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A review by theamyleblanc
Hard Target by J.B. Turner
1.0
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to like this. I thought I was going to like this. Based on the summary, I thought this was going to be a story about political intrigue and government corruption, yes, but I also thought the hacker (Trevelle Williams) would feature more heavily than he did. I thought this would be a more high-tech, cyber-based action novel.
I could not have been more wrong. On all counts.
It was like a bad action movie. You know the type: the action movies that are so bad, they're funny. Except this wasn't even funny. The dialogue was incredibly unrealistic. It often made me cringe because people just do not talk like that in real life. And it was so circular. Reznick kept rehashing the same conversations with the same characters. It became redundant and didn't further the story.
There was plenty of action but it was empty action. Any dramatic tension that was built up dissipated almost immediately after. Things were too easy. There was no mystery except what would happen to Rosalind. And the ending could have been great but it was a total waste because it wasn't earned. An ending like that needs time, tension, and finesse. It only pays off after carefully building and stoking that fire. Because none of that happened, the ending was a massive disappointment. I skimmed the last bit of it because the aftermath wasn't important at that point.
This one is a hard pass for me.
I wanted to like this. I thought I was going to like this. Based on the summary, I thought this was going to be a story about political intrigue and government corruption, yes, but I also thought the hacker (Trevelle Williams) would feature more heavily than he did. I thought this would be a more high-tech, cyber-based action novel.
I could not have been more wrong. On all counts.
It was like a bad action movie. You know the type: the action movies that are so bad, they're funny. Except this wasn't even funny. The dialogue was incredibly unrealistic. It often made me cringe because people just do not talk like that in real life.
Spoiler
At one point Reznick was waiting in the dark with his gun drawn for some bad guys to arrive. When they did, he shouted "Freeze motherf***ers!" I mean, seriously?!There was plenty of action but it was empty action. Any dramatic tension that was built up dissipated almost immediately after. Things were too easy. There was no mystery except what would happen to Rosalind. And the ending could have been great but it was a total waste because it wasn't earned. An ending like that needs time, tension, and finesse. It only pays off after carefully building and stoking that fire. Because none of that happened, the ending was a massive disappointment. I skimmed the last bit of it because the aftermath wasn't important at that point.
This one is a hard pass for me.