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cjaharder's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
rp319's review against another edition
4.0
“Frank standing on a stool on his wondrously functional pre-Libya legs. The bullet that would sever his spinal cord still 25 years away, but already approaching. A woman giving birth to a child who will someday pull the trigger on a gun. A designer sketching the weapon, or its precursor. A dictator making a decision that will spark into the fullness of time, into the conflagration that Frank will go overseas to cover for Reuters. The pieces of a pattern drifting closer together.”
**
“Why do you think of killing?”
“You never had to hurt anyone in the old world, did you?”
“Of course not. I was a copywriter.”
“A what?”
apryls's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
I did not expect to like this as much as I did, especially since it's about a post-pandemic, apocalyptic world. Some of the pandemic descriptions were difficult to read because what if COVID had been that bad? Anyway. I loved the non-linear format and bouncing between characters, and that it was slice-of-life loosely centered around a connecting plot.
migchalee's review against another edition
4.0
The most important thing to know about this book going into it is that it is very well written and curated. The pieces perfectly fall into place and come together.
At first, I was skeptical about this book, but I ended up truly loving it. I genuinely enjoyed the different perspectives from different characters. I think it added a lot of depth to the story and definitely helped to move the plot along.
I wasn’t sure what to think of the ending, but it wasn’t unexpected. In fact, it was fitting.
It’s an apocalyptic-type novel, so it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re wanting to branch off from what you normally read, this would be a great read to start with!
At first, I was skeptical about this book, but I ended up truly loving it. I genuinely enjoyed the different perspectives from different characters. I think it added a lot of depth to the story and definitely helped to move the plot along.
I wasn’t sure what to think of the ending, but it wasn’t unexpected. In fact, it was fitting.
It’s an apocalyptic-type novel, so it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re wanting to branch off from what you normally read, this would be a great read to start with!
ryanm5592's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
curlyc90's review against another edition
4.0
A Post apocalyptic literary fiction that drew me in through the writing style, characterization and humanities’ will to survive.
The book starts out with a very familiar scenario where the characters face the emotions of panic, realization, and the impending doom of a flu pandemic that can’t be controlled and is killing people rapidly. Sound familiar? Yeah. But this is on an extreme level. The crash of society.
Beyond this lies the after…wayyyy after…kids who turned into adults and adults who remembered it all, who witnessed the fall of the modern day world, navigating their way, finding new families, friends (or just people to survive along with). Interesting to read about what that would be like to go from the world we live in now to a time when the idea of an iPhone is a history lesson. But also thoughtful in the way the book highlights things that remain even when all is lost.
The book follows multiple POVs (not always a fan of this) which I think helps everything tie together in unexpected ways. The ending was smooth and felt well done.
I really enjoyed it. I switched between the hard copy and audiobook during my commutes to work and it was great.
4.5/5 ⚡️
The book starts out with a very familiar scenario where the characters face the emotions of panic, realization, and the impending doom of a flu pandemic that can’t be controlled and is killing people rapidly. Sound familiar? Yeah. But this is on an extreme level. The crash of society.
Beyond this lies the after…wayyyy after…kids who turned into adults and adults who remembered it all, who witnessed the fall of the modern day world, navigating their way, finding new families, friends (or just people to survive along with). Interesting to read about what that would be like to go from the world we live in now to a time when the idea of an iPhone is a history lesson. But also thoughtful in the way the book highlights things that remain even when all is lost.
The book follows multiple POVs (not always a fan of this) which I think helps everything tie together in unexpected ways. The ending was smooth and felt well done.
I really enjoyed it. I switched between the hard copy and audiobook during my commutes to work and it was great.
4.5/5 ⚡️
2000kzkz's review against another edition
Originally started for a book club, really didn’t enjoy it
ivywitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-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? No
3.0
kaelaceleste's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this more than I did...but I did enjoy it.
I loved the descriptions of the pandemic building up, the decline of civilization and the slow realizations everyone made as it got serious. I imagine it hit differently having read it in our current position than if I had read it a few years ago.. but I digress. Anyway I thought all that story building and detail was really well done and interesting. The writing was also really beautiful overall, it really painted the picture well of what was going on and I enjoyed that quite a lot.
Some of the characters I liked but others I didn't really care about at all/forgot who they were? I also didn't love how it jumped around timelines and didn't really get the point of doing that. I think that's a me problem though because it seems like most people did like that..? idk.
I liked the Symphony a lot, wish we could've delved more into the Prophet and what was going on there. I don't know. Maybe it's because the last book I read about a pandemic was literally thousands of pages longer, but this just felt a little half baked and underdeveloped. Some characters felt a little like throwaways and I didn't know who I should be invested in, even by the end. I don't often feel like books could have been a little longer but in this case I do think it could have helped.
I'm curious to watch the HBO series now and see how they adapt it!
I loved the descriptions of the pandemic building up, the decline of civilization and the slow realizations everyone made as it got serious. I imagine it hit differently having read it in our current position than if I had read it a few years ago.. but I digress. Anyway I thought all that story building and detail was really well done and interesting. The writing was also really beautiful overall, it really painted the picture well of what was going on and I enjoyed that quite a lot.
Some of the characters I liked but others I didn't really care about at all/forgot who they were? I also didn't love how it jumped around timelines and didn't really get the point of doing that. I think that's a me problem though because it seems like most people did like that..? idk.
I liked the Symphony a lot, wish we could've delved more into the Prophet and what was going on there. I don't know. Maybe it's because the last book I read about a pandemic was literally thousands of pages longer, but this just felt a little half baked and underdeveloped. Some characters felt a little like throwaways and I didn't know who I should be invested in, even by the end. I don't often feel like books could have been a little longer but in this case I do think it could have helped.
I'm curious to watch the HBO series now and see how they adapt it!