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daniel_faniel's Reviews (85)
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The movie had better pacing, but the book is more impactful. Great story.
I really dislike how much 2000s tech products are described so much in this book. It makes the book feel unnecessarily dated.
Lisbeth Salander has been added to my Favorite Characters Hall of Fame.
I really dislike how much 2000s tech products are described so much in this book. It makes the book feel unnecessarily dated.
Lisbeth Salander has been added to my Favorite Characters Hall of Fame.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This definitely isn’t my type of genre so I’m biased in that sense.
But the synopsis of this book is super misleading. The focus is more on the poachers than on Damira being a mammoth (even though it’s a big chunk of the story). There’s also so many POV and side characters for such a short book that it feels a bit bloated/all over the place.
It’s also not a thriller at all. It’s super short but this is a pretty slow paced character exploration. The book’s more interested delving into to these characters than about any mysteries the world building asks.
I did like the prose. It was super readable. And pretty interesting scifi ideas.
But the synopsis of this book is super misleading. The focus is more on the poachers than on Damira being a mammoth (even though it’s a big chunk of the story). There’s also so many POV and side characters for such a short book that it feels a bit bloated/all over the place.
It’s also not a thriller at all. It’s super short but this is a pretty slow paced character exploration. The book’s more interested delving into to these characters than about any mysteries the world building asks.
I did like the prose. It was super readable. And pretty interesting scifi ideas.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
About 200 pages too long (this is the main reason its at a 3.5)
Pet peeve, but I struggled suspending my disbelief on how easily he acclimated to the 50s/60s.
Didn’t ruin the book but this is a very idealized version of the 50s/60s. Life really was better back then (if you were white and lived in white neighborhoods, even if really poor ones). Felt weird, like telling a story set in Europe during the 1930s/40s and you never once mention WWII. The book didn’t need to be about those things, but it feels weird how much the civil rights movements were integral parts of US society/culture during this time and its like never acknowledged.
Especially when you’re writing a book about changing the past to create a better future, and things like MLK Jr is mentioned with a passing glance. What if you prevented his murder? That could’ve been a really interesting story imo. But maybe Stephen King wouldn’t be the best person to write it.
Pet peeve, but I struggled suspending my disbelief on how easily he acclimated to the 50s/60s.
Didn’t ruin the book but this is a very idealized version of the 50s/60s. Life really was better back then (if you were white and lived in white neighborhoods, even if really poor ones). Felt weird, like telling a story set in Europe during the 1930s/40s and you never once mention WWII. The book didn’t need to be about those things, but it feels weird how much the civil rights movements were integral parts of US society/culture during this time and its like never acknowledged.
Especially when you’re writing a book about changing the past to create a better future, and things like MLK Jr is mentioned with a passing glance. What if you prevented his murder? That could’ve been a really interesting story imo. But maybe Stephen King wouldn’t be the best person to write it.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
156 pages and this book dragged on interminably. Plenty of really interesting thoughts explored, but I could not care less about the characters and story.
I only pushed through because I had to read it for class. If not, I would’ve dropped it 5 pages in.
There is some really well written stuff in here. He does a good job at creating an ambience and feel to everything.
I only pushed through because I had to read it for class. If not, I would’ve dropped it 5 pages in.
There is some really well written stuff in here. He does a good job at creating an ambience and feel to everything.
informative
medium-paced
Some parts were fascinating. Others not so much, especially the last chapters where she detracts and seems to forget about Miami entirely.
I also could not stand her writing style. Run on sentences that are like paragraphs long each. And she only uses commas, when there were countless times when a “-“ or colon/semi colon would have been better.
I also could not stand her writing style. Run on sentences that are like paragraphs long each. And she only uses commas, when there were countless times when a “-“ or colon/semi colon would have been better.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fantastic storyteller and way with words. A little too plot-driven for my taste, and while he acknowledges he cut out major moments of Aetius and Atilla’s lives for the sake of keeping the book to a reasonable length, I would’ve really loved a longer book that delves into their lives. Maybe a miniseries format would work better for that. Along with wanting to know more, he’s also a fantastic writer so I wanna read more of his work.
I also wish the book went the route of having Aetius and Atilla both be the protagonists, instead of Atilla clearly being the ‘villain’ of the story. But at the same time so little is historically known about Atilla (as the author acknowledges) so maybe doing that would’ve leaned too much into the fictional/fantasy.
I also wish the book went the route of having Aetius and Atilla both be the protagonists, instead of Atilla clearly being the ‘villain’ of the story. But at the same time so little is historically known about Atilla (as the author acknowledges) so maybe doing that would’ve leaned too much into the fictional/fantasy.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
reflective
I don’t want to rate, because this book’s helpfulness depends on the person (and maybe in a couple of months it’s advice ends up not working for me). But it really clicked for me. It called out a bunch of behaviors and habits I didn’t even attribute to procrastination, and it actually gave helpful advice on overcoming those things.
Genuinely left me motivated to work harder. Or maybe I only feel that way because I’ve never read a self-help book before.
He does ramble a bit though.
Genuinely left me motivated to work harder. Or maybe I only feel that way because I’ve never read a self-help book before.
He does ramble a bit though.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love that this book feels like a book. It would be awesome to adapt this series, but the story is structured in a way that only really works while reading it (which is a good thing).
It’s nice she lets us use our imagination while reading instead of laying out every moment or action like a movie like so many other more recent books (cough cough Sword of Kaigen).
It’s nice she lets us use our imagination while reading instead of laying out every moment or action like a movie like so many other more recent books (cough cough Sword of Kaigen).
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt like it was written more for a white audience rather than a Chinese-American one. But who am I to say as I’m not Chinese nor do I relate to most of the cultural-conflicts in this book.