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mxmlln's review against another edition
3.0
Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 4
Themes: Old, obligation, youth, war, work
Characters: 6
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 4
Themes: Old, obligation, youth, war, work
alibrarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
What did I just read? Like, it wasn’t bad? I actually ended up liking this so much, but so much of it felt like a fever dream. The premise is so fascinating and I have no shame in admitting it draws you in from page 1. It’s a quick read, but so much happens in EVERY chapter and on every page.
Logan and Jessica turn into real people in a truly intense journey of self on their quest for sanctuary. I appreciated the growth and how it all came together in the end. However, it was a bit hard to like the characters because it was a bit difficult to understand if we were supposed to see them as people or concepts at first or if that’s just how it plays out. The plot twist at the end, though, was perfection. Completely unexpected and I was happily surprised.
It’s actually a bit of a shame the other books in this series weren’t written.
Logan and Jessica turn into real people in a truly intense journey of self on their quest for sanctuary. I appreciated the growth and how it all came together in the end. However, it was a bit hard to like the characters because it was a bit difficult to understand if we were supposed to see them as people or concepts at first or if that’s just how it plays out. The plot twist at the end, though, was perfection. Completely unexpected and I was happily surprised.
It’s actually a bit of a shame the other books in this series weren’t written.
wbfreema's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Sure am glad the movie exists. Though the ending is an interesting twist/ departure from the movie. But probably not enough that you should read the book instead of watching the movie.
kynan's review against another edition
3.0
In the end, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book! I didn't come into it with any preconceptions as I've not seen the movie and I only know that the book is "a classic" so I didn't have anything to be disappointed or surprised about. The only thing I really knew was that it was rather short.
This is one of those stories that just throws you in the deep end and doesn't waste time explaining what's going on or why. I didn't expect it to bother with explanations at all and I was quite pleasantly surprised when the author delved into some of the history that shaped the world that Logan lives in. I have a sneaking suspicion that the real reason for this is because Mr Nolan was trying to justify, or at least vaguely explain, the crazy shennanigans near the end of the book but hey, it was nice to get the backstory!
Given the length of the book, the character development (for the major characters at least) was quite good. In the end I really wasn't sure what Logan was actually going to do (in fact, to be honest, I'm still not really sure what happened at the end there).
Gripes? The book almost reads like a screenplay (I wonder if that's more the effect of [a:George Clayton Johnson|41748|George Clayton Johnson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1371332272p2/41748.jpg] than [a:William Nolan|4122906|William Nolan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]?). It's action-heavy and moves very fast (I was put in mind of [a:Mathew Reilly|7472656|Mathew Reilly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s [b:Contest|144773|Contest|Matthew Reilly|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311984048s/144773.jpg|955313] in fact.) This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the authors seem to get soooo excited about one-upping themselves for the dire straits that they can navigate Logan into that, about three-fifths of the way through, they just give up on explaining how he gets out of them again and we start the next chapter with everyone safely ready to face the next round of crazy.
Overall, a quick, fun, sneakily-thought-provoking story. I might even check out the sequels!
This is one of those stories that just throws you in the deep end and doesn't waste time explaining what's going on or why. I didn't expect it to bother with explanations at all and I was quite pleasantly surprised when the author delved into some of the history that shaped the world that Logan lives in. I have a sneaking suspicion that the real reason for this is because Mr Nolan was trying to justify, or at least vaguely explain, the crazy shennanigans near the end of the book but hey, it was nice to get the backstory!
Given the length of the book, the character development (for the major characters at least) was quite good. In the end I really wasn't sure what Logan was actually going to do (in fact, to be honest, I'm still not really sure what happened at the end there).
Gripes? The book almost reads like a screenplay (I wonder if that's more the effect of [a:George Clayton Johnson|41748|George Clayton Johnson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1371332272p2/41748.jpg] than [a:William Nolan|4122906|William Nolan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]?). It's action-heavy and moves very fast (I was put in mind of [a:Mathew Reilly|7472656|Mathew Reilly|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s [b:Contest|144773|Contest|Matthew Reilly|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311984048s/144773.jpg|955313] in fact.) This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the authors seem to get soooo excited about one-upping themselves for the dire straits that they can navigate Logan into that, about three-fifths of the way through, they just give up on explaining how he gets out of them again and we start the next chapter with everyone safely ready to face the next round of crazy.
Overall, a quick, fun, sneakily-thought-provoking story. I might even check out the sequels!
hensoloreads's review against another edition
3.0
I'm happy to say that I've finally read this iconic book, but I certainly won't be raving about the experience. The world building was clunky, and the characters were running around a society that was explained very poorly. Chapters explaining the society/history were added in way after it would have been useful. It honestly felt a bit like reading the manic Doomsday movie (which is hilarious and fun in a movie, but less so in a book). It was just new threat! new threat! new threat! the whole time. A little tiring after a while.
blissfulbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Were you ready to have your life end at age 21? I certainly wasn't--but in this dystopic future, overpopulation is solved by having everyone live only until age 21, and then they are put to sleep. Those who try to escape their fate are known "runners." An agent who enforces the current system is known as a "sandman."
There was a lot of potential for some interesting philosophical discussion, but instead the book opts for a fast-paced, plot driven style with little rumination... one of the more thoughtful discussions made by the main character, Logan (a sandman-turned-runner), doesn't even happen until the very last chapter, when he argues that young people only use--not *build*--and that man's wondrous creations (e.g. the pyramids) were made by mature men, and thus, killing people in their youth is inherently wrong.
So I liked the book--but I certainly wished it had done more. As it is, I can fully understand why this book was adapted for film and comics.
There was a lot of potential for some interesting philosophical discussion, but instead the book opts for a fast-paced, plot driven style with little rumination... one of the more thoughtful discussions made by the main character, Logan (a sandman-turned-runner), doesn't even happen until the very last chapter, when he argues that young people only use--not *build*--and that man's wondrous creations (e.g. the pyramids) were made by mature men, and thus, killing people in their youth is inherently wrong.
So I liked the book--but I certainly wished it had done more. As it is, I can fully understand why this book was adapted for film and comics.
loonyboi's review against another edition
2.0
I like a pulp sci-fi novel as much as the next guy, but this is true schlock. A solid plot can't help the truly dreadful writing, even by the already low standards I expect from this sort of thing.
zarco_j's review against another edition
1.0
Oh dear..... A rare instance when the movie is better than the book.
mattycakesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It's okay, as far as dystopian books go. It was a bit too short to be as epic as it tried to be: they're fighting the Lost Boys! They're running through Antarctica! They're killing tigers! It seemed like it was trying a bit too hard. Also, the worry is one that matters a little bit less now that we're in the future as it did back then, in the age of Soylent Green... overpopulation, for example, is listed as 6 billion in the novel, and it just hit 7. So that and it's kinda half-assed political message ("We should be allowed to grow old!" Yeah, no one disagrees with you there) made the whole subtext a little bit ludicrous.
Still, a fun read.
Still, a fun read.