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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
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:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had no idea the film (which I've still not seen) was based off a book, but I figured I'd give it a go before watching it.
I knew the general gist going into this, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The humour as well was a good touch, and I hadn't expected that side of it. Maybe it would have been nice to have some more backstory, but what we did get tied in nicely with the overall story.
Sure, some of the science-y stuff went right over my head, but that wasn't going to affect my understanding or enjoyment of the story.
All in all, really recommend a read of this.
I knew the general gist going into this, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The humour as well was a good touch, and I hadn't expected that side of it. Maybe it would have been nice to have some more backstory, but what we did get tied in nicely with the overall story.
Sure, some of the science-y stuff went right over my head, but that wasn't going to affect my understanding or enjoyment of the story.
All in all, really recommend a read of this.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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
My mid-March bingo cram prevented me from reading this before I saw the (excellent!) film adaptation in theaters, and now I really wish I had. This is one of thise rare times where the movie manages to tell a much deeper and more interesting story than the book, which colored my experience just a bit.
Which is not to say the book isn't good, not by a long shot. This is a much better specimen in the "sarcastic narrator hard-sci-fi" sugenre than I'm used to getting. The prose is not ostentatious, but the insight into Mickey's experience gained from the flashbacks and the pondering of the failures of past colony expeditions that form his obsession were really interesting to read, and helped break up the monotony of the middle chapters. That was one of the parts that disappointed me after seeing the movie, the conflict of the multiples really seemed to boil down to arguing about rations and didn't take up nearly the amount of space I was expecting. But I was left with plenty of other things to keep my attention.
This was an enjoyable if un-revolutionary book, and I'm more than happy to recommend it, and to add the sequel to my list. There's plenty of space for this story to grow, and I'm interested to see where the author takes it.
Which is not to say the book isn't good, not by a long shot. This is a much better specimen in the "sarcastic narrator hard-sci-fi" sugenre than I'm used to getting. The prose is not ostentatious, but the insight into Mickey's experience gained from the flashbacks and the pondering of the failures of past colony expeditions that form his obsession were really interesting to read, and helped break up the monotony of the middle chapters. That was one of the parts that disappointed me after seeing the movie, the conflict of the multiples really seemed to boil down to arguing about rations and didn't take up nearly the amount of space I was expecting. But I was left with plenty of other things to keep my attention.
This was an enjoyable if un-revolutionary book, and I'm more than happy to recommend it, and to add the sequel to my list. There's plenty of space for this story to grow, and I'm interested to see where the author takes it.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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
I almost hate to give this book such a low rating, but it was boring. The concept is really cool. I love thought experiments like this, and I think the idea of an Expendable is a great way to explore it. Besides maybe Mickey7, the characters didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me to really care too much about them. It’s difficult to accurately pin down my grievances with the characters because I can understand what role they are meant to represent, but I still find them bland.
I really appreciated Ashton’s way of explaining things that would normally be over my head. Even though this book is science fiction, I never felt like I had to do mental backflips to justify the explanation for something—it was all explained in a very sound manner.
The twist was definitely interesting, but happens too quickly.
This is a very cool book, but just a little bit boring. I’d definitely recommend it to a friend, especially one who had played any entry from the Nonary Games series, since I was reminded of those games a few times while reading this.
I really appreciated Ashton’s way of explaining things that would normally be over my head. Even though this book is science fiction, I never felt like I had to do mental backflips to justify the explanation for something—it was all explained in a very sound manner.
The twist was definitely interesting, but happens too quickly.
This is a very cool book, but just a little bit boring. I’d definitely recommend it to a friend, especially one who had played any entry from the Nonary Games series, since I was reminded of those games a few times while reading this.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
fast-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
It was fun and had the usual science fiction gimmick that you can't predict how it's going to play out but at the end it was sort of meh okay that was fun but not really meaningful.
adventurous
funny
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
This didn’t engage me. My mind kept wandering while listening to it. I think I just found the characters a little annoying and I felt it took too long to explain where they were and why and how the science worked. I won’t read any more in the series but I may watch the film when it comes out.