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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Edge of Extinction: The Ark Plan is awesome. Check out that cover: there's a dinosaur. Skimming the back cover it sounded pretty good - I mean, dinosaurs, right?
So I bought it and it sat on my shelf for a while and I decided I wanted something light in between more serious novels and decided to give this one a chance and listened to it as an audiobook. At first, it was just okay. It had a decent start - nothing outstanding, but good nonetheless. But then, after the conclusion of its first act, the book really picked up its pace and was quite engaging.
But there is one big problem I have with this book - and it is probably my largest pet peeve when it comes to reading books.
This book is not a story. What I mean is that this book does not have a beginning, middle, and end.
The book ends without answering the largest questions asked throughout the story. Not in an open-ended-ending kind of way, but rather in a way that says, "Now that we have your interest please proceed to purchase the sequel to find out what happens next!" This is a huge problem. Any book that is part of a series should stand on its own; its main threads should wrap up nicely and leave a few loose ends untied that tug the reader to continue with the series but the main plot should feel concluded. That is not the case here. (For examples of series that do this well consider Harry Potter, Mistborn, The Series of Unfortunate Events [in particular the first few books in the series], Narnia, Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians, and The Hunger Games)
Here's the problem: I want to know what happens next - not because the book has left me a thread that I want to unravel, but because the story here is left completely unresolved.
As I've said, this is a huge pet peeve of mine - especially when it is a sin committed by the first book in a series. I totally get it if the fifth book in a series has more storylines that are left open.
The first book should say to the reader, "Hey, did you like this story? Did you enjoy its conclusion? Well...what about this? Does that sound interesting? Yeah? Well, then why don't you go check out the second book and see where that takes you?"
Putting my rant aside, I really did enjoy this book. I liked the characters, I liked the set-up, I liked the dinosaurs, I liked the plot...I just didn't like its "ending".
I might continue with the second book...we'll just have to wait and see.
So I bought it and it sat on my shelf for a while and I decided I wanted something light in between more serious novels and decided to give this one a chance and listened to it as an audiobook. At first, it was just okay. It had a decent start - nothing outstanding, but good nonetheless. But then, after the conclusion of its first act, the book really picked up its pace and was quite engaging.
But there is one big problem I have with this book - and it is probably my largest pet peeve when it comes to reading books.
This book is not a story. What I mean is that this book does not have a beginning, middle, and end.
The book ends without answering the largest questions asked throughout the story. Not in an open-ended-ending kind of way, but rather in a way that says, "Now that we have your interest please proceed to purchase the sequel to find out what happens next!" This is a huge problem. Any book that is part of a series should stand on its own; its main threads should wrap up nicely and leave a few loose ends untied that tug the reader to continue with the series but the main plot should feel concluded. That is not the case here. (For examples of series that do this well consider Harry Potter, Mistborn, The Series of Unfortunate Events [in particular the first few books in the series], Narnia, Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians, and The Hunger Games)
Here's the problem: I want to know what happens next - not because the book has left me a thread that I want to unravel, but because the story here is left completely unresolved.
As I've said, this is a huge pet peeve of mine - especially when it is a sin committed by the first book in a series. I totally get it if the fifth book in a series has more storylines that are left open.
The first book should say to the reader, "Hey, did you like this story? Did you enjoy its conclusion? Well...what about this? Does that sound interesting? Yeah? Well, then why don't you go check out the second book and see where that takes you?"
Putting my rant aside, I really did enjoy this book. I liked the characters, I liked the set-up, I liked the dinosaurs, I liked the plot...I just didn't like its "ending".
I might continue with the second book...we'll just have to wait and see.