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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This book takes several turns that I did not see coming. It was interesting to see a medical thriller play out in space.
I discussed this novel in detail with the author for a special episode of Howe's Things:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/defying-gravity-with-tess-gerritsen
I discussed this novel in detail with the author for a special episode of Howe's Things:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/defying-gravity-with-tess-gerritsen
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Full disclosure: I haven't seen the movie based on the book, and I read a lot of this author's books.
I loved it. Part medical thriller. Part sci-fi / space thriller. Strong female lead. So glad I picked this one up.
I loved it. Part medical thriller. Part sci-fi / space thriller. Strong female lead. So glad I picked this one up.
The first thing to say is that this book is RIDICULOUS. The amount of suspending of disbelief for anyone with half a brain is immense but despite this I really liked it. My scientific head is utterly horrified and is asking me if I'm now an anti-vaxxer because of my obvious disregard for the laws of science but I'm not going to be sneery and snobbish just because this book took some fairly huge liberties. It was entertaining. It was so entertaining it only took me a day to read which is fast even for me. The characters were one dimensional and most of them did not seem like nice people but I wanted to know what happened. The bit where the shit hits the fan in medical terms all the way to almost the end was fantastic. The end was terrible and the explanation for the thing that happened was poor to say the least but I really loved going on the journey. Awesome!
Dr. Emma Watson is training for her dream trip, a trip to the International Space Station. When tragedy strikes the family of an astronaut already on the space station, Emma's trip is fast-tracked. But when Emma reaches the Space Station her dream trip turns into a nightmare. A deadly virus is attacking the astronauts. Will Emma be able to stop the virus before it destroys the entire space station?
Gravity turned out to be a little more in the realm of science fiction than what I normally read, so you'll have to take into consideration my bias as you read my review today. I listened to it on audio book, read by William Dufris. I thought he did a very nice job with one exception. He had a tendency to get overly dramatic. For people who like sci-fi more than me, this may be o.k., but the Doubting Thomas in me found it a tad over the top.
For the most part, Gravity is very well written. This is the second Tess Gerritsen book that I've read and the style is strong in both. As a layman, I didn't notice any problems with logic. What I didn't particularly care for in this novel was the use of a couple of cliches. To avoid any spoilers (even though the book is 10 years old), I'll not mention what the cliches were exactly, but I will say they pretty much gave the plot away for me. I really didn't incur much surprise. What the plot does contain is food for thought. There are some rather disturbing issues that come up in the course of the plot. And you can't help wondering, which choice is the BEST choice? Is there a RIGHT and a WRONG?
What Gerritsen doesn't disappoint on in this novel is character. She has a knack with developing sympathetic characters. She is also rather creative in naming her characters, but I'd like to see her have faith that her readers will connect the significance of their names, without her needing to point it out specifically.
There was also a sub-plot in this novel that I really would have liked more development for. Typically I'm saying the sub-plot could be eliminated. In this case, it was paramount to the main plot, but I found myself wanting to know more about the characters involved in that part of the book.
I think Gravity is probably an excellent choice for someone who appreciates the science-fiction element more than I do. I'm going to check out more of Gerritsen's medical thrillers that are a little more grounded in the crime fiction a little less in the science-fiction.
Gravity turned out to be a little more in the realm of science fiction than what I normally read, so you'll have to take into consideration my bias as you read my review today. I listened to it on audio book, read by William Dufris. I thought he did a very nice job with one exception. He had a tendency to get overly dramatic. For people who like sci-fi more than me, this may be o.k., but the Doubting Thomas in me found it a tad over the top.
For the most part, Gravity is very well written. This is the second Tess Gerritsen book that I've read and the style is strong in both. As a layman, I didn't notice any problems with logic. What I didn't particularly care for in this novel was the use of a couple of cliches. To avoid any spoilers (even though the book is 10 years old), I'll not mention what the cliches were exactly, but I will say they pretty much gave the plot away for me. I really didn't incur much surprise. What the plot does contain is food for thought. There are some rather disturbing issues that come up in the course of the plot. And you can't help wondering, which choice is the BEST choice? Is there a RIGHT and a WRONG?
What Gerritsen doesn't disappoint on in this novel is character. She has a knack with developing sympathetic characters. She is also rather creative in naming her characters, but I'd like to see her have faith that her readers will connect the significance of their names, without her needing to point it out specifically.
There was also a sub-plot in this novel that I really would have liked more development for. Typically I'm saying the sub-plot could be eliminated. In this case, it was paramount to the main plot, but I found myself wanting to know more about the characters involved in that part of the book.
I think Gravity is probably an excellent choice for someone who appreciates the science-fiction element more than I do. I'm going to check out more of Gerritsen's medical thrillers that are a little more grounded in the crime fiction a little less in the science-fiction.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
Standard thriller but gripping. Mostly good science.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i really like the tension in every gerritsen's book and this one was no exception.
the trope with some unidentified disease esp in space probably isn't the most original and cliché in some way but i haven't really read anything similar and liked this one.
also get yourself a man like jack
the trope with some unidentified disease esp in space probably isn't the most original and cliché in some way but i haven't really read anything similar and liked this one.
also get yourself a man like jack
It was really annoying that the lead female character had to be saved by her soon-to-be-ex-husband. ugh!