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A review by readingwithkelsey
Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows by A.J. Hartley, Tom Delonge
3.5
Warning: As a major Blink-182/Tom Delonge/AVA fan, so keep in mind there is probably some sort of bias pertained to my enjoyment of the book.
This book has taken me so long to complete, but I cannot say that I did not enjoy the journey - and like waaay more than I thought I would. The novel focuses on "true" stories that Delonge and Hartley have collected and compiled over the years woven into a sci-fi thriller novel follow four seemingly differing perspectives and the one common thread being they all have somehow found themselves around strange airborne phenomena. I've been debating my overall rating for this book now that I have finished it. I was very engaged whenever I was reading the book, but it took quite a bit for me to choose to pick up this book over the others I was reading. Part of this was due to two specific characters and their plotlines (very heavily military focused and entrenched in Area 51/US Soldier lore, US Soldier vs. Operation Paperclip discovery), which granted were interesting but also stuff seen before - unless of course, you are not a history buff/ into alien lore like this. But for me, it felt like themes I have seen over and over again in alien sci-fi thriller novels. However, the two other characters had really thrilling chapters that I was always excited to get to and their storylines felt creepy, which I loved. I also really enjoyed the discussions on lore v. science v. government v. religion that is strung throughout the novel and I felt pretty clever when I was starting to piece things together (also - how known historical events link back to alien lore was fun to read as well). Overall, the book was really enjoyable but there are definitely slumps between chapters and some parts were a slog to get through.
This book has taken me so long to complete, but I cannot say that I did not enjoy the journey - and like waaay more than I thought I would. The novel focuses on "true" stories that Delonge and Hartley have collected and compiled over the years woven into a sci-fi thriller novel follow four seemingly differing perspectives and the one common thread being they all have somehow found themselves around strange airborne phenomena. I've been debating my overall rating for this book now that I have finished it. I was very engaged whenever I was reading the book, but it took quite a bit for me to choose to pick up this book over the others I was reading. Part of this was due to two specific characters and their plotlines (very heavily military focused and entrenched in Area 51/US Soldier lore, US Soldier vs. Operation Paperclip discovery), which granted were interesting but also stuff seen before - unless of course, you are not a history buff/ into alien lore like this. But for me, it felt like themes I have seen over and over again in alien sci-fi thriller novels. However, the two other characters had really thrilling chapters that I was always excited to get to and their storylines felt creepy, which I loved. I also really enjoyed the discussions on lore v. science v. government v. religion that is strung throughout the novel and I felt pretty clever when I was starting to piece things together (also - how known historical events link back to alien lore was fun to read as well). Overall, the book was really enjoyable but there are definitely slumps between chapters and some parts were a slog to get through.