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si0bhan's review
3.0
Carbon Run is the second book in J.G. Follansebee’s Tales From A Warming Planet series, but it works perfectly fine without reading The Mother Earth Insurgency. I read it without having read the prior story, and I had no issue understanding all that was going on.
Carbon Run was an interesting read, one that provides a really interesting world. I enjoy stories that look at the future, those with a focus upon what could happen with our environment in the years to come, and this one offered up fun possibilities. In fact, this was my favourite element of the book – the future was an interesting one, one that will make you stop and think. There is no doubt J.G. Follansebee has created a future that will leave people thinking about it for quite some time.
However, I wasn’t completely sucked into this story. There was a lot going on in this one, which I really enjoyed, but I had issues connecting with the characters. I was curious about where each of the stories were going, I wanted to know what would come next for each of the characters, but there was no connection there. Due to this, I was able to put the book down and turn away. I would go back, as I wanted to know how things came together, but it was not the incessant pull I’m accustomed to when a book has really gripped me. I’m not entirely sure what it was that kept me at a distance from the characters, but there was something there.
Overall, this was an interesting read. I’m sure many will have a lot of fun with this one, but it wasn’t quite all I had hoped for.
Carbon Run was an interesting read, one that provides a really interesting world. I enjoy stories that look at the future, those with a focus upon what could happen with our environment in the years to come, and this one offered up fun possibilities. In fact, this was my favourite element of the book – the future was an interesting one, one that will make you stop and think. There is no doubt J.G. Follansebee has created a future that will leave people thinking about it for quite some time.
However, I wasn’t completely sucked into this story. There was a lot going on in this one, which I really enjoyed, but I had issues connecting with the characters. I was curious about where each of the stories were going, I wanted to know what would come next for each of the characters, but there was no connection there. Due to this, I was able to put the book down and turn away. I would go back, as I wanted to know how things came together, but it was not the incessant pull I’m accustomed to when a book has really gripped me. I’m not entirely sure what it was that kept me at a distance from the characters, but there was something there.
Overall, this was an interesting read. I’m sure many will have a lot of fun with this one, but it wasn’t quite all I had hoped for.
romireads's review
3.0
Okay, I’m really having a hard time rating this book and I’ll try to explain why.
When I was offered the opportunity to review this story about global warming, I was really excited. Growing up in a very conscious little town I learnt about protecting and loving the Earth at a very young age, so a dystopian on what a possible outcome of the climate change could bring really intrigued me! Nevertheless, I know myself for not being able to enjoy futuristic books as much as contemporary ones, mostly because it takes place in a world unknown to me. Most times I just miss a connection to the characters, because they live (have to live) their lives so differently than I do. (Maybe I’m just scared of the future, who knows?) This was also the case with Carbon Run. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and the ones I kind of liked were just too ‘flat’ for me to care about.
Although I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, I didn’t necessarily feel the urge to pick it up when I wasn’t reading. Nearing the end of the book I even found myself getting less and less interested in the outcome, easily distracted and looking forward to my next read. This lead to me merely scanning the text for the important parts and just reading over the rest.
All of this is just me and my love/hate relationship with dystopians. It doesn’t really say anything about the quality of Follansbee’s writing style. Although I didn’t feel a connection, I do appreciate the world Follansbee has built. It takes imagination and talent to depict a world that’s just … right. I couldn’t find anything super unrealistic in the future world of Carbon Run: from a disaster that increased climate change and everything destructive to almost the max, to the “minds eye”. I can really imagine people living in the 22nd century with built-in “computers” so they can communicate with others and even order in a restaurant without the need of paper or smartphone. It’d all take place in your head!
So yes, because I need a connection to the characters of a story for me to really enjoy a book, I’m giving this book ‘only’ 2.75/5 stars.
Follansbee was kind enough to also send me the first book in the series, The Mother Earth Insurgency (a novelette) and I hope to get to that one soon, because Carbon Run got me really curious about our possible future world!
* I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review *
When I was offered the opportunity to review this story about global warming, I was really excited. Growing up in a very conscious little town I learnt about protecting and loving the Earth at a very young age, so a dystopian on what a possible outcome of the climate change could bring really intrigued me! Nevertheless, I know myself for not being able to enjoy futuristic books as much as contemporary ones, mostly because it takes place in a world unknown to me. Most times I just miss a connection to the characters, because they live (have to live) their lives so differently than I do. (Maybe I’m just scared of the future, who knows?) This was also the case with Carbon Run. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and the ones I kind of liked were just too ‘flat’ for me to care about.
Although I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, I didn’t necessarily feel the urge to pick it up when I wasn’t reading. Nearing the end of the book I even found myself getting less and less interested in the outcome, easily distracted and looking forward to my next read. This lead to me merely scanning the text for the important parts and just reading over the rest.
All of this is just me and my love/hate relationship with dystopians. It doesn’t really say anything about the quality of Follansbee’s writing style. Although I didn’t feel a connection, I do appreciate the world Follansbee has built. It takes imagination and talent to depict a world that’s just … right. I couldn’t find anything super unrealistic in the future world of Carbon Run: from a disaster that increased climate change and everything destructive to almost the max, to the “minds eye”. I can really imagine people living in the 22nd century with built-in “computers” so they can communicate with others and even order in a restaurant without the need of paper or smartphone. It’d all take place in your head!
So yes, because I need a connection to the characters of a story for me to really enjoy a book, I’m giving this book ‘only’ 2.75/5 stars.
Follansbee was kind enough to also send me the first book in the series, The Mother Earth Insurgency (a novelette) and I hope to get to that one soon, because Carbon Run got me really curious about our possible future world!
* I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review *
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