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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
very engaging read. for me, the book was a mix between the terminator and the road: there were elements of totally fantastic combined with moments of pure beautiful in there. i did feel that there were far too many underdeveloped plot lines, however. and despite it being some 800 pages long, at the end i was wishing the author had revisited some characters he introduced early in the novel. i suppose that is how you set the stage for a sequel though, huh?
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.75 rounding up - I couldn’t put it down. And believe me, that’s a burden when reading the paperback 750+ pages. But the story is captivating and the writing is strong. Yes there is much that is formulaic, but he creates good characters and world building and — dystopian future with vampires…!!!!
DNF 58%
This is a beast of a book. And, initially, I loved it.
It had so much promise with it's pandemic, secretive government experiments, and monsters. And it almost delivered on it.
Until it unexpectedly jumped ahead 97 years and none of what I loved about it mattered.
Instead, I was shown boring character that I didn't care about, in a place I didn't know, with piddly conflict that didn't matter.
But I trudged through about 10 hours of that boring nothingness. On, and on, and on, with no real conflict or monsters or anyone who was even remotely likeable.
Essentially the literary equivalent of an empty white room.
And it was all so boring that I fell asleep, lost my spot, and decided I didn't care enough about the story to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out where I left off.
So I put it down instead.
This is a beast of a book. And, initially, I loved it.
It had so much promise with it's pandemic, secretive government experiments, and monsters. And it almost delivered on it.
Until it unexpectedly jumped ahead 97 years and none of what I loved about it mattered.
Instead, I was shown boring character that I didn't care about, in a place I didn't know, with piddly conflict that didn't matter.
But I trudged through about 10 hours of that boring nothingness. On, and on, and on, with no real conflict or monsters or anyone who was even remotely likeable.
Essentially the literary equivalent of an empty white room.
And it was all so boring that I fell asleep, lost my spot, and decided I didn't care enough about the story to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out where I left off.
So I put it down instead.
It wasn't what I thought it would be after reading the synopsis, but that wasn't a bad thing--I like to be surprised!
I've been craving post-apocalyptic tales lately and this didn't quite satisfy that urge but whetted my appetite a little.
It was fast paced and logical in its direction. Many parts were very true to life, good and bad. My favorite parts about novels of this type are how both sides of humanity, good and bad, are showcased.
You have the good survivors who band together for the common good and maintain civility and humanity. This doesn't mean that everyone on the "good" side is an angel...just that they're trying.
Then you have the survivors who live on by exploiting their fellow humans. Sad but with the way that humanity is all shades of gray from white to black, you know that if the world ended tomorrow there would be some in either camp.
The first part of the novel details how the world's end was started which was nice but I felt could have been shortened a bit to get to the meaty stuff. Once the world dies it doesn't matter so much how it got that way, it matters more how the people left behind will deal with it. There were elements told to you in the beginning that come back around again at the end but I still feel there was too much told in the beginning that didn't add to the overall plot.
It did feel slightly unfinished to me at the end...there are still a lot of questions unanswered I felt. If this was meant to be a stand-alone novel I'll be disappointed, but if Cronin did that to prepare for more books I'd be happy. Otherwise the ending felt a bit too rushed, which leads me to point back to the beginning where some things could be cut out to make room for a more fleshed-out ending.
Slight spoiler, one of my complaints about the characters....
***********************************************************************
Why oh why didn't they use the antivirus/cure/serum when they had it? Why did they have to destroy it? I just ended up feeling bad for Amy that she'll be the only "immortal" girl forever except for the creepy Twelve.
I've been craving post-apocalyptic tales lately and this didn't quite satisfy that urge but whetted my appetite a little.
It was fast paced and logical in its direction. Many parts were very true to life, good and bad. My favorite parts about novels of this type are how both sides of humanity, good and bad, are showcased.
You have the good survivors who band together for the common good and maintain civility and humanity. This doesn't mean that everyone on the "good" side is an angel...just that they're trying.
Then you have the survivors who live on by exploiting their fellow humans. Sad but with the way that humanity is all shades of gray from white to black, you know that if the world ended tomorrow there would be some in either camp.
The first part of the novel details how the world's end was started which was nice but I felt could have been shortened a bit to get to the meaty stuff. Once the world dies it doesn't matter so much how it got that way, it matters more how the people left behind will deal with it. There were elements told to you in the beginning that come back around again at the end but I still feel there was too much told in the beginning that didn't add to the overall plot.
It did feel slightly unfinished to me at the end...there are still a lot of questions unanswered I felt. If this was meant to be a stand-alone novel I'll be disappointed, but if Cronin did that to prepare for more books I'd be happy. Otherwise the ending felt a bit too rushed, which leads me to point back to the beginning where some things could be cut out to make room for a more fleshed-out ending.
Slight spoiler, one of my complaints about the characters....
***********************************************************************
Why oh why didn't they use the antivirus/cure/serum when they had it? Why did they have to destroy it? I just ended up feeling bad for Amy that she'll be the only "immortal" girl forever except for the creepy Twelve.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
How has this book eluded me for so long?! This is everything I love about a range of different genres in one epic novel, dystopian, post apocalyptic, a virus gone wrong, what more could you want!!!The highest praise I can give this book is that it is most definitely reminiscent of The Stand by Stephen King, not in its content but in the epic nature of the journey/story told and how character driven it is. It kept me awake at night, totally consuming me until the end, just brilliant!
Amazing!
Post-apocalyptic vampire adventure - but it's so much more! A strong storyline that pulls you along, almost impossible to put down at times. A rich and diverse range of characters that have you rooting for them - even when it's obvious they're going to die, there were tears!
A definite recommend for fans of The Walking Dead and Swan Song - I'm going to be talking about this for a long time to come
Post-apocalyptic vampire adventure - but it's so much more! A strong storyline that pulls you along, almost impossible to put down at times. A rich and diverse range of characters that have you rooting for them - even when it's obvious they're going to die, there were tears!
A definite recommend for fans of The Walking Dead and Swan Song - I'm going to be talking about this for a long time to come
This book took me a while to get into. But once I did, I really enjoyed it. Now that I finished it - yesterday - I haven't stopped thinking about it. I want more. I hope there is more.
I don't consider this a horror book but more of a science-gone-wrong. Whatever you want to call it the writing is quite well done and the story pulls you through the almost 800 pages. I have already ordered Book 2.