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angus_mckeogh's review
3.0
Built around several real events and incorporating numerous conspiracy theories, this book contained several narratives and some of them were great and engaging yet others were extremely boring or uninteresting, resulting in a novel that was fair but not incredible.
tatt_mucker's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
tobinlopes's review against another edition
3.0
Off the Kirkus list of under-the-radar novels I picked this one up because it just sounded good. And it was. A literary tapestry weaving many of my likes and passions in one book. Spies, science, fiction, science fiction. Good stuff.
But not great.
Recommended for Chabon fans. I'm pretty sure you'll like this one. :)
I gave it 7/10 on my personal scale.
-tpl
But not great.
Recommended for Chabon fans. I'm pretty sure you'll like this one. :)
I gave it 7/10 on my personal scale.
-tpl
kdmr's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.75
townblog's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic novel threading together a secret history of the second half of the 20th Century, mingling mid-century science fiction, Nazis, and 80's English post-punk. Ian Fleming is a point of view character, the relationship of Scientology to Aleister Crowley is explored, and one chapter conflates the lyrics of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with David Bowie's "Starman." Rich, fun, and associative. This is IT.
kikikissmybattery's review against another edition
5.0
Mixing a strange combination of fact and fiction in a 'secret history of the 20th century', this book looks at everything from disinformation on both fronts during WWII to America's 'Golden Age' of science fiction; managing to achieve an overwhelming sense of melancholy for numerous possible outcomes whilst never losing its childlike fantasies for the future.
carolynf's review against another edition
2.0
Yeaaah. Couldn't get more than a quarter in, and that was a slog. The description makes it sound like it is going to be this tightly woven spy story. But it is actually more like a collection of short stories. Every chapter switches narrators. Perspective changes from 1st, to 2nd, to 3rd person, and back again. It is hard to tell exactly what one chapter has to do with the others. Two years ago I probably could have handled this, because I had time to sit and do nothing but read for hours on end. Snatching 10 minutes here and there does not work for this book. Some parts were good - the ones with Ian Fleming and the woman who was apparently the inspiration for Moneypenny. I wish the whole book could have been written in the same way.