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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
A fog filled with flesh eating bugs has covered the entire world except for one little Greek island with exactly 122 villagers and 3 scientists. The scientists are over a hundred years old and are the only ones who remember the time before the fog, thus making them the "Elders" and above any judgment. The rest of the villagers live happy lives spent farming their own food, learning skills to help the village prosper, and passing time with art, music, and swimming. Despite having no modern luxuries and the fog looming near, the villagers have a fairly happy life. Despite only having 60 years to live, when they will then be replaced by a new eight year old villager, the people of the island enjoy their lives. There is also Abi, our narrator, a voice in all the characters' heads that tries to guide them after calculating possible futures (Yes, they have an AI implanted into all of them that is aware of all their thoughts and actions and only reports to one of the Elders). But the peace is shattered when they wake up one morning to find a murder has occurred, the first murder in over 90 years, and all their memories wiped. Now they must find the killer or the fog will finally cover the island and all of humanity will be lost.
I think this book had a lot of really interesting concepts. How do you find happiness at the end of the world? Can humans ever chose goodness? Is it better to be ignorant but content or be willing to ask the hard questions even if it meant shattering the illusion of peace? I think Turton was able to handle some of these questions better than others. The author seems like a fun guy with a lot of ideas in his head, kind of like one of the main character's Emory. He is able to set up a good complicated mystery with some fun surprising twists. Having the villagers actually be pod people grown by humans in order to do the dirty work they didn't want to do was an interesting concept.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would, though. For one thing, having Abi be the narrator made the book a little more difficult to read, in my opinion. We are constantly jumping perspectives from villager to scientist to villager and then suddenly Abi is chiming in. I also really hate the treatment of Emory's character, but that's more a personal gripe and I realize it's for the plot. My biggest this is really the way humans are portrayed. The fact that the only three humans we see are selfish beings willing to do any thing and kill any one to get what they want. They see the villagers as lesser, simpleminded creatures (which in a way they are) but in the end the message is that we should be more like the villagers. But the villagers are literally created to be the way they are. They have a voice in their head telling them what to do and how are they going to function once that voice is gone? Niema is willing to kill multiple humans trying to get them to be more like the villagers and then even end the world in order to having the villagers take over the world instead of the remaining humans. The book basically goes "all humans are evil and these pod people are the next evolutionary rulers of the world because they always chose kindness." I'm not saying humans can't be horrible but I wish there was at least a tiny example of humans not all being massive piles of trash.
This book tried to balance a post-apocalyptic dystopian landscape with sci-fi elements and an outcast detective trying to solve a murder mystery. Considering that's a lot to blend together, Turton did a fairly good job. I plan to read more of Turton's novels. I've seen him compared to M. Night Shyamalon, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you ask. He seems to have a way with setting up fun mysteries with character that have a lot of nuance.
I think this book had a lot of really interesting concepts. How do you find happiness at the end of the world? Can humans ever chose goodness? Is it better to be ignorant but content or be willing to ask the hard questions even if it meant shattering the illusion of peace? I think Turton was able to handle some of these questions better than others. The author seems like a fun guy with a lot of ideas in his head, kind of like one of the main character's Emory. He is able to set up a good complicated mystery with some fun surprising twists.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would, though. For one thing, having Abi be the narrator made the book a little more difficult to read, in my opinion. We are constantly jumping perspectives from villager to scientist to villager and then suddenly Abi is chiming in. I also really hate the treatment of Emory's character, but that's more a personal gripe and I realize it's for the plot.
This book tried to balance a post-apocalyptic dystopian landscape with sci-fi elements and an outcast detective trying to solve a murder mystery. Considering that's a lot to blend together, Turton did a fairly good job. I plan to read more of Turton's novels. I've seen him compared to M. Night Shyamalon, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you ask. He seems to have a way with setting up fun mysteries with character that have a lot of nuance.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes