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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Big Time delivers an interesting and original concept—the idea that time can be quantified and harnessed through biochemical extracts—to create a solid technological thriller. The result is a dark conspiracy to harvest time from people's lives and sell it like a commodity.
The concept is a gem, but Big Time seems to trap itself with a cast of relatively superficial characters that sometimes feel like modern cliches of themselves. It opens well enough with a young woman named Allie, apparently kidnapped and confused, being driven to a destination by a hard-hearted female contractor, one part courier, and one part assassin. This woman abducted Allie while another contractor, a strange man who is never reconciled, kidnapped Allie's daughter, Rachel.
The second protagonist is Grace Berney. She is a mid-level bureaucrat in the FDA, raising a gender-neutral daughter and caring for an aging and snarky mother who suffers from bouts of dementia. She stumbles onto the conspiracy at her dull, mindless job and risks everything to satisfy her curiosity. And as unlikely as it sounds, and it is unlikely, she and Allie have remarkably similar voices despite having nothing in common. In fact, most of the characters are relatively similar, which is remarkable given the entire cast is primarily made up of like-minded females, overshadowing even more thinly drawn men.
And therein lies where a 3-star plot and 2-star characters weigh down a 5-star concept. Overall, it's a mundane piece of work that takes the reader from one confrontation or cliffhanger to the next, but there never really is any mind-blowing revelation. Even the ending lags in its assertion that the greedy are willing to sell anything and make a buck. But that's a lesson we don't need to learn. Of course, the greedy are willing to sell anything. That's why we call them greedy.
The concept is a gem, but Big Time seems to trap itself with a cast of relatively superficial characters that sometimes feel like modern cliches of themselves. It opens well enough with a young woman named Allie, apparently kidnapped and confused, being driven to a destination by a hard-hearted female contractor, one part courier, and one part assassin. This woman abducted Allie while another contractor, a strange man who is never reconciled, kidnapped Allie's daughter, Rachel.
The second protagonist is Grace Berney. She is a mid-level bureaucrat in the FDA, raising a gender-neutral daughter and caring for an aging and snarky mother who suffers from bouts of dementia. She stumbles onto the conspiracy at her dull, mindless job and risks everything to satisfy her curiosity. And as unlikely as it sounds, and it is unlikely, she and Allie have remarkably similar voices despite having nothing in common. In fact, most of the characters are relatively similar, which is remarkable given the entire cast is primarily made up of like-minded females, overshadowing even more thinly drawn men.
And therein lies where a 3-star plot and 2-star characters weigh down a 5-star concept. Overall, it's a mundane piece of work that takes the reader from one confrontation or cliffhanger to the next, but there never really is any mind-blowing revelation. Even the ending lags in its assertion that the greedy are willing to sell anything and make a buck. But that's a lesson we don't need to learn. Of course, the greedy are willing to sell anything. That's why we call them greedy.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I always enjoy Winters’ writing but I’m struggling to accept the concept on this one. Even as Sci-fi fiction, the whole time as a physical object never clicked with me.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3 1/2 stars. I feel like I can always rely on Ben H. Winters to show me at least a good time, and sometimes a great time, as with [b:Underground Airlines|32940838|Underground Airlines|Ben H. Winters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498054180l/32940838._SY75_.jpg|42751755] and [b:Golden State|39599913|Golden State|Ben H. Winters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522082600l/39599913._SY75_.jpg|61188887]. This time around (I know I'm beating the word to death, I'm not trying to be punny, I'm just tired, it's late) I had a solid good time with the audio version - great story, fun twists, entertaining characters, a perfect companion for dog walks. Because frankly, the dogs aren't the greatest companions on leash - the old one has to sniff EVERYTHING, the middle one is fine unless a cat shows up, and the puppy is too young to be fully vaccinated and has to be carried in a sling. Thank god it's just a supplement to the off-leash dog park.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So. Yeah. Did this book have redeeming parts? Sure or I'd not have finished it. But I just really did NOT love it. Anyway, onwards to what I didn't care for. Time travel, right? It's never going to make a lot of sense when explained in a novel. (Probably. IDK. Maybe there's a future where we all understand how it works and it's obvious, I guess.) But this novel didn't even really try, but pretended that it tried? It didn't make any sense. It was towards the end of the book that it was supposedly explained. I don't feel like it was just "oh, YOU (as in me) didn't get it" I'm fairly sure it made no sense or lacked enough explanation. Maybe it made sense in the author's head. Who knows. There are some books where I'm very shocked that the author identifies as male or female when they write a character who is not. This book was not one of them. Not at all surprised that this female character was written by a male author. The kidnapper seemed a complete rip-off of The Bride (Uma Thurman's character in Kill Bill), but with dark hair.
So. What DID I like? Why did I keep reading? I liked the inclusion of a non-binary teenaged child. I did want to know what happened. What was going on with the kidnapped woman? But I didn't find those answers satisfying.It seemed like the "dead" teenager was injected with durational matter from her grandmother and that was messing with her identity. But then her best friend said that it was quite clear around the eyes that it was NOT her. But then we find out it WAS her. WTF. It just didn't really make sense to me even within the bounds of this story, but it was hard to know it wasn't all going to be explained in the end. And it wasn't that long of a book. So I kept going.
So. What DID I like? Why did I keep reading? I liked the inclusion of a non-binary teenaged child. I did want to know what happened. What was going on with the kidnapped woman? But I didn't find those answers satisfying.
emotional
tense
fast-paced
I was lucky enough to get a #giveaway copy of this book! Pretty darn excited because I'm a huge Ben H. Winters fan. :)
I'd love to give this newest book a great big ole five stars, but, sadly, I can't. It did have the great character depth we have come to love and expect, fast-paced action and page-turning story lines, and enough complexity to keep you wondering what the heck is actually happening. But it was missing the over-the-top snap and spark I've come to love. Too much of the unraveling was crammed into the very last pages.
Would I recommend it to Winter's fan base. Oh, you betcha. Gotta love his style. Always. Remember Bedbugs? I was scratching for weeks!
I'd love to give this newest book a great big ole five stars, but, sadly, I can't. It did have the great character depth we have come to love and expect, fast-paced action and page-turning story lines, and enough complexity to keep you wondering what the heck is actually happening. But it was missing the over-the-top snap and spark I've come to love. Too much of the unraveling was crammed into the very last pages.
Would I recommend it to Winter's fan base. Oh, you betcha. Gotta love his style. Always. Remember Bedbugs? I was scratching for weeks!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Three days. Finished it in three days and the pace, while it doesn't feel breakneck, is kinda breakneck. Winters layers the mystery at the heart of this story in such a way that it doesn't unfold with a slamming realization, but a slow sort of "Ohhhhhh my gawd." Really enjoyed it!