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zoff's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
victoria80's review against another edition
1.0
ABANDON! This is the first book that I had to do exactly what the title told me to do...
Respectfully gave up at 78% which I would never, ever do but I have so many other things to read. I felt it was more a chore to keep reading.
Sorry
Respectfully gave up at 78% which I would never, ever do but I have so many other things to read. I felt it was more a chore to keep reading.
Sorry
benjobaggins's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bethsponz's review against another edition
4.0
I haven’t read a book this quickly in awhile! I just couldn’t put it down for too long. This is a story set in Abandon, Colorado. An old mining town. Ghost town. The story goes back in forth from 1893 to 2009. Terrifying, thrilling story with such great characters and the setting is just too good. The two time lines connect in such a fascinating way. If you don’t like violence and blood shed though this book is not for you! This is my third book by this author. His other two being time travel related. I for sure would like to read another thriller like this by him.
erinflight's review against another edition
2.0
This novel is engaging. That's part of the reason it sucks.
This is a story built upon escalating tension. Things get worse. And then they get worse again. And again. And again. And again.
The final escalation, in the last chapter, was honestly just exasperating. This is the point in the novel where you'd be expecting some sort of payoff, resolution, the wrapping up of the story. But no. At this point in the book, the "twist" was the opposite of shocking. I'd have been more surprised if things actually had resolved.
At the very end of the book, the last five pages maybe, the tension does stop. But there's no reward there, no satisfying conclusion. Just a "well, I guess it's over".
Also, the mystery at the core of this book ends up being, frankly, not that interesting. You get an answer as to where all of the people vanished to, sure, but it's not a particularly enthralling or surprising answer. Humans are sometimes greedy. Humans sometimes go crazy. Combine those things in an out of the way mining town in the heart of winter and well, there you go.
So, this novel is a ride, and maybe it's worth reading for that. But it doesn't go anywhere, and I ended up feeling like I'd wasted both my time and the little emotional investment this book managed to wring out of me.
This is a story built upon escalating tension. Things get worse. And then they get worse again. And again. And again. And again.
The final escalation, in the last chapter, was honestly just exasperating. This is the point in the novel where you'd be expecting some sort of payoff, resolution, the wrapping up of the story. But no. At this point in the book, the "twist" was the opposite of shocking. I'd have been more surprised if things actually had resolved.
At the very end of the book, the last five pages maybe, the tension does stop. But there's no reward there, no satisfying conclusion. Just a "well, I guess it's over".
Also, the mystery at the core of this book ends up being, frankly, not that interesting. You get an answer as to where all of the people vanished to, sure, but it's not a particularly enthralling or surprising answer. Humans are sometimes greedy. Humans sometimes go crazy. Combine those things in an out of the way mining town in the heart of winter and well, there you go.
So, this novel is a ride, and maybe it's worth reading for that. But it doesn't go anywhere, and I ended up feeling like I'd wasted both my time and the little emotional investment this book managed to wring out of me.
fertilepress's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
11corvus11's review against another edition
Dnf, was a great pairing with being stranded alone in the woods during a snow storm and then it turned into something else that was action packed boredom. I like some of this author's scifi stuff but not this. I agree with the reviewer saying it's a bait and switch description.
marlowjules's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mischievous_monkey's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting story and a bold narrative style.
marnie725's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I could give 3.5 stars. The first half of the book was a solid 4, but after the revelation of what happened to the townspeople it dropped to a 3. I enjoyed the entire past storyline and it was relevant, but the second half of the present day storyline just dragged on and really could have been shortened up or left out entirely. Overall it was a good read, it just could have used a little better editing.