Scan barcode
A review by kearneykd
The Deluge by Stephen Markley
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wish everyone could read this book but feel I have to warn some readers off to protect them from frustration or disappointment.
It's nearly 900 pages. I went in blind via eBook so didn't know the page count when I started (it was fine with me, I read it in a week) but for some readers that's a massive commitment to make.
The first chapter feels like a test, if you're not cool with this level of scientific discussion then stop here. It's then followed by rapid fire progression through a seemingly endless number of characters from a diverse social spectrum.
Just as I was genuinely starting to worry that the entire book would be snapshot after snapshot of different people, it finally started to revisit characters and continue their tales.
I loved the scale and complexity of the characters and their vastly different settings, goals and viewpoints but some reviewer's have mentioned needing to take notes or create cheat sheets in order to keep track.
My final note of caution before I start lavishing the praise:
This story hits hard.
At times it is bleak and depressing and unforgiving and hopeless. Most of the time actually. It portrays an incredibly believable picture of a hellish future but one I feel people really need to see.
Once the lengthy introductions are in place the story kicks up a gear and honestly feels like it doesn't take it's foot off the gas pedal until the closing chapters.
I consumed this book ravenously. I stole every minute I could over the past week to just keep seeing what horror was next. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it and the thinking wasn't confined to the setting of the book. It forced me to keep looking at the world around me and think about what might my own future look like. How prepared am I for it? What could I start doing to see it change? By the end it really felt like this book has impacted me in ways I won't forget.
I am in awe of the talent and hardwork that must have gone in to creating such an epic tale that feels so uncomfortably prescient. I am terrified that we will be looking back on this book for years to come and wishing more people had read it.
It's nearly 900 pages. I went in blind via eBook so didn't know the page count when I started (it was fine with me, I read it in a week) but for some readers that's a massive commitment to make.
The first chapter feels like a test, if you're not cool with this level of scientific discussion then stop here. It's then followed by rapid fire progression through a seemingly endless number of characters from a diverse social spectrum.
Just as I was genuinely starting to worry that the entire book would be snapshot after snapshot of different people, it finally started to revisit characters and continue their tales.
I loved the scale and complexity of the characters and their vastly different settings, goals and viewpoints but some reviewer's have mentioned needing to take notes or create cheat sheets in order to keep track.
My final note of caution before I start lavishing the praise:
This story hits hard.
At times it is bleak and depressing and unforgiving and hopeless. Most of the time actually. It portrays an incredibly believable picture of a hellish future but one I feel people really need to see.
Once the lengthy introductions are in place the story kicks up a gear and honestly feels like it doesn't take it's foot off the gas pedal until the closing chapters.
I consumed this book ravenously. I stole every minute I could over the past week to just keep seeing what horror was next. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it and the thinking wasn't confined to the setting of the book. It forced me to keep looking at the world around me and think about what might my own future look like. How prepared am I for it? What could I start doing to see it change? By the end it really felt like this book has impacted me in ways I won't forget.
I am in awe of the talent and hardwork that must have gone in to creating such an epic tale that feels so uncomfortably prescient. I am terrified that we will be looking back on this book for years to come and wishing more people had read it.