Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Los sonámbulos by Chuck Wendig

13 reviews

thecrimsoncorsair's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Other than the fact that Wendig absolutely loves the word canoodle far too much, and needlessly made this book longer than was necessary. It really was a fantastic book. I couldn't stop listening to it. Blew through the whole thing in a few days. I had to know what was going on with the big mystery surrounding the white mask disease. And it sadly ended pretty much how I figured it would. Which wasn't very surprising at all. Pretty cliche ending, but I am excited to start on the sequel. 

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cmcryst's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

3.0


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readerrho's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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yruss972's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Too dark, dystopian, and violent for me.
12 monkeys meets The Walking Dead meets The 100

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ddaley2214's review against another edition

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

4.0

I finished this book on Saturday but had to sit on what I had just read for a few days.

First, this book is a perfect example of why content warnings should be standard for all books. I purchased this book in early 2020 at the start of lockdown and got around to reading it this year. I had seen a review that referenced the scene in Chapter 50 as a heads-up, but nothing about anything else. There were a few reviews in book spaces for this, so that part was unsurprising. Here are the content warnings: racism, homo/transphobia, sexism, blood and gore, physical, verbal, sexual assault, illness, and a pandemic.

Now onto a review of the actual book. I try to write reviews that aren't just summaries or blurbs over again, and I try to write them spoiler free. 

The summary of the book about Shana doesn't even scratch the surface of what goes on in this book and who we, as readers, get to meet and discover. There is so much more to this story than what I went into this expecting. The story unfolds as the characters wind across America. Wendig tells a story that, at times, is reminiscent of what we face every day in an ever-changing landscape. It is eerily spooky how well some of the happenings in this book mirror real life, especially for a book published before Covid-19.

As big as the book is, the hardcover coming in at just under 800 pages, it was a little daunting even though I've read bigger books. The pacing is always unknown, the extra page count lending itself to a slower pace. Never fear, though; at its slowest, I would class this book as a medium pace book. It moved along well enough that it kept you engaged and wanting more. It was a bit long-winded and explanatory at times, in a way that reminded me of Michael Crichton. You could tell the author did his research about the material he was writing about, but maybe he did too much research, and now he is shoving it all into the book.

The lack of content warnings and the language that the author used that felt like it occasionally slipped toward harmful stereotypes made me rate this book four stars. I understand that a bigoted character is going to use offensive terminology; I'm not bothered by the fact that there are offensive words or anything (I also don't think that Wendig intentionally meant for these characters to come across this way, but intent and execution are two different matters). I think it played harmfully into the stereotypes, even the characters that were racists. The lack of content warnings, or even a note in the beginning that says to view the content warnings associated with this book, go here (insert web address), is unforgivable.

That being said, I could not shut up about this book. At work, at home, and with friends. I wanted to keep reading it, but real life had to keep moving. The way the story kept true to the summary but so much more kept me engaged. I didn't pick up on how it would end until it happened. But, reflecting, I can see where the breadcrumbs were placed. It wasn't a complete surprise, and I know what I missed.

I'm going to take a little break from this universe and these characters to further digest what I read. I'm excited about book 2, and I already own it.

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evelynleigh's review against another edition

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

2.5


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sydbap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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bidufta's review against another edition

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

3.5


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qwerty88's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Person of Interest meets The Stand
 

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gwimo's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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