pandaorb's review

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

2.0

No. Nope.
I have a strict rule of putting down a book if I don't like it by 50 pages. Unfortunately for me, I started to get interested in this around page 47, only to quickly lose interest again. For 16 hours, this spectacularly narrated story could only be described as a glacially paced beast meandering between segments that I couldn't get enough of and segments that, frankly, should have been edited out entirely. 
I'm working through Wheel of Time. I'm re-reading Stormlight Archives for fun. It is hard to convince me that I don't need any more characters or any more backstory about those characters, but wow, I did not need 90% of the backstory for 90% of these characters. If I hear the phrase "dot dot dot" one more time I will throw the nearest Tom Hanks movie I can find against a wall with all my limited strength.
There was a good story in here, heck, there was even a great story in here! But no editor did Hanks the favor of telling him what to cut so that the diamond would be visible without readers chiseling through layers upon layers of irrelevant character building. Tom Hanks is a successful actor. He should know that the finished product only needs to display the bits of the iceberg that move the story forward, however, he does not exercise this knowledge as an author, instead opting to drop the entire iceberg upon readers in the name of informing them about the reality of showbiz.
Big props to the talented cast of narrators who made it possible to get through this book. It was a pleasure to listen to every single one of you, Mr. Hanks included, but I can't bring myself to have even marginally similar sentiments about the contents of what you narrated.

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