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jonathanwallace's review against another edition
3.0
As often happens, I don't remember much of the previous two entries in this series other than the broad strokes. The plot skips and moves along quickly.
SPOILERS:
There's a nice head fake at the end where the author implies that a prominent character has been killed. This is a fantastic distraction from the dystopic ending where the protagonist fails to prevent the eventual spread of the virus.
SPOILERS:
There's a nice head fake at the end where the author implies that a prominent character has been killed. This is a fantastic distraction from the dystopic ending where the protagonist fails to prevent the eventual spread of the virus.
onemanbookclub's review against another edition
3.0
Check out my Booklikes Blog, Dan Grover: Cover to Cover
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Exciting conclusion, but...
Awesome! More of the same suspense and action!
Blah. More of the same suspense and action.
The story stayed fun, and the action stayed cool. But the same old conflicts rehashed over and over after three books started to wear.
Plus the ending (which was obvious early on) left the kind of annoying ambiguity that I don't love.
PLUS the language, sex, and violence just got more and more...Adult? Gratuitous? Mature?...as the story went on.
It's a worthy story, a great popcorn read. I won't be volunteering it though.
Adults only. Happy reading!
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Exciting conclusion, but...
Awesome! More of the same suspense and action!
Blah. More of the same suspense and action.
The story stayed fun, and the action stayed cool. But the same old conflicts rehashed over and over after three books started to wear.
Plus the ending (which was obvious early on) left the kind of annoying ambiguity that I don't love.
PLUS the language, sex, and violence just got more and more...Adult? Gratuitous? Mature?...as the story went on.
It's a worthy story, a great popcorn read. I won't be volunteering it though.
Adults only. Happy reading!
sstarke's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. This was perhaps the best book out of the three, though the first book comes close. I found myself rooting for a terrorist 3/4 of the way through after being furious that he wasn't killed earlier when there was an obvious chance. I think I that speaks to the storytelling ability of the author.
I also felt really satisfied with the ending. There was a big emotional moment, some good resolution of loose strings, then a quiet reminder that everything wasn't wrapped up as nicely as the main characters believed. There was a surprising amount of realism in the story, and I loved how there are fuzzy lines of morality around every single character. There are no absolute good guys or absolute evil ones (well, maybe one... unsurprisingly, a politician). Those shades of gray throughout are incredibly satisfying.
As far as frustration points, there were a few moments where the story went off the rails, at least in my mind. Some things are a little too perfectly chaotic with plans that save the day just in the nick of time. Other, smaller, characters don't seem to act in a way consistent with how someone like that would. But that's predictable with any story like this,and it didn't take away from things too much.
I'm not a huge fan of Luke Daniels as a narrator, but he did a good job on this book. The narration was definitely the strongest here compared to the other books in the series. Overall, this was a great, very entertaining read.
I also felt really satisfied with the ending. There was a big emotional moment, some good resolution of loose strings, then a quiet reminder that everything wasn't wrapped up as nicely as the main characters believed. There was a surprising amount of realism in the story, and I loved how there are fuzzy lines of morality around every single character. There are no absolute good guys or absolute evil ones (well, maybe one... unsurprisingly, a politician). Those shades of gray throughout are incredibly satisfying.
As far as frustration points, there were a few moments where the story went off the rails, at least in my mind. Some things are a little too perfectly chaotic with plans that save the day just in the nick of time. Other, smaller, characters don't seem to act in a way consistent with how someone like that would. But that's predictable with any story like this,and it didn't take away from things too much.
I'm not a huge fan of Luke Daniels as a narrator, but he did a good job on this book. The narration was definitely the strongest here compared to the other books in the series. Overall, this was a great, very entertaining read.
thisistrashpsyd's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
My first five star read of 2016. I absolutely love this trilogy. The problem a lot of authors have is that they don't know how to end a series successfully. They always do something to screw it up. Here we have, what I will say is the perfect mix of action, emotion, politics, and morality to make everyone who reads it pleased with the end result. No wonder this book (and many of Sakey's other booths) have been optioned for movies. He pretty much hands the directors a hit, this one included. So if you know what's good for you, you'll give this trilogy a shot. I promise it won't disappoint.
My first five star read of 2016. I absolutely love this trilogy. The problem a lot of authors have is that they don't know how to end a series successfully. They always do something to screw it up. Here we have, what I will say is the perfect mix of action, emotion, politics, and morality to make everyone who reads it pleased with the end result. No wonder this book (and many of Sakey's other booths) have been optioned for movies. He pretty much hands the directors a hit, this one included. So if you know what's good for you, you'll give this trilogy a shot. I promise it won't disappoint.
molokov's review against another edition
4.0
Marcus Sakey finishes of his not-quite-superhero series with the world (or at least America) at war with itself. As with the previous volumes, this is highly readable, quite exciting and far far too close to reality. It's also a reminder of how scarily America loves their guns and people like me in Australia just don't get it. And, although it's science fiction, the people seem real enough (even the "villains") so it's easy to see all POV characters' points of view... even though they all do abhorrent and immoral things, just to survive. Highly recommended.
eggplantia5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
wanserjc's review against another edition
4.0
Solid work all the way through the trilogy. And I suspect a fourth book will appear.
mefi's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-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? No
5.0
cora273's review against another edition
2.0
This is the third book in the brilliance trilogy. If I didn't buy all three books at the same time, I would not have read all three. I understand why the second and third book explain things that happened in the first but the way that they seemed to explain things with the exact same wording each time got really old, really fast. Example, the way they describe Shannon in each book seems to be exactly the same so if you read all three books in order you'll almost be able to recite her description word for word. I still couldn't really get into the characters and just didn't really care about them. Overall for the trilogy, I think the idea was amazing but the actual books that came from the idea were not that great. I wouldn't recommend this trilogy to anyone.
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Mini-Review:
This book is how the whole series should have been. I wonder if there will be anymore stories written in this world because the most interesting parts are left as guesses for the future.
The brilliants are the 1% of people who are born with a knack or skill that seems like magic. The way they might easily learn languages, figure out behavioral patterns, predict other's actions or read emotions can seem to be effortless. A line between those who are brilliant and not are drawn. Various forces connive to fan the flames of distrust and fear until the whole of the US is caught up in a personal war.
Cooper is a brilliant. He's knack is a hyper intuition that allows him to read people and situations to figure out what may happen next. He had a rough childhood because he was different but he had a loving home. He grew up with a strong sense right & wrong and the drive to protect others from danger. It's the reason why he became a government agent and hunted down criminal brilliants. In this installment, Cooper is in a race against time to stop another civil war from wrecking the US.
Some of my issues with the series were addressed in this book. There's a lot of harsh sequences that hammer in the horrible violence that can be done by people who believe they are doing the right thing. This was a good action thriller that gave a hard look at what could happen when people give in their fears, let their actions be driven by hate and allow lies to form stabbing cocoons to hide beneath. I really liked the core ideas but feel that the overall effects were lost in trying to be too complex. Origin & answers felt too simplified in the way they were displayed and that made an awkward contrast. Still, the family & friendship bonds were great. The action felt personal and brutal. This was the best book of the saga.
This book is how the whole series should have been. I wonder if there will be anymore stories written in this world because the most interesting parts are left as guesses for the future.
The brilliants are the 1% of people who are born with a knack or skill that seems like magic. The way they might easily learn languages, figure out behavioral patterns, predict other's actions or read emotions can seem to be effortless. A line between those who are brilliant and not are drawn. Various forces connive to fan the flames of distrust and fear until the whole of the US is caught up in a personal war.
Cooper is a brilliant. He's knack is a hyper intuition that allows him to read people and situations to figure out what may happen next. He had a rough childhood because he was different but he had a loving home. He grew up with a strong sense right & wrong and the drive to protect others from danger. It's the reason why he became a government agent and hunted down criminal brilliants. In this installment, Cooper is in a race against time to stop another civil war from wrecking the US.
Some of my issues with the series were addressed in this book. There's a lot of harsh sequences that hammer in the horrible violence that can be done by people who believe they are doing the right thing. This was a good action thriller that gave a hard look at what could happen when people give in their fears, let their actions be driven by hate and allow lies to form stabbing cocoons to hide beneath. I really liked the core ideas but feel that the overall effects were lost in trying to be too complex. Origin & answers felt too simplified in the way they were displayed and that made an awkward contrast. Still, the family & friendship bonds were great. The action felt personal and brutal. This was the best book of the saga.