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A review by thogek
The Correction by John Hazen
3.0
[b:The Correction|58202469|The Correction|John Hazen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623078085l/58202469._SX50_.jpg|91234290]'s story is much as described: a long family tree of individuals with the power to grant a do-over of a past regretted decision.
Pros: The high-level multigenerational story outline was fairly interesting, and parts of it even fairly well thought out. It was more of a long-term drama-saga than an immediate crisis story—telling the story by generations, skipping through some, dwelling more on others—but as such it worked fairly well. Not much real conflict going on for the first three-quarters or so, but the nature of the story didn't really need it.
Cons: Many of the story-telling details were less than ideal. Very little behavioral differentiation among characters, and every character even speaks/sounds much the same, including those back in 1264 England who speak as though they'd fit right into modern-day. Very simplistic point-of-view narration that mostly sounds like it came from an average middle-school student (with the occasional exception). This blunt simplicity could be seen as lending a sort of simple charm, especially for younger readers, but much of it really could have used an editor (and/or a co-writer) even then.
On the whole, not bad, a relatively easy read (if the somewhat ploddish writing style doesn't bother you), with a few interesting thought-experiments about what can (sometimes unexpectedly) happen when one goes back in time and pulls certain threads from one's tapestry of life.
Pros: The high-level multigenerational story outline was fairly interesting, and parts of it even fairly well thought out. It was more of a long-term drama-saga than an immediate crisis story—telling the story by generations, skipping through some, dwelling more on others—but as such it worked fairly well. Not much real conflict going on for the first three-quarters or so, but the nature of the story didn't really need it.
Cons: Many of the story-telling details were less than ideal. Very little behavioral differentiation among characters, and every character even speaks/sounds much the same, including those back in 1264 England who speak as though they'd fit right into modern-day. Very simplistic point-of-view narration that mostly sounds like it came from an average middle-school student (with the occasional exception). This blunt simplicity could be seen as lending a sort of simple charm, especially for younger readers, but much of it really could have used an editor (and/or a co-writer) even then.
On the whole, not bad, a relatively easy read (if the somewhat ploddish writing style doesn't bother you), with a few interesting thought-experiments about what can (sometimes unexpectedly) happen when one goes back in time and pulls certain threads from one's tapestry of life.