Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you like Star Trek you'll most likely love this book. It is funny, entertaining and thoughtful.
funny
slow-paced
I'll have you know jasper is not a ridiculous name
funny
mysterious
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:
No
A book club pick, and I was able to get the Will Wheaton narratored audio version, so that was good. I liked the premise. It didn't bother me that this was set in a universe that is pretty much Star Trek, but a early 2000s knock off version. I was a fan of taking the prospective of a group of minor characters who slowly realize the risks of being an away team red shirt, and work out the funky nuances of that phenomenon.
This book is pretty much three sections. The first is the basic set-up of the red shirts learning their environment and the risks of the Intrepid. This was my favorite part. I was a solid 4 stars during this section. Fun, self-referential jokes by the narrator, not the characters.
The second starts getting meta when the fourth wall is breached in a novel way. Now everyone is a comedian and it's less fresh. They go on an epic journey, poke fun at the sci-fi genre's sketchy plots while at the same time trotting out some pretty sketchy plots.
Then the third part - I don't know what this was. Maybe it was too short to be sold as a novel without this added baggage. Maybe the writer was dying to write in second person POV to show he could. Maybe he wanted to give shout-outs to some favorite authors - hey Jasper Fforde, here's looking at you. Get your follow up to Shades of Grey written already, we've been on the Road to High Crimson for a long damn time now. I'm not sure, but this final trio of vignettes got stale and annoying. Unlike the (quite ironically) "real" characters of the first two sections of the book from the crew of the Intrepid, this last third features a parade of entitled privileged assholes who flip coins to decide whether to go to Pomona or Wellesley. Barf. Seriously, barf.
Overall, it was interesting and should lead to an interesting book club discussion. Good thing the book wasn't any longer or it might have lost another star.
This book is pretty much three sections. The first is the basic set-up of the red shirts learning their environment and the risks of the Intrepid. This was my favorite part. I was a solid 4 stars during this section. Fun, self-referential jokes by the narrator, not the characters.
The second starts getting meta when the fourth wall is breached in a novel way. Now everyone is a comedian and it's less fresh. They go on an epic journey, poke fun at the sci-fi genre's sketchy plots while at the same time trotting out some pretty sketchy plots.
Then the third part - I don't know what this was. Maybe it was too short to be sold as a novel without this added baggage. Maybe the writer was dying to write in second person POV to show he could. Maybe he wanted to give shout-outs to some favorite authors - hey Jasper Fforde, here's looking at you. Get your follow up to Shades of Grey written already, we've been on the Road to High Crimson for a long damn time now. I'm not sure, but this final trio of vignettes got stale and annoying. Unlike the (quite ironically) "real" characters of the first two sections of the book from the crew of the Intrepid, this last third features a parade of entitled privileged assholes who flip coins to decide whether to go to Pomona or Wellesley. Barf. Seriously, barf.
Overall, it was interesting and should lead to an interesting book club discussion. Good thing the book wasn't any longer or it might have lost another star.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No