Scan barcode
akbbailey's review against another edition
Loved this book when I read it in 2008 but can’t focus on it this year
scheu's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, I meant to rewrite my review a decade ago and never did. I think about this one often. I've lent two copies out that I never got back (I probably scared people off come to think of it, since it's sort of a weird intense story). I do wish any of Adrian's other work lived up to TCH, though.
megancrusante's review against another edition
3.0
This was basically like Stephen King, only smarter but less good. It's weird because to my friends who read as quickly and frequently as myself I would definitely recommend it, though I don't think I liked it. The plot goes nowhere and the ending falls flat. You don't get to know any of the characters, it lacks any sort of commentary on the world and society (as would be expected in a seriously toned apocalypse novel) and could have been trimmed by at least 250 pages and achieved the same effect. Somehow I don't feel that the commitment was a waste of my time. It for sure kept my attention- it practically consumed me as I was thinking about it at all hours of the day and night throughout the time it took me to read it. Good idea, poorly executed. What I am sure of is that I won't read anything by this author again. The style is just not for me.
smesnake's review against another edition
2.0
I kept hoping to discover the "best fiction of 2006" aspect of this book but was sorely disappointed. (New York Times, you really dropped the ball on this one) It basically reads like what it is, the ramblings of a former UCSF hospital intern turned divinity student, a hodge-podge of medical anomalies and random Old Testament metaphors. Too long, the last 200 pages were torturous.
sejacobson14's review against another edition
1.0
I've been trying to read this book for a few years now and I just can't finish it. I cannot get into it and I've decided to stop trying.
jenkittycatfrog's review against another edition
1.0
This book could have been about 1/2 the length and better for it.
katekate_reads_'s review against another edition
2.0
I LOVED this book for the first 400 pages - and then it lost me. I actually still haven't finished it and don't have much motivation to other than that the book remains sitting on my desk at work.
doodleology's review against another edition
5.0
It isn't often that I am moved to tears from literature. I cried at the end of this novel. I became so engrossed in the story and with the characters that I felt the losses as they came. I still think of this book nearly six month after finishing it. To me that marks a great novel.
ifearnofish's review against another edition
5.0
When I picked this up at a sleepy seaside town for £2, I really didn't know what I was getting into. I had a poke through the reviews and found a real divide on this book; you're either completely in love with it or can't stand it. There isn't really any middle ground. As I got into it, I couldn't tell what party I'd end up being in.
Just finished it. Now I know. This book is astounding.
Never has a book hit on all of my worst fears and realised them in such an original and momentous style. There were parts of it that absolutely took my breath away, some that made me cry, and some that made me laugh. Douglas Adams/HHGTTG humour comes in at surprising moments and twists some moments so fast that it left me gasping, without ever losing its enormous quality.
And though it really did hit on my worst fears, there was not a point where I ever wanted to stop reading. This book had a knife in my belly the whole way through while it grinned at me, and even that couldn't stop me from trying to soak everything it had to say in.
Its wonderful. Its mad. Its brilliant. Please read this book.
Just finished it. Now I know. This book is astounding.
Never has a book hit on all of my worst fears and realised them in such an original and momentous style. There were parts of it that absolutely took my breath away, some that made me cry, and some that made me laugh. Douglas Adams/HHGTTG humour comes in at surprising moments and twists some moments so fast that it left me gasping, without ever losing its enormous quality.
And though it really did hit on my worst fears, there was not a point where I ever wanted to stop reading. This book had a knife in my belly the whole way through while it grinned at me, and even that couldn't stop me from trying to soak everything it had to say in.
Its wonderful. Its mad. Its brilliant. Please read this book.
queenie_nyc's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a perfect book - it tries a bit too hard to be "important," and in doing so neglects to tie up some of its unfortunate loose ends. But it's a fascinating read. In spite of its flaws, I couldn't put it down, and I enjoyed every word.