Reviews

Beyond the Burn Line by Paul McAuley

mvuijlst's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.5

iovise's review

5.0

Gorgeous world building, I wish it dove further into what it means to be "human" but it's still 5/5

nigellicus's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Humanity is extinct, the race of intelligent bears who replaced them fell victim to a brian-eating virus and now their old slaves are the dominant species. Strange ights in remote places and fanciful stories about alien visitors are spreading, but is it really a First contact situation or just the rise of a dangerous new cult?

Excellent post-anthropocene novel about life going on in the long term. The audio book narration is a bit flat

kevindolan's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

doceon's review

3.0

A bit disjointed, and difficult to get to know the characters. Cool world building though.

kerrysj's review

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kg0ld's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

This was probably the slowest and most maddening book I have ever read. The characters were not likeable, the situation (post-apocalypse) was a slog, then items were just "wrapped up quickly" as the writer decided to move on. 

grudgemental's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This was 2 separate stories that were very average. First half of the book was a first contact treasure hunt style story which abruptly ended. The 2nd half was some weird mystery murder/ criminal conspiracy story with some callback to the first half. I feel like focusing the entire book on either of them would have been a better story. Both stories fall flat and have almost no actual ending. I was constantly checking to make sure I hadn't skipped a page and missed more context. 

I also misread the blurb on the back and for the first quarter of the book was picturing the main characters as bears because they are never explicitly described as something else. Then I thought they were human which was also wrong. They are some kind of large rat/possum type creatures. This book got frustrating to read.

leighbarlow's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

niallharrison's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25