Reviews

All Clear by Connie Willis

grayjay's review

3.0

I found it difficult to get through this book and it was mostly the sense of completion, it being the fourth book in this series, that got me through.

Somewhere in the two long books that make up the expasive Blackout/All Clear duo is one good shorter novel. There are very strong and likeable characters, there is a good overarching story, and there is good historical research.

Unfortunately, the good parts are overshadowed by tedious dialogue, internal monologue, and extremely repetitive actions and plot points. The characters are constantly reviewing possibilities: if I hadn't done this, than this wouldn't have happened, so this wouldn't have happened and this wouldn't have happened. If so and so hadn't done this than this would have happened. I know it's a novel about time travel and possibilities, but it's excruciatingly repetitive.

runsforcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

5.0

kitdunsmore's review

5.0

Was surprised at how emotional I was at the ending of this book. She had me bawling like a baby. Always a sign of a well-wrought story. I came away feeling like I'd actually lived through the Blitz in London, or at least had a real sense of what it was like at that time. Warning: This is the second of two books that need to be read back-to-back. I know I wouldn't have held on to enough of the essential details to really appreciate the story if I'd taken a break in between.

lelainav's review

4.0

An ending that's really worth all the unnecessary vignettes and wildly anxious characters for the preceding 800 pages.

So much of this book is like a classical tragedy: everything would have worked out better if it weren't for the fact that these characters are absolute trash at talking to one another. At times, it left me gobsmacked, exclaiming things like "Just tell him your secret! It went very poorly the other 5 times you kept a secret from your friends; have you learned nothing?"

Though really the character of Sir Godfrey Kingsman is worth so much of this. I find him so singularly delightful that I can handle a dozen times that Polly makes a stupid decision for the sake of his one appearance.

posies23's review

5.0

It's really not fair to call this part two, because it's basically just a continuation of the first book. I LOVED the way all the threads came together and how Willis dealt with all the issues that bothered me in the first book.

Is it overlong? Maybe a bit, but I really got lost in it. Recommended. (just read BLACKOUT first. Seriously.)

megadeathvsbooks's review

3.0

This one was tough. The beginning, which is the middle of the story, was slow and it was three quarters over before it picked back up. While I appreciate the purpose, it was difficult in execution. The end, though, was fantastic and the history was fascinating.

lisade's review

3.0

Some nice parts that kept me reading, but there were also a lot of repetitive parts where eb

mahughes26's review

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

4.25

deinol's review

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jakilcz's review

5.0

Świetne zakończenie fantastycznego cyklu. Było wzruszająco, było wesoło, było refleksyjnie. Momentami może i było trochę za spokojnie ale nigdy nudno.