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titanic's review against another edition
3.0
"He held out his hand and David and Geoff each took a capsule. As he put the thing in his pocket, David thought, death weighs almost nothing."
This book worried me when I started reading it. Not only did it take ages to get into, I didn't get fully interested in it until the one hundred page mark, but it started out really heavy on the politics. I understand that it's a book about World War Two so naturally it is going to have characters mentioning the flaws of the world, and bringing up matters, like how the Jews are getting removed from Britain but it scared me off at the beginning, which was possibly why it took so long for me to get interested.
Another flaw with this book was, for a long time, Frank Muncaster was the only character that kept me going. I lived for his chapters in the asylum. Nobody in the Resistance interested me, and I certainly did not enjoy the chapters of Gunther. They were boring, all he ever seemed to do was complain about the fog and how much he missed his child, all in a way to seem more human but I never got the feeling the author knew how to truly write him. Sarah eventually became interesting, and then, so did the book. Around the three hundred page mark, I was hooked most.
I was disappointed with the secret that Frank was told. I should have guessed it. It's kind of obvious not that I look back on it. It seems silly that America would risk a submarine for him, though, I feel they would rather place an American spy on British soil and eliminate the risk. It seems more official. Stop the secret from coming out, and nobody would have been any the wiser. Many people in asylums commit suicide, Frank proved this when he attempted it.
The problem with this book is, you have to read through the politics, and you find yourself nearly three hundred pages in and only then when the Germans start to realise that the Resistance want to free Frank does it get interesting. Yet you have to put up with complaining chapters of Gunther, but despite all this, I could see myself reading it again. The ending wowed me, I'll give the author that. I like how I don't truly know what happened with David and Sarah, I hope she left him. She was way to good for him - yet she loves(d?) him so, it makes you wonder. Did they stay together in the United States or go their separate ways. They probably stayed together because they had nobody else. I'm just sad Frank killed himself. He was the best of them all. The author seemed to put a lot of thought into him, down to his damaged arm and creepy smile.
This book worried me when I started reading it. Not only did it take ages to get into, I didn't get fully interested in it until the one hundred page mark, but it started out really heavy on the politics. I understand that it's a book about World War Two so naturally it is going to have characters mentioning the flaws of the world, and bringing up matters, like how the Jews are getting removed from Britain but it scared me off at the beginning, which was possibly why it took so long for me to get interested.
Another flaw with this book was, for a long time, Frank Muncaster was the only character that kept me going. I lived for his chapters in the asylum. Nobody in the Resistance interested me, and I certainly did not enjoy the chapters of Gunther. They were boring, all he ever seemed to do was complain about the fog and how much he missed his child, all in a way to seem more human but I never got the feeling the author knew how to truly write him. Sarah eventually became interesting, and then, so did the book. Around the three hundred page mark, I was hooked most.
I was disappointed with the secret that Frank was told. I should have guessed it. It's kind of obvious not that I look back on it. It seems silly that America would risk a submarine for him, though, I feel they would rather place an American spy on British soil and eliminate the risk. It seems more official. Stop the secret from coming out, and nobody would have been any the wiser. Many people in asylums commit suicide, Frank proved this when he attempted it.
The problem with this book is, you have to read through the politics, and you find yourself nearly three hundred pages in and only then when the Germans start to realise that the Resistance want to free Frank does it get interesting. Yet you have to put up with complaining chapters of Gunther, but despite all this, I could see myself reading it again. The ending wowed me, I'll give the author that. I like how I don't truly know what happened with David and Sarah, I hope she left him. She was way to good for him - yet she loves(d?) him so, it makes you wonder. Did they stay together in the United States or go their separate ways. They probably stayed together because they had nobody else. I'm just sad Frank killed himself. He was the best of them all. The author seemed to put a lot of thought into him, down to his damaged arm and creepy smile.
pnwlisa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sfletcher26's review against another edition
2.0
I so wanted to like this book but just didn't. It's not that it's bad it's just that it feels like three books in one (an alt history what if, a WWII spy story and an anti fascist polemic) all if which are competeing with one another.
michael_levy's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
coops456's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars for effort and a good idea, poorly-executed.
Philip Roth did the alternative history way better in [b:The Plot Against America|703|The Plot Against America|Philip Roth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553896240l/703._SY75_.jpg|911456]. This needed a lot less adverbiage and a lot more editing.
Other Goodreaders hit my feelings on the head:
We're supposed to believe that the reason Frank Muncaster is being hunted is because, in the course of a relatively short conversation with his brother, he learned so much about the US atomic weapons program that, were it to fall into Germans hands, it would advance their nuclear effort several years. Really? He's a geologist, not a nuclear scientist.
and
On the plus side I was able to suspend disbelief and was interested in the characters enough to hope they 'got away with it'. The tension built in waves but they all came crashing down in a denouement that undermined the whole premise of the plot.
Philip Roth did the alternative history way better in [b:The Plot Against America|703|The Plot Against America|Philip Roth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553896240l/703._SY75_.jpg|911456]. This needed a lot less adverbiage and a lot more editing.
Other Goodreaders hit my feelings on the head:
We're supposed to believe that the reason Frank Muncaster is being hunted is because, in the course of a relatively short conversation with his brother, he learned so much about the US atomic weapons program that, were it to fall into Germans hands, it would advance their nuclear effort several years. Really? He's a geologist, not a nuclear scientist.
and
On the plus side I was able to suspend disbelief and was interested in the characters enough to hope they 'got away with it'. The tension built in waves but they all came crashing down in a denouement that undermined the whole premise of the plot.
nicholasjharder's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
ianmcnamara's review against another edition
5.0
Did not think i would like this one, as normally this type of book is not my usual kind of read. Although there were a couple of really horrible words used in the book which i found affensive it did not stop me quite enjoying the book. I got into it as it progressed.
balthazarlawson's review against another edition
4.0
This is an alternate history novel, in what I consider to be a pure form. There is a point of divergence and then what happens from then is new. There are no alien visitors or time travel involved in this book. The point of divergence is 9th May 1940 and Lord Halifax is offered the position of Prime Minister. He accepts. The future for the characters is now all different from what they would have experienced if he had refused the position, as had happened in our time line, and Winston Churchill became Prime Minister.
Within this setting we have a story of spies fighting a Fascist government under the strong influence of a Nazi Germany. The resistance is given the job of helping Dr Frank Muncaster to get out of the county before the secret he holds is revealed to the Nazis, who are also hunting.
I found this interesting but rather drawn out by lots of long back stories that were told though out the story. Instead of moving forward there was a lot of looking back and it kind of took away from what was happening in the here and now. It's a slow spy thriller but then most thrillers are.
If you like alternate history books than this is well worth reading.
Within this setting we have a story of spies fighting a Fascist government under the strong influence of a Nazi Germany. The resistance is given the job of helping Dr Frank Muncaster to get out of the county before the secret he holds is revealed to the Nazis, who are also hunting.
I found this interesting but rather drawn out by lots of long back stories that were told though out the story. Instead of moving forward there was a lot of looking back and it kind of took away from what was happening in the here and now. It's a slow spy thriller but then most thrillers are.
If you like alternate history books than this is well worth reading.