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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting premise and I like the idea to share the story through recordings and journal entries, but the execution of those pieces, especially all of the content of those recorded conversations (I kept wondering why would this conversation have been recorded?) as well as the personality, actions, and a lot of the dialogue of the main character didn’t quite make sense for me to buy into the story.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An alien artifact triggers a race to harness its immense power. Told mostly via interview transcripts, which kinda works (I liked how the interviewer gradually becomes more of a protagonist, and more invested in the interviewees) but doesn't do justice to the action sequences. Smoking Man X-Files vibes.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fantastic book! Listened to the audiobook, couldn’t put it down. It hit on some of my favorite themes including scientific discovery, and human nature/flaws/interactions in the face of a problem that is bigger than humanity.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75/4
I put this book off so long that the whole trilogy has come out now. Who’s surprised? Not me.
+ format permits easy reading
+ suspenseful narrative
+ inventive
- time jumps get in the way of development and are not explicitly stated
- that one gross thing. has to do with a spring lock. you know what i mean if you’ve read it.
Im not sure if I’ll be continuing with this series, but if I’m in need of more scifi, this will fit the bill.
I put this book off so long that the whole trilogy has come out now. Who’s surprised? Not me.
+ format permits easy reading
+ suspenseful narrative
+ inventive
- time jumps get in the way of development and are not explicitly stated
- that one gross thing. has to do with a spring lock. you know what i mean if you’ve read it.
Im not sure if I’ll be continuing with this series, but if I’m in need of more scifi, this will fit the bill.
Original story told in a very original way through a narrators interview transcripts and other files. Great sci-fi
5 Stars... with my random thoughts. I can't review justifiably.
I just read this book within 24 hours; my eyes are actually burning.
I loved this book from the first page.
A nameless interviewer "A la Smoking Man", and half a dozen folks, telling tales of giant robots. Yeah, you heard me. Giant Friggin' Robots. The kid in me perked up and got all giddy. Aliens, Robots and space travel, Oh my!
I ordered the 2nd book, when I got 100 pages in. I actually called around to my favorite UBS's and compared prices to Amazon. No one had a copy of book 2; so Amazon got my money. AND... you know, I am not going to the retail booksellers and pay full price. Oh, hell no.
Update: 12/25/20 was a reread to freshen up my memory of this book, since it has been 2 years since I read it. I really thought I was going to read the very next book, immediately!! Of course, those who know my reading habits, know that reading series books back-to-back, is not where I excel. So, here I am 2 years later trying to redeem myself.
My rating still stands, even though it took me 2.5 days to read. LOL
I just read this book within 24 hours; my eyes are actually burning.
I loved this book from the first page.
A nameless interviewer "A la Smoking Man", and half a dozen folks, telling tales of giant robots. Yeah, you heard me. Giant Friggin' Robots. The kid in me perked up and got all giddy. Aliens, Robots and space travel, Oh my!
I ordered the 2nd book, when I got 100 pages in. I actually called around to my favorite UBS's and compared prices to Amazon. No one had a copy of book 2; so Amazon got my money. AND... you know, I am not going to the retail booksellers and pay full price. Oh, hell no.
Update: 12/25/20 was a reread to freshen up my memory of this book, since it has been 2 years since I read it. I really thought I was going to read the very next book, immediately!! Of course, those who know my reading habits, know that reading series books back-to-back, is not where I excel. So, here I am 2 years later trying to redeem myself.
My rating still stands, even though it took me 2.5 days to read. LOL
I really didn't love the style of writing; the whole book was presented in the form of transcriptions of recorded radio/phone dialogue and Case Files and the occasional news clip instead of more traditional story telling. But I quite liked everything else. Excellent characters and premise, and I was impressed about the amount of character building the author was ables to accomplish using nothing but dialogue and reports. You really want to hate the conniving unnamed "narrator" but then they go and show a conscious (or at least fake it really well) every once in awhile and you just can't. Kara is cocky and abrasive but the flashes of insecurity and wobbly personal history that crop up occasionally make her very human too. Victor is egotistical and single minded and convinced of his own superiority but also literally has some character smashed into him and suddenly he's got actual feelings and concerns about someone other then himself. It is all quite impressive and even I still don't love the style, here I am going to start the next book in the series anyway.
Bravo, Neuvel. I really wasn't expecting that.
Bravo, Neuvel. I really wasn't expecting that.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced