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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a wild ride! At first, I didn’t expect this book to be so suspenseful, but it really was a thriller.
- I like how catton develops all of her characters so thoroughly and with so many facets (I also read the luminaries and this was similar). All the main players are all so purposefully and deeply flawed. Tony was particularly insufferable, but he gave me a good chuckle a few times with his internal dialogue. The fact that he actually was such a survivalist was shocking to me.
- At times, it seemed like the point of deep characterization or the purpose of dialogue between characters was not to advance the plot, but for catton to say random things she wanted to say, but I also found that kind of interesting.
- I have no qualms with the book’s ending except to say that it seemed a little unlikely that Lemoine went that direction, but I guess his hand was forced? Idk!
- I like how catton develops all of her characters so thoroughly and with so many facets (I also read the luminaries and this was similar). All the main players are all so purposefully and deeply flawed. Tony was particularly insufferable, but he gave me a good chuckle a few times with his internal dialogue. The fact that he actually was such a survivalist was shocking to me.
- At times, it seemed like the point of deep characterization or the purpose of dialogue between characters was not to advance the plot, but for catton to say random things she wanted to say, but I also found that kind of interesting.
- I have no qualms with the book’s ending except to say that it seemed a little unlikely that Lemoine went that direction, but I guess his hand was forced? Idk!
This book called me (and leftists generally) out so many times!!! But never in a talking-down-to-the-reader sort of way imo. Smart characterization and nice pacing throughout for the most part. I really enjoyed this!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So close to being excellent but ultimately tedious and not worth it
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think an ending has ever left me as shell shocked as this one did. In a sense, this could be taken as praise, or the complete opposite - in this context, from me, it’s a little bit of both.
It’s hard to call this book a thriller when the first 60% is a slog of character analysis. There’s a dabbling of satire with the political debates and self-rumination, but it was hard to get through. The sentences are sometimes absurdly long, long enough that I would forget what it began as once I got to the end.
Then there’s a sudden gear shift with the action, but I felt like there were small jumps in the plot and it careened toward the realm of absurdity.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Environmental group get into bed with a business man with nefarious morals seeking to rob New Zealand of essential resources. Unlikeable characters