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jenmangler's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the parts of the book about Galveston before the storm. Larson really brings the town to life. The hurricane is a fascinating character in the book, and the tension really builds as the hurricane does. Witnessing it unfold almost makes you sick to your stomach. Once it hits Galveston, though, it feels like Larson pulls back. The hurricane during landfall and the aftermath felt a bit anemic. The stuff on Isaac was the least interesting to me. He just wasn't a very compelling focus, and the book may have been better served not building around him as much as it did. I would've liked it more if Larson had spent more time with some of the people of Galveston pre- and post-hurricane. Not knowing much about them made it difficult to differentiate between them during landfall. And not knowing how they coped post-hurricane left loose ends. I'm a huge fan of Larson's work, but this one is my least favorite so far.
kennedien's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this! My only complaint is that so much of this book focuses on the science behind hurricanes. But really it was a fascinating read.
lbstephens_tx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.25
kristicuse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
As with most Larson books there's a section that's less than interesting and harder to get through. For me that was the first third of this book. Bits about the life of a relative unknown personality and his role preceding something for which he'd become better known. However, once the book got past this mundane lead in and reached the crux of the story (the storm) it became a much more interesting read and I flew through the last two-thirds of the book in about three days.
novelette's review against another edition
3.0
It was a little boring at the beginning, but got better towards the end