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abaugher's review
3.0
something very strange is happening in New York City. and a few people are determined to find out what.
the concept of what is going on in the book--why people seem to have turned into pseudo-zombies minus the brains craving and body rot--is a good one, but not quite fully formed, i think. still, this book is a good one to read to get a person thinking about what's going on in our world right now.
the concept of what is going on in the book--why people seem to have turned into pseudo-zombies minus the brains craving and body rot--is a good one, but not quite fully formed, i think. still, this book is a good one to read to get a person thinking about what's going on in our world right now.
audreychamaine's review
2.0
Something strange is happening in New York. People go throughout their lives in a mindless state of despair, relying on their electronics to carry them through each day. Teenager Mal has received a strange, frantic message from his estranged brother, but cannot find him. Elsewhere, Laura has been forgotten by her parents and everybody in her life, suddenly a stranger to them. High school teacher Mike finds a door in the basement of his school that leads to a weird place with menacing people, and an agent named Remak shows up to investigate. All four are thrown together under odd, dangerous circumstances, and must work together to find the answers they seek.
Those That Wake was not at all like I thought it would be. It creates a New York City that has been destroyed by an even larger attack than 9/11, one that has destroyed the ability to hope. Despair is written in the pages of this book, like a bad nightmare. There are four main characters, two of whom I’d consider leads. I didn’t really get attached to any of them, though, so I wasn’t motivated to really care too much about what happened. In fact, they got on my nerves after a bit. Laura came across as pretentious, and Mike drove me nuts with his poor attitude.
I think my detachment from the story led to me getting lost in what was actually happening. I’d have to sit back from time to time to try to get my bearings and start paying attention again. I might have been a bit distracted while reading, but can cite some of that distraction as being a result of the book not pulling me in. Toward the end, it felt like a chore to finish.
I did think some of the concepts were interesting, though. Karp makes a statement about how technology and global interests are having a real bearing on our world, and the ways we interact and relate to one another. It’s a pessimistic view, where technology divides rather than unites. All in all, I think this book was a bit too dark for my tastes, because the darkness comes from something that might hit a little too close to home as a possibility for our future.
Those That Wake was not at all like I thought it would be. It creates a New York City that has been destroyed by an even larger attack than 9/11, one that has destroyed the ability to hope. Despair is written in the pages of this book, like a bad nightmare. There are four main characters, two of whom I’d consider leads. I didn’t really get attached to any of them, though, so I wasn’t motivated to really care too much about what happened. In fact, they got on my nerves after a bit. Laura came across as pretentious, and Mike drove me nuts with his poor attitude.
I think my detachment from the story led to me getting lost in what was actually happening. I’d have to sit back from time to time to try to get my bearings and start paying attention again. I might have been a bit distracted while reading, but can cite some of that distraction as being a result of the book not pulling me in. Toward the end, it felt like a chore to finish.
I did think some of the concepts were interesting, though. Karp makes a statement about how technology and global interests are having a real bearing on our world, and the ways we interact and relate to one another. It’s a pessimistic view, where technology divides rather than unites. All in all, I think this book was a bit too dark for my tastes, because the darkness comes from something that might hit a little too close to home as a possibility for our future.
jdemster's review against another edition
4.0
This is a YA novel in tone and story, but the ideas that are wrestled with here are definitely adult. I love a book that challenges young folks (as well as us older ones) to grapple with big ideas...ideas not normally attributed to young kids in the first place.
The book certainly has its flaws. I would have liked for it to have been a bit longer as it's too focused on its characters to be truly story driven, but they aren't developed deeply enough to be truly character driven. But the story is just a good one. I'm reminded very much in some ways of two authors I like love very much, Stephen King and Margaret Atwood. The ensemble cast and sinister supernatural plot, with a touch of what we're all capable of in the ending, is very much King. I think specifically of The Mist (the story, not the butchered movie) or Cell. And the descriptions of descent into corporate America, and the inevitable consequences, as well as the talk about how ideas spread, reminds me of Oryx And Crake, one of my favorite books of all time. And while I personally would like to have one of either the characters or the story more flushed out, I will admit that the quick-read nature of the book means that the ideas just kinda linger.
It's a really fun and smart story for people who just love stories.
The book certainly has its flaws. I would have liked for it to have been a bit longer as it's too focused on its characters to be truly story driven, but they aren't developed deeply enough to be truly character driven. But the story is just a good one. I'm reminded very much in some ways of two authors I like love very much, Stephen King and Margaret Atwood. The ensemble cast and sinister supernatural plot, with a touch of what we're all capable of in the ending, is very much King. I think specifically of The Mist (the story, not the butchered movie) or Cell. And the descriptions of descent into corporate America, and the inevitable consequences, as well as the talk about how ideas spread, reminds me of Oryx And Crake, one of my favorite books of all time. And while I personally would like to have one of either the characters or the story more flushed out, I will admit that the quick-read nature of the book means that the ideas just kinda linger.
It's a really fun and smart story for people who just love stories.
euleau's review
2.0
This book was so confusing...You didn't really get to connect with the characters as much as other books.
joyousreads132's review
3.0
New York hasn't been the same since the Big Black. An explosion of catastrophic proportion plunged the entire state into disaster and darkness.
"The lights went back on but they never came out of the dark."
People lost their sense of humanity. Emotionless with empty stares, they walk around with their heads down, fiddling with their cell phones as if it held their life lines. And in some ways it did--much like it is now.
"The world was slipping away from them. They were forgetting to care. When they finally bothered to look up, there would be nothing to keep them going."
This story is dark, weird--very pyschological; unapologetic with its profanity and violence that was surprising for this genre. The world that the author created was typical of a dystopian novel except that there was no government that controlled everyone. Instead, you have a corporation which developed a "psychic virus", controlling everyone who was weak in the mind. The four characters weren't affected for one reason. Their will and purpose is stronger than everyone else's.
Mal is to find his lost brother, whose last phone call to him was worrisome. They'd been separated when they were young. Mal to their dead father who taught him everything he needed to know about bare-knuckle fighting but was a father-figure nonetheless. Tommy to their alcoholic, abusive mother. Because of that, Tommy had never forgiven Mal for abandoning him. And Mal felt like he owed it to his brother.
Laura is to her parents, whose memories were erased of everything about their daughter. She wanted them to rememer who they were--loving, caring parents whose world used to revolve around their daughter.
Mike is to his students. No matter how much he hated his life, his teaching career. He was still determined to teach because 'someone has to' and no one would bother with the kids in his God-forsaken neighborhood.
Remak is to find the cure. To rid the world of the virus that thrived on people's hopelessness and desolation.
I guess I understand why this book is not getting some sparkling reviews. At times, the explanation of what's happening to the people's psyche was hard to follow. The concept was mind blowing and maybe with a few more simplification, this story would have garnered more attention. It was like watching INCEPTION over again; in the end, my eyes were glazed over wondering just what the heck just happened. Even still, the book was written beautifully in a foreboding manner.
The ending. What can I say about the ending? Was it necessary? Only the author can answer that.
"The lights went back on but they never came out of the dark."
People lost their sense of humanity. Emotionless with empty stares, they walk around with their heads down, fiddling with their cell phones as if it held their life lines. And in some ways it did--much like it is now.
"The world was slipping away from them. They were forgetting to care. When they finally bothered to look up, there would be nothing to keep them going."
This story is dark, weird--very pyschological; unapologetic with its profanity and violence that was surprising for this genre. The world that the author created was typical of a dystopian novel except that there was no government that controlled everyone. Instead, you have a corporation which developed a "psychic virus", controlling everyone who was weak in the mind. The four characters weren't affected for one reason. Their will and purpose is stronger than everyone else's.
Mal is to find his lost brother, whose last phone call to him was worrisome. They'd been separated when they were young. Mal to their dead father who taught him everything he needed to know about bare-knuckle fighting but was a father-figure nonetheless. Tommy to their alcoholic, abusive mother. Because of that, Tommy had never forgiven Mal for abandoning him. And Mal felt like he owed it to his brother.
Laura is to her parents, whose memories were erased of everything about their daughter. She wanted them to rememer who they were--loving, caring parents whose world used to revolve around their daughter.
Mike is to his students. No matter how much he hated his life, his teaching career. He was still determined to teach because 'someone has to' and no one would bother with the kids in his God-forsaken neighborhood.
Remak is to find the cure. To rid the world of the virus that thrived on people's hopelessness and desolation.
I guess I understand why this book is not getting some sparkling reviews. At times, the explanation of what's happening to the people's psyche was hard to follow. The concept was mind blowing and maybe with a few more simplification, this story would have garnered more attention. It was like watching INCEPTION over again; in the end, my eyes were glazed over wondering just what the heck just happened. Even still, the book was written beautifully in a foreboding manner.
The ending. What can I say about the ending? Was it necessary? Only the author can answer that.
lochnessvhs's review
1.0
One time I went on a ghost hunt/walking tour. It was so stupidly bad that my partner and I enjoyed ourselves because we kept poking each other with our elbows and laughing at the absurdity.
This book was kind of similar, except I never once enjoyed it while I was reading. And sometimes the laughing that came out of me sounded like I was dying.
There was one point, near the beginning of Those That Wake, when a character named Laura tries to contact her parents and they act like they don't know her. They tell her they don't have a daughter and how did they get her number and please stop harassing them. That one chapter was super interesting and gave me hope this would be a decent, if at least average, sort of book.
Not much later the book explains that, yes, civilization is crumbling because EVIL CORPORATIONS have INFECTED SOCIETY WITH......MEMES!
“With the improvement of imaging technology and Internet capability in standard cells, people are exposed to this virulence every moment of every day. They now crave the stimulation, to the point that its absence feels undesirable. They are, in effect, addicted to meme transmission, and they don’t even know it.“ -pg. 236
Our intrepid heroes discover this because one of them was an employee for a shady company headed by someone who has hid his identity and location forever. Except after buying one map they find his house immediately where this man in-turn explains to them the entire plot of the book in one soul-melting chapter of boredom and eye rolls.
After anonymous men storm the house trying to kill them, they get out by using an ancient key to start a car. They then head straight to the hidden skyscraper and meet him: THE MEME HIMSELF.
“We are the evolved and evolving species homo sapiens,” Remak countered, “unique and unprecedented. You are only a genus of a species, just another form of meme.” -pg. 282
I’m pretty sure they work together to DEFEAT THE EVIL MEME, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you how that is done, only that one of them doesn’t make it and then people start waking up as the meme starts dislodging itself from their minds.
Just a few days ago I wrote about how I think all books that are published are worth reading because they are the product of someone’s passion and hard work. Those That Wake is seriously messing with my theory. I honestly cannot imagine how this book was published (by Graphia, a subsidiary of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). I feel like a lot of people have a lot of explaining to do. How on earth was this story pitched? Memes are destroying the world and the only ones that can stop them are a privileged white girl, a creepy teenage boxer, a disgruntled high school teacher, and an IRS agent!
This book was kind of similar, except I never once enjoyed it while I was reading. And sometimes the laughing that came out of me sounded like I was dying.
There was one point, near the beginning of Those That Wake, when a character named Laura tries to contact her parents and they act like they don't know her. They tell her they don't have a daughter and how did they get her number and please stop harassing them. That one chapter was super interesting and gave me hope this would be a decent, if at least average, sort of book.
Not much later the book explains that, yes, civilization is crumbling because EVIL CORPORATIONS have INFECTED SOCIETY WITH......MEMES!
“With the improvement of imaging technology and Internet capability in standard cells, people are exposed to this virulence every moment of every day. They now crave the stimulation, to the point that its absence feels undesirable. They are, in effect, addicted to meme transmission, and they don’t even know it.“ -pg. 236
Our intrepid heroes discover this because one of them was an employee for a shady company headed by someone who has hid his identity and location forever. Except after buying one map they find his house immediately where this man in-turn explains to them the entire plot of the book in one soul-melting chapter of boredom and eye rolls.
After anonymous men storm the house trying to kill them, they get out by using an ancient key to start a car. They then head straight to the hidden skyscraper and meet him: THE MEME HIMSELF.
“We are the evolved and evolving species homo sapiens,” Remak countered, “unique and unprecedented. You are only a genus of a species, just another form of meme.” -pg. 282
I’m pretty sure they work together to DEFEAT THE EVIL MEME, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you how that is done, only that one of them doesn’t make it and then people start waking up as the meme starts dislodging itself from their minds.
Just a few days ago I wrote about how I think all books that are published are worth reading because they are the product of someone’s passion and hard work. Those That Wake is seriously messing with my theory. I honestly cannot imagine how this book was published (by Graphia, a subsidiary of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). I feel like a lot of people have a lot of explaining to do. How on earth was this story pitched? Memes are destroying the world and the only ones that can stop them are a privileged white girl, a creepy teenage boxer, a disgruntled high school teacher, and an IRS agent!
bak8382's review
3.0
Mal, Laura, Remak, and Mike have nothing in common in a future world where the Government controls almost every aspect of their lives. They find themselves thrown together after a series of seemingly unconnected events leads them to be forgotten by everyone who knows them. They find themselves fighting back against a deadly enemy that seems to have infected the entire world.
While an interesting premise and well-developed characters make this a worthwhile read, the ultimate enemy is somewhat lacking and the ending may be too unresolved for some.
While an interesting premise and well-developed characters make this a worthwhile read, the ultimate enemy is somewhat lacking and the ending may be too unresolved for some.
missprint_'s review
2.0
This reminded me a lot of Pod (which I hated). The writing was marginally better but the latter half of the story dragged. I'm not a fan of science fiction/horror stories that start to deal in parables and cautionary tales which this did--it all just becomes too abstract and bizarre. This was kind of a strange blend of Brain Jack and Pod but with all of the elements I could handle and fewer of the problems. Eh.
fennecsgirl's review
2.0
This book just seemed so disjointed. It didn't flow and I was often left trying to piece the story together.
pwbalto's review
4.0
Paranoid and muffled, like a thriller in slow motion, like a ghost story set in the cement landscape of Roosevelt Island, it called to mind the frightened, frightening work of Philip K. Dick . Like Mulder's quieter, more desperate X-Files moments. The characters - and the reader - don't know what's going on, why everything around them keeps breaking and why everyone they encounter seems so hostile. The atmosphere is chilling and hopeless - magnetically written, it seeps into the reader's head like silence and inertia and entropy.
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2011/01/those-that-wake-by-jesse-karp-review.html
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2011/01/those-that-wake-by-jesse-karp-review.html