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madiz0r's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
bowes's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
A fun, fast-paced sci-fi thriller that was exactly what I was in the mood for! Koepp's cinematic background definitely shines through and I could really see the action unfolding as I read. Fungal horror is always a good time and cordyceps novus is an especially terrifying idea. This book may not be high literature, but it's a damn good time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Suicide, Gun violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty
stressgirl70's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mamabro's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
fleurdujour's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a pretty fun read, nothing about it was really scary though so it won’t keep you up at night or anything. Mostly just makes you wary of fungus and reads more like a military thriller. Sometimes it was a little hard to keep going because I didn’t care too much for the characters themselves. A lot about the characters just seemed pretty jaded, and most of the characters were fairly one dimensional. Also starting the book off with the weird almost adultery was a total vibe killer.And another thing, Mike sucked and he killed a couple of animals so watch out for that because it wasn’t pleasant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
hudsone45's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
charliwebb7's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
An interesting end-of-the-world scenario which bears some resemblance to The Last of Us.
I honestly didn't know what to expect when this arrived in a book subscription box and thought that the pages inside had gone mouldy, but I was intrigued regardless. A lethal fungus is discovered which has the potential to completely destroy mankind and everything it loves and when locked away for years, it finally poses a modern day risk in 2019, leaving a group of unlikely heroes to save the day.
The novel begins with a great deal of scientific jargon. It did seem a bit like reading Dutch at times, but it did its job and built up the tension by making me feel like a genuine idiot and pointing out that hey, you wouldn't really know what to do in this scenario. Written by the screenwriter of Jurassic Park, I expected this book to have a lot of dark humour, a sarcastic and witty protagonist, and lines that could be quoted repeatedly out of context. It's clear that some characters do draw on these tropes, but I never really gelled with any of them, apart from the sarcastic 4 year old daughter who likes to remind her mother about her recent grief. The back stories given to them jolted me out of the narrative and took away from the tension that Koepp had created moments before.
That being said, I finished the book very swiftly. I probably wouldn't do a second read-through, but I can see this being a brilliant film or TV show.
I honestly didn't know what to expect when this arrived in a book subscription box and thought that the pages inside had gone mouldy, but I was intrigued regardless. A lethal fungus is discovered which has the potential to completely destroy mankind and everything it loves and when locked away for years, it finally poses a modern day risk in 2019, leaving a group of unlikely heroes to save the day.
The novel begins with a great deal of scientific jargon. It did seem a bit like reading Dutch at times, but it did its job and built up the tension by making me feel like a genuine idiot and pointing out that hey, you wouldn't really know what to do in this scenario. Written by the screenwriter of Jurassic Park, I expected this book to have a lot of dark humour, a sarcastic and witty protagonist, and lines that could be quoted repeatedly out of context. It's clear that some characters do draw on these tropes, but I never really gelled with any of them, apart from the sarcastic 4 year old daughter who likes to remind her mother about her recent grief. The back stories given to them jolted me out of the narrative and took away from the tension that Koepp had created moments before.
That being said, I finished the book very swiftly. I probably wouldn't do a second read-through, but I can see this being a brilliant film or TV show.