which feels much more realistic). The sci-fi twist for me was completely unnecessary - the bad guy was already scary in a realistic way, why make him into an "orc"? The entire book suspends disbelief, but this was one step too far and took a lot of enjoyment out of the ending.
All in all, I still really enjoyed Terry's writing style and would read any other releases. A really great spy thriller, just with an unusual ending!
The Year of the Locust is Terry Hayes' second novel. He is a terrific writer - his first novel, I Am Pilgrim, is one of my favourite books. This book starts out in a similar fashion, introducing us to a new character who is also part of the world of espionage. A terrorist threat looms, and our protagonist must save the day - exciting stuff! The characters are well fleshed out, the baddie is brilliantly believable and scary. The first 600 pages were brilliant.
However, about 75% of the way through, the book takes a completely different direction. It suddenly becomes a time travel/zombie apocalypse/sci-fi story. I found this really jarring and, if I'm honest, very disappointing - it was like suddenly reading a completely different book. I felt the writing felt quite lazy at this section of the book, too. Weird decisions are made that don't feel in line with the characters. It's almost like Terry had someone finish writing the book for him. However, I was very much bought in by this pointz so I pushed on to the finish.
While the ending was satisfying, I can't shake the feeling that the odd ending didn't align with the way the rest of the novel was written (which feels much more realistic). The sci-fi twist for me was completely unnecessary - the bad guy was already scary in a realistic way, why make him into an "orc"? The entire book suspends disbelief, but this was one step too far and took a lot of enjoyment out of the ending.
All in all, I still really enjoyed Terry's writing style and would read any other releases. A really great spy thriller, just with an unusual ending!
sandrewx's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
beth21's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emcollen's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
maudevanhengel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It's no "I am pilgrim", as others have pointed out. But I went in already expecting that it wasn't going to be and I still found myself being invested until the end. It's a page turner, and yes the sci-fi elements are not as well thought out as they should be for a book ten years in the making, but if you look past that, it's still an enjoyable thriller.
dot_tyne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
leweeza's review against another edition
4.0
It's not what I expected at all, but the turn was right up my street and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.