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A review by frogggirl2
Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Even when the main character grows up, this reads very YA. Eli makes a lot of stupid decisions for someone who is allegedly a quasi-intelligent, college educated adult. On the run? Just witnessed a murder? Make sure to ask a checkout clerk for the location of the place you're going and to tell them who you are and where you're coming from, just in case someone asks. DUMB. None of these characters are particularly interesting, I didn't really care about any of them and the relationships were pretty uninspired.
I think where I'm getting especially hung up is that I expect a time travel story to be science fiction and there is no science here at all. When they discuss how any of this works, the character just says I only know about this through second hand knowledge and dodges all the questions. So why does the author even bother trying to explain this if they're not actually going to explain it? It just bad writing to not know how your world works, or, to know how it works and not be able to explain it. Frustratingly, the ending of this book is also just totally useless and stupid and has no pay off. Literally, these two characters did all of these things and suffered all of these painful events (not to mention the murder of so many of Harry's friends and family) for absolutely no purpose at all - how about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the American dream? DUMB. Really, why even make this book at all if this was all that you could come up with for the ending?
The idea that the American Dream is a real, literally thing, we've lost it and we need to find it to bring the country back together is a cool one. The cool idea is just let down by mediocre execution and the terrible, pointless, let-down ending of the book.
I think where I'm getting especially hung up is that I expect a time travel story to be science fiction and there is no science here at all. When they discuss how any of this works, the character just says I only know about this through second hand knowledge and dodges all the questions. So why does the author even bother trying to explain this if they're not actually going to explain it? It just bad writing to not know how your world works, or, to know how it works and not be able to explain it. Frustratingly, the ending of this book is also just totally useless and stupid and has no pay off. Literally, these two characters did all of these things and suffered all of these painful events (not to mention the murder of so many of Harry's friends and family) for absolutely no purpose at all - how about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the American dream? DUMB. Really, why even make this book at all if this was all that you could come up with for the ending?
The idea that the American Dream is a real, literally thing, we've lost it and we need to find it to bring the country back together is a cool one. The cool idea is just let down by mediocre execution and the terrible, pointless, let-down ending of the book.