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ghostmuppet's review against another edition
2.0
This was one of those impulse buys from Audible. It was advertised on the homepage banner and the synopsis sounded interesting. Unfortunately the book did not live up to the synopsis. The story plodded on and I had little attachment to the characters. Some plot points just didn't make much sense - and others your could see a mile off.
I forced myself to plough through the book so at least I could rate in with full knowledge of the story.
This is a standalone novel, but if there is ever a squeal I will pass on it.
The audio book itself was well produced. The narrator did an acceptable job, but it was nothing special.
I forced myself to plough through the book so at least I could rate in with full knowledge of the story.
This is a standalone novel, but if there is ever a squeal I will pass on it.
The audio book itself was well produced. The narrator did an acceptable job, but it was nothing special.
ampersandread22's review against another edition
4.0
Read this and other reviews at:Ampersand Read Blog
The Forever Watch tears me in two a little. It has some nagging flaws. It has big parts that drag on and make it a little difficult to keep engaged. Its characters are hard to get to know, and the dialogue can be glaringly poor at times.
But there are books whose ending completely ruins the narrative. You're reading along, completely content, enjoying it even, and the ending stops so suddenly you're flipping pages to see where the rest of the story is, or characters die that you feel are completely unnecessary. For The Forever Watch, the exact opposite is true.
Not in that the whole first part of the book sucked. It was decent. The world of The Noah is set up wonderfully. There isn't a waffling of will-they won't-they get together between the main character and her male companion. I loved the idea of buying other people's memories as entertainment, like you would buy a Netflix subscription or watch a YouTube video. It's both a creepy concept and yet totally believable as a vice people in the future would develop.
But holes evolve. The dialogue can be patchy. Characters speak in a certain dialect (dropping the n's off words, for example), and then in a few pages have no distinguishing speech patterns - they suddenly sound like everyone else.
Those last hundred pages or so, though. They were spectacular. The way I mark a book as good, great, AMAAAZING, is when I think of it long after I finish it. If I feel deeply for the characters and care about their fate when the narrative ends, the author has done his or her job. And The Forever Watch ratchets up the action, the tension, the stakes for the characters in that homestretch. I am not ashamed to say that I cried at the end of this book. Crying (usually) means something has been done right - you're feeling something for a written work. I felt something for the characters, for their circumstances, their fate.
The Forever Watch tears me in two a little. It has some nagging flaws. It has big parts that drag on and make it a little difficult to keep engaged. Its characters are hard to get to know, and the dialogue can be glaringly poor at times.
But there are books whose ending completely ruins the narrative. You're reading along, completely content, enjoying it even, and the ending stops so suddenly you're flipping pages to see where the rest of the story is, or characters die that you feel are completely unnecessary. For The Forever Watch, the exact opposite is true.
Not in that the whole first part of the book sucked. It was decent. The world of The Noah is set up wonderfully. There isn't a waffling of will-they won't-they get together between the main character and her male companion. I loved the idea of buying other people's memories as entertainment, like you would buy a Netflix subscription or watch a YouTube video. It's both a creepy concept and yet totally believable as a vice people in the future would develop.
But holes evolve. The dialogue can be patchy. Characters speak in a certain dialect (dropping the n's off words, for example), and then in a few pages have no distinguishing speech patterns - they suddenly sound like everyone else.
Those last hundred pages or so, though. They were spectacular. The way I mark a book as good, great, AMAAAZING, is when I think of it long after I finish it. If I feel deeply for the characters and care about their fate when the narrative ends, the author has done his or her job. And The Forever Watch ratchets up the action, the tension, the stakes for the characters in that homestretch. I am not ashamed to say that I cried at the end of this book. Crying (usually) means something has been done right - you're feeling something for a written work. I felt something for the characters, for their circumstances, their fate.
kaivalry's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The story and mystery was fantastic, as were many of the characters, but the writing as a whole was problematic. The full first half of the book reads like it's trying to be noir in space, but it's written from the love-interest's POV instead of the detective. I think it took almost a third of the book before it passed Bechdel, and there was a lot of weirdness over how Hana referenced or noticed her body. Also, wtf, why was rape necessary to the story? Just a weird catalyst that didn't seem to do anything except make Barrens want to be around her; could've just as easily been a robbery or death of a loved one or something. Just odd. And the lascivious gay bestie/assistant? Great character without that stereotype. Just lots of unnecessary choices.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
ncrabb's review against another edition
2.0
Let's face it, there are lots of books that deal with recolonization of distant worlds with Earthlings fleeing their dying planet. This book will initially draw you to comparisons of those other books. But read on, and you'll discover that there are some significant differences.
Hana has recently given birth as the book opens. She has a nasty case of the baby blues, and the sophisticated drugs aren't helping. Her new boyfriend on board the starship Noah is a cop. He has discovered that someone or something is brutally murdering shipmates who are then being classified as retired. Hana is not only capable with things like telekinesis, but she is a better writer of code than she gives herself credit for. She ultimately designs an artificial intelligence that will assist her and a handful of associates in determining who is killing members of the crew.
To his credit, Ramirez does well in combining science fiction with mystery/thriller elements. In fact, one of my minor criticisms of the book is that the plot is somewhat dizzying, and I had to scramble occasionally to figure out where I was and what was happening in context with the book. I suspect that's more reader incompetence than author fault, and I wasn't frequently confused for long periods of time.
I found myself thinking that timothy zahn's body enhancements seemed more vivid somehow in the cobra series, but this was good, too.
As part of the mystery, Hana and her cop boyfriend discover horrid secrets about the children born to women in the colony. The author does a good job of imagining the twists and turns of behavior sparks that ignite a tinderbox of revolution, discontent, and even mob hysteria.
The ending left me conflicted. I don't have to have angelically happy endings, but this one left me feeling both sorrow and hope. Without going too far, I can say that I found myself cheering for Hana near the end, and I saw both triump and tragedy in what happened to her.
Hana has recently given birth as the book opens. She has a nasty case of the baby blues, and the sophisticated drugs aren't helping. Her new boyfriend on board the starship Noah is a cop. He has discovered that someone or something is brutally murdering shipmates who are then being classified as retired. Hana is not only capable with things like telekinesis, but she is a better writer of code than she gives herself credit for. She ultimately designs an artificial intelligence that will assist her and a handful of associates in determining who is killing members of the crew.
To his credit, Ramirez does well in combining science fiction with mystery/thriller elements. In fact, one of my minor criticisms of the book is that the plot is somewhat dizzying, and I had to scramble occasionally to figure out where I was and what was happening in context with the book. I suspect that's more reader incompetence than author fault, and I wasn't frequently confused for long periods of time.
I found myself thinking that timothy zahn's body enhancements seemed more vivid somehow in the cobra series, but this was good, too.
As part of the mystery, Hana and her cop boyfriend discover horrid secrets about the children born to women in the colony. The author does a good job of imagining the twists and turns of behavior sparks that ignite a tinderbox of revolution, discontent, and even mob hysteria.
The ending left me conflicted. I don't have to have angelically happy endings, but this one left me feeling both sorrow and hope. Without going too far, I can say that I found myself cheering for Hana near the end, and I saw both triump and tragedy in what happened to her.
victhenasty's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent mystery with a sci-fi backdrop. Enjoyable read with fascinating world building and a group of characters that I liked more and more as the book went on.
riverwise's review against another edition
2.0
some good ideas, but the writing is ponderous and I only intermittently felt engaged with the characters or the action.
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