I read this book because it's often mentioned in the same breath as Marcelo In The Real World, which I loved. I did not love this book, however, and I...moreI read this book because it's often mentioned in the same breath as Marcelo In The Real World, which I loved. I did not love this book, however, and I think there are two reasons.
First, although both narrators are teenage boys with some form of autism spectrum disorder, my mostly-normal brain finds Christopher less understandable and sympathetic by far. I really cared about Marcelo, but Christopher just irritated me. (And of course I felt a little guilty about this, as I suppose the author intended, because in my limited experience, Christopher better reflects real-world autism.)
Second and more importantly, the mystery which Marcelo attempts to unravel during his summer at his father's law firm is genuinely interesting and involving. It's not just the unique perspective lent by his disability that makes it interesting; this adds an element of unreliable narration, of the reader's complicity with the author in knowing others' motives that aren't visible to Marcelo, but there is more to the story than this.
By contrast, once the "curious incident" is resolved in the first part of this book, the events are only interesting because they are viewed from the space-alien perspective of Christopher, who can't interpret emotions or metaphors and can't abide being touched. The plot progresses because he does not react as most people would to the events which occur; if he did react "normally", nothing interesting would follow and there would be no story. The entire plot is, basically, this unreliable narrator effect, and it results in a story which is uncomfortable to read, and, at least to me, of little interest beyond this.(less)
Meh. I posted a while back about my problems with a thriller a friend had written, how it seemed very tell-not-show and lacked emotional depth, and so...moreMeh. I posted a while back about my problems with a thriller a friend had written, how it seemed very tell-not-show and lacked emotional depth, and someone commented that perhaps it was just a characteristic of the thriller genre, and I disagreed, because I like thrillers! I don't find them lacking emotional depth! But this one does, at least to me. The actual murder mystery thriller part is clever and interesting; the bits that are supposed to resonate with Gurney's life are boring and trite. So, meh. (less)
Telepathic cats in space. A little goofy, a little simple, reads more YA than most of the YA-labeled things I've read recently, and the ending is, whi...moreTelepathic cats in space. A little goofy, a little simple, reads more YA than most of the YA-labeled things I've read recently, and the ending is, while not a cliffie, no real ending at all as it feeds directly into the next book with very little resolved. Oh, Anne McCaffrey, I used to like your books.(less)
Parts of Carr's thesis are compelling and well-supported. I accept that as we use our tools, our tools use us; the chapter on how book technology (pre...moreParts of Carr's thesis are compelling and well-supported. I accept that as we use our tools, our tools use us; the chapter on how book technology (pre- and post-Gutenberg) altered our oral culture to a written-and-spoken and then written culture is fascinating, and I don't have problems with the idea that our brains rewire as we use them. I agree that we have become impatient multitaskers, that we 21st century humans find it harder to concentrate on individual tasks (although not as impossible as he suggests in the first chapters). I agree that the web both giveth and taketh away.
But I disagree with his specific conclusions that the internet is what is making us dumber in a deep sense, that it's necessarily a "distraction engine" that is training us to be shallow rather than deep thinkers. Carr points to websites with distracting ads in the corners, with links galore that encourage us to go off on tangents rather than concentrating on the topic at hand. But look at a newspaper: the front page is a bunch of teasers, to be continued elsewhere in the paper, and ads surround the continuations. It's not a whole lot different - and newspapers have been doing this for decades (and perhaps a century). There's no functional difference between a newspaper that requires you to turn the page (or possibly get distracted by another article) and a website that requires you to click the link (or possibly get distracted by another link). So what makes the web more inherently distracting than a newspaper?
Oh, right, while you're reading the website, you might get a "you've got email" popup. But how is this different from a phone call, or a knock at the door? Why does the internet get singled out as creating this culture of distraction? When you drive a car, you must divide your attention, looking ahead out the windshield, checking your mirrors for hazards to the side and behind, glancing at the dashboard for speed and rpms and gas level; and maybe you're listening to the radio or a CD, and/or talking to a passenger, and maybe you're drinking a soda and eating a fast-food burger....
Heck, I listened to this as an audiobook, mostly while I was driving to a conference halfway across the state. Did I give it my full attention? I couldn't have.
The internet is not the problem. The entire late 20th century and early 21st century is the problem, or, "problem", if you don't believe that reduced attention span and increased multitasking capability is actually a problem. (Perhaps our internet-modulated brains will be less likely to get us into traffic accidents, for example.)
And the internet is not necessarily (by which I mean, unavoidably) propagating the problem. I found it ironic that Carr touted Google Wave as the obvious next step in the short-message, instant-gratification, high-distraction culture, considering that it failed. He complains that e-books will be impossible to read deeply due to all the hyperlinks in the text that this format will enable - but most e-books are not hypertextified at all, and if you read on a dedicated, offline, reading device, there is very little functional difference between an e-book and a paper book. Although my email program checks for new mail every 10 minutes, I don't get a popup message, and as my email reader is usually minimized, I only see new mail when I choose to look for it. I don't use Twitter. I have no problem becoming absorbed in a book, or a problem, or an idea.
Yes, I do tend to refresh my social networks endlessly, to see what is new, what is fresh. But I also read those updates which interest me, carefully and completely. Google allows me to investigate a dozen or a hundred articles on a topic I want to explore - and yes, I spend seconds on most of them, because if I can determine one is not useful, I can immediately find another that might be. Carr suggests that Google profits from encouraging people to spend as little time as possible on any individual result, but the fact is that Google will not retain users unless they spend as little time as possible on BAD results, and can find GOOD results, which they presumably WILL spend time on (away from Google).
In the end, we will use the tools we have (newspapers, cars, the internet), and they will shape our usage of them. But we will only use them as long as they are useful to us. (less)
It's a good thing this wasn't my first Banks book, because if it had been, I would never read another. Brilliant world-building, boring plot, too much...moreIt's a good thing this wasn't my first Banks book, because if it had been, I would never read another. Brilliant world-building, boring plot, too much irrelevant action, lots of things going bang for no real story-structure purpose, and the ending felt like an emotional let-down. Not to mention the epithet-laden writing, which reads like the very worst Harry Potter fanfiction: Xoxarle stepped from the doorway and kicked out. His foot caught the gun, sending its barrel up into the Changer's face, slamming into Horza's mouth and nose while the gun sprayed laser fire over the man's head into the ceiling, bringing a hail of rock dust and splinters down over the Idiran and the human. Ugh. (less)
The teenage sole survivor of a Mars colonization mission is the cynosure of all TV screens, much to the delight of the corporations selling the ads, a...moreThe teenage sole survivor of a Mars colonization mission is the cynosure of all TV screens, much to the delight of the corporations selling the ads, and the US Government, which is taking a little off the top. A bit reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, but the satire's a little too one-note, and the story is simultaneously too stretched and too surface, and too rushed at the end. But it's a fun read, and it's free via Feedbooks.com and the author's website.
The ending is unbelievable and doesn't deliver the punch suggested by the rest of the book; it feels like the author went, "uh-oh, now how do I get out of this?" The writing is decent, though with a few errors (IT IS SIGHT NOT SITE DAMN IT); the biggest issue I had with the form is that the chapters are on the order of 500 words long, barely entire scenes, and as they alternate among the various characters this is irritating and frustrating. It would have been much better to have agglomerated 3-8 sections focusing on one set of characters for a single chapter, then go on to the next. Perhaps the author is trying to make a clever point about the media-driven lack of attention span in the slightly-future world he writes about, but it is annoying to the reader in this world, or at least, to me.
A fast read, 3.5 stars. Fairly generic thriller (which is not to say bad; the elements are laid out in a predictable but satisfying way) in Part 1, ge...moreA fast read, 3.5 stars. Fairly generic thriller (which is not to say bad; the elements are laid out in a predictable but satisfying way) in Part 1, gets a bit more interesting in part 2, when some elements converge and others diverge. (less)
So, it's all about parental abandonment issues in the end, I guess.
I enjoyed this book, as I enjoyed the entire series. But the action plot was not as...moreSo, it's all about parental abandonment issues in the end, I guess.
I enjoyed this book, as I enjoyed the entire series. But the action plot was not as interesting to me as some of the more intricate adventures in the other books.
I realize it's a trope of YA that the kids carry the day, and the adults don't know as much as they think they do. But where in e.g. Harry Potter, the central teens are there because they are inevitably swept up in the war effort, here it is as though the entire war is being fought by the 12-16 year old set. The scenes in which the demigod kids (Percy, Nico) harangue their godly fathers into doing the right thing don't ring true, and some of it (Annabeth safely landing the helicopter with zero experience, e.g.) hammers on my suspension of disbelief so hard that it shatters. I mean, yay, kids! But it's just not plausible here.
I did love the resolution, and Percy's decision at the end, although I was expecting his fatal flaw (caring for his friends) to come into play a little more. And I totally felt the Clarisse/Silena la la la.
It has been a lot of fun listening to the audio version of this series. I will say, though, that in this last book the reader, Jesse Bernstein, seemed to me to be trying to stretch to provide "original" voices for all the characters, and it was a little irritating. Did we have to have British accents among the campers to distinguish them? And Persephone's whisper, and Demeter's nasal grating? At some point I think a straight reading is all that is needed. (less)
An interesting alternate history with a rather chilling dystopian vision, sort of a smush of a boardingschool novel with Brave New World, topped with...moreAn interesting alternate history with a rather chilling dystopian vision, sort of a smush of a boardingschool novel with Brave New World, topped with a soupcon of paranormal fantasy. Alas, to me the world-building is better than the actual story. The ending leaves nearly everything unresolved and very much screams "FIRST PART OF A SERIES", which I hate.(less)
I have to say that I like this series better and better with each book. Perhaps it's because the overall story arc becomes more focused. I also like t...moreI have to say that I like this series better and better with each book. Perhaps it's because the overall story arc becomes more focused. I also like the darker tone, which balances the touches of humor; the first book was a little too slapstick for me, but this one hit most of the right buttons. (Although there was a little too much "author's message" for my liking in the Pan subplot.)
I particularly liked that the suspicion and revelation about Quintus turned out to be not as straightforward as it seemed at the start. I enjoyed the bits of detail dropped here and there about half-blood historical figures (Harriet Tubman, hee!), and I recognized the Garden of the Gods as soon as Percy looked out the window.
The excellent reading enhanced my enjoyment, as usual: Apparently sea demons have Scandinavian accents, and Hephaestus grew up in da Bronx. However, I was a little taken aback by Jesse Bernstein's choice to give the half-bloods with ethnic last names (Ethan Nakamura and Chris Rodriguez) accents. I suppose it's a convenient way of giving them unique voices, but there's no suggestion in the text that they are anything other than American-born, and within the mythological context of America being the current heart of Western Civilization, I would expect that the gods would choose American mortal sex partners.(less)
I saw a movie version years ago, but when I was about a third of the way through the book my husband, who read it some months ago, commented to me tha...moreI saw a movie version years ago, but when I was about a third of the way through the book my husband, who read it some months ago, commented to me that Milady reminded him of Cathy from East of Eden, and now she is forever Jane Seymour in my head. Because Milady really is Cathy. What is it about beautiful, amoral, utterly evil women that makes men want to write about them? Do I really want to know the answer to this question?(less)
Princess Ayla Sparklypoo perseveres despite being surrounded by Neanderthals.
Um, okay. This succeeds for me more as an anthropological what-if explora...morePrincess Ayla Sparklypoo perseveres despite being surrounded by Neanderthals.
Um, okay. This succeeds for me more as an anthropological what-if exploration than as a novel. I enjoyed the lavish descriptions of the Clan's surroundings, the plants and animals, their habits and habitats. As a novel, it's - well, it's kind of like the Jacky Faber stories I've been reading (plucky orphan girl chafes against the strictures placed on women; her innate kindness and spirit of exploration and cleverness both get her into trouble and get her out) but less interesting on a human scale. I could not keep any of the characters straight (Og? Oog? Oona? Wait, that was Alley Oop) other than Ayla, her immediate family, and her Evil Nemesis, Caricature Guy. Plus, even with a compressed lifespan (and wouldn't Ayla's people be less so?) I find her behavior hard to believe for a twelve-year-old.
But, you know, mammoth hunts. And manhood rituals. And stuff. (less)
A look at Mormon Fundamentalism and mainstream Mormon history, based around a 1984 murder. Reading about the kookier religious beliefs and the kooks w...moreA look at Mormon Fundamentalism and mainstream Mormon history, based around a 1984 murder. Reading about the kookier religious beliefs and the kooks who earnestly believe them only confirms me in my atheism, as it seems that as more and more people hold more wildly divergent beliefs, as "God" tells contradictory things to different people, the more likely it is that ALL of them are wrong than any of them are right. (And the devaluation of women that results from this horridly patriarchal system is certainly wrong.)
This was particularly interesting to me as I live not far from Utah, and often go there for recreation. I've driven through Colorado City many times (but never stopped, because, you just DON'T. Not there). The story of the men who left Powell's Colorado River expedition was familiar to me, although the context was new; I knew about Lee of Lee's Ferry, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadow massacre, but I didn't know my Senator (Mark Udall) is his descendant.
I also recommend the movie Banking On Heaven, which I saw at a local film festival some years ago, to anyone who enjoys this topic. (less)
This sprawling, funny, and bawdy novel is sort of Tom Robbins meets Jack Kerouac and they write about the Vietnam war. Leo is a goggle-eyed pawn, an i...moreThis sprawling, funny, and bawdy novel is sort of Tom Robbins meets Jack Kerouac and they write about the Vietnam war. Leo is a goggle-eyed pawn, an innocent in the Great Game of...well, there's probably something going on with deeper meaning than anti-government protests, the military, and drug running, but only Boz - the man behind the curtain, pulling Leo's strings - knows. At least Leo gets laid a lot.
I enjoyed this book despite the large sprinkling of typographical errors, the odd justification bobble that resulted in unneeded spaces between and even within words, the consistent spelling of 'though' as 'tho', and the idiosyncratic punctuation of dialogue. This last is the most pervasive problem but I found it the easiest to ignore.
In the hands of a competent editor, this could have been an awesome book. It's still a lot of fun, but there are a lot of flaws. If you can ignore them, and the drug-soaked late 60s are your thing, you will like it very much.(less)
Another absolutely brilliant reading by Katherine Kellgren. This time Jacky's (at least temporarily) swallowed the anchor, but there are enough refere...moreAnother absolutely brilliant reading by Katherine Kellgren. This time Jacky's (at least temporarily) swallowed the anchor, but there are enough references to seamen, ships, and her seafaring life that I don't mind. 1800s Boston is as fascinating as any other exotic port, and I love the references to actual historical figures (Cotton Mather, the illustrious ancestor of the preacher who develops an unholy attraction to Jacky; Paul Revere, and Admiral Nelson, as well as references to the Cabots and Lowells, and could that be the Mr. Adams?)
Jacky blithely vaults from one disaster to another, some of which are her fault, others, well, okay, they're all her fault in one way or another. A few times I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her for her stupidity, but her cleverness and innate good cheer usually get her out of the fixes they get her into. And I sympathize with her feelings of being constricted by propriety and what the world feels is a woman's place. Who can blame her for preferring to live boldly?
There are quite a few places where disbelief must be actively suspended, and the ending is unsatisfying and (to my mind) leaves a few threads hanging - uncharacteristically so, because I think the author does a great job of hanging all the guns on the wall before methodically shooting them. As soon as Jacky begs her first ride on the racehorse, you know she's going to be riding it in the big race - you don't know how, but you know she will, and that sense of structure makes the story satisfying.
It appears that in the third book, Jacky heads out to sea again, this time on a whaler. I suspect it's going to be the Pequod, and I'm looking forward to it.(less)
A rip-roaring yarn. This is more or less Hornblower, except the narrator is a streetwise London orphan taken on as ship's boy, and oh, also? He's a gi...moreA rip-roaring yarn. This is more or less Hornblower, except the narrator is a streetwise London orphan taken on as ship's boy, and oh, also? He's a girl.
This is the most entertaining YA book I've read since Harry Potter. Jacky Faber is spirited and determined, and although she doesn't think herself brave, she carries off her varied exploits with a great deal of aplomb and self-possession. When she realizes that boys have more freedom and opportunities than girls, she unhesitatingly changes her clothes and her life. But her true nature is always below the surface; she is always considering how to further "the deception", and what she will do when discovered. She curses like a sailor and does the same work as the rest of the boys, but she cries easily (maybe a bit too easily), and eventually she falls in love and dreams of being a fine lady and a captain's wife.
Jacky's adventures range from the all-too-realistic (an unpleasant sailor bent on sodomy) to the somewhat ridiculous (the kite episode!) but are always engaging, as her cleverness and pluck carry the day. The romance is the dullest part of the book, and really, too much attention is given it, because it turns out to be a lot less important, plotwise, than one is led to believe. (Which is a relief, actually.)
The writing is for the most part excellent, evocative and clear, although it could have used some Brit-picking (e.g. trousers rather than pants, angry rather than mad) and an edit by someone who actually knows sailing ships. Katherine Kellgren's reading of the audiobook is delightful. She deftly switches among the Cockney of the ship's boys, the RP of the officers, the Irish and Scottish sailors and the American schoolmaster (although her Jamaican sailor sounds more like an Indian shopkeeper) and brings it all to glorious life.
I've also been listening to the Percy Jackson series, and they are very different. Where Percy is swept about by forces beyond his control, Jacky takes control of her circumstances in whatever small way she can. Where Percy only remembers his lessons and realizes what he is facing when it's too late, Jacky's past experiences are always informing her actions. The stakes may be smaller - one small ship rather than the Fate of the Western World - but I would rather read about Jacky than about Percy. (less)
The art of the travel memoir is knowing what to enlarge on, what to leave out, and when to include historical, geographical, or personal tidbits. Brys...moreThe art of the travel memoir is knowing what to enlarge on, what to leave out, and when to include historical, geographical, or personal tidbits. Bryson has this down perfectly. Always entertaining, always interesting, and beautifully written.(less)
Two and a half stars, really. Well-written and cleverly constructed, but the heroine (and the setting) are just Not My Thing.
It occurs to me that I'm...moreTwo and a half stars, really. Well-written and cleverly constructed, but the heroine (and the setting) are just Not My Thing.
It occurs to me that I'm being inconsistent by preferring Carl Hiaasen's books, as they're about people who are just as low on the intellectual and cultural totem pole, in a place I dislike as much as I do New Jersey, but - there is something deeper about his books that appeals to me (maybe the environmentalist subtext) that is totally missing here.(less)
An amazing story by a brilliant writer about an incredible man. Louie Zamperini goes from the metaphorical frying pan into the fire, and just when you...moreAn amazing story by a brilliant writer about an incredible man. Louie Zamperini goes from the metaphorical frying pan into the fire, and just when you think he's got to collapse - things get worse.
This was recommended to me by Facebook friends in the "Death Zone Book Club", and the only thing I knew about it when I started was that it was a story of survival at sea during WWII. This turns out to be only a tiny part of the tale. Zamperini, a restless delinquent as a child in California, finds purpose in running, and in high school manages to qualify for and run in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. His next plans are derailed by war; he becomes a bombardier and has many near-misses before the flight that begins his descent into the most horrifying series of unfortunate events, so to speak, ever.
Hillenbrand is a gifted writer, and has clearly done a staggering amount of research. In her acknowledgments she mentions that she spent seven years on this book and interviewed hundreds of people, and it shows. Although Zamperini's story is central, all the characters are clear and present on the page, from his mother to the men he flew with to the prison guards in the Japanese POW camps. Hillenbrand's occasional gentle editorializing about the nature of human resilience is thoughtful and thought-provoking.
I am not particularly fond of war histories, but this book gets five stars from me. (less)
3.5 stars, but I'll round up, because this is so far my favorite in the series. The plot hangs together a lot better than the previous books, some gun...more3.5 stars, but I'll round up, because this is so far my favorite in the series. The plot hangs together a lot better than the previous books, some guns hung on walls in previous books were fired here, and a whole bunch of new guns were strategically placed for use in subsequent books, or so I expect. I liked the gradual hints toward the identity of the new halfbloods and the General, the relationships among Zoe, Thalia, and Percy, and of course Apollo and Artemis. Apollo in particular, in the audio reading, comes across as a redneck "good old boy" (although I've never met one who prefers a sports car to a pickup truck and who spouts haiku) - quite entertaining.
I think my favorite parts were Mr. D's unexpected assistance (I suppose if this is a Harry Potter pastiche, he's Snape, which makes my head spin) and the whole endgame.(less)
A book about the horrors of the Civil War; not the horrors of the battles, or of the political and social consequences, but of the horrors of inadequa...moreA book about the horrors of the Civil War; not the horrors of the battles, or of the political and social consequences, but of the horrors of inadequate medical knowledge and practice, of a time when an injury that would be minor today was a probable death sentence. Mary is a skilled midwife and would-be surgeon at a time when women were not surgeons. She is not particularly attractive, conflicted, flawed in many ways, human in every way. The best thing about this book is that it could have been trite and predictable, and it isn't. It could have been a romance, but thankfully, it's not. It could have been the classic Romansbildung arc: person strives toward goal, is thwarted, grows through adventures and then finally succeeds, but in real life it is not that simple, and it is not that simple in this book, either. (less)
Three related adventures, not a novel, really. Awesome worldbuilding, entertaining characters, a little "author's message-y" in the last one, but stil...moreThree related adventures, not a novel, really. Awesome worldbuilding, entertaining characters, a little "author's message-y" in the last one, but still a good yarn. Reminds me of classic Leiber and Zelazny.(less)
The power of words, the power of love. The story is heartbreaking and the style is - well, I don't ordinarily like experimental literary whatnot, I do...moreThe power of words, the power of love. The story is heartbreaking and the style is - well, I don't ordinarily like experimental literary whatnot, I don't care for it when the cleverness gets in the way of the story, but that happened only infrequently; mostly it was just luminous and unusual and beautiful.
I'm not sure why this is considered YA. It doesn't seem particularly pitched toward teens as opposed to adults. (less)
If this were a novel, it would be a classic tragedy. It's the story of hubris, of power corrupting: the ordinary man with good intentions who finds th...moreIf this were a novel, it would be a classic tragedy. It's the story of hubris, of power corrupting: the ordinary man with good intentions who finds the clothing of a hero too large. Unable to fill it himself, he pads himself about with myth, but when he falls into the trap of believing those myths, he precipitates his own downfall.
Which is why Krakauer's book is so depressing and angering. Like Krakauer, who donated a heck of a lot more money than I did, I feel betrayed by an idealist who did not have the strength to live up to his ideals. Krakauer meticulously documents his findings: the invented experiences which made a better story than the truth, the misuse of funds and deceptive accounting practices, the schools that were constructed but not funded and that now stand empty and abandoned. It's a sad story. And the saddest part is that I believe, and I think Krakauer believes, that Mortenson honestly did have noble intentions. He just wasn't big enough to stay true to them.(less)
This is an easy read, in simple, straightforward language and with a mostly linear structure which I appreciate after having read too many memoirs wit...moreThis is an easy read, in simple, straightforward language and with a mostly linear structure which I appreciate after having read too many memoirs with ponderous flashbacks. Saberi seems very honest and real, if a bit naive and even selfish at first.
Early in the book she "confesses" to made-up charges that her interrogators pressure her into, which made me dislike her more than a little. I mean, come on, Roxana, you've been in prison for what, a week? Don't you have any backbone? But then she discovers her backbone (and regained my respect) through interactions with other women prisoners, and through her meditations on God and the Koran, and her own self-examination and realization that she would rather die in prison an honest woman than implicate friends with invented stories. It is her growth as a human being in the prison, not just the account of the horror of being arrested and detained on the whims of a theocratic, xenophobic, gynophobic society, that makes this worth reading.
The best part is the clever modern reinterpretation of Greek mythology. The worst part is Percy's total obliviousness to said clever modern reinterpre...moreThe best part is the clever modern reinterpretation of Greek mythology. The worst part is Percy's total obliviousness to said clever modern reinterpretation, as he never figures out what the moderately educated reader has known for the last twenty freakin' pages already. Also, Percy calling Tyson "big guy" just makes me want to bang my head against the wall. On the other hand, Jesse Bernstein's reading is a lot of fun, as the voices of various gods, monsters, and humans get rendered in entertaining ways.
Also, didn't some other recent YA series with a young guy protagonist and his male and female best friends have an important mystical prophecy in it? I'm just sayin'. (less)
A small book that tells a small story. I was disappointed, I think, because I had just read another WWII book (All Clear) and although the women in bo...moreA small book that tells a small story. I was disappointed, I think, because I had just read another WWII book (All Clear) and although the women in both books have limited agency, La just seems so passive and dull compared to the dynamic frustration of the women in All Clear. McCall Smith's writing, however, remains lovely, and his particular talent of evoking a sense of place is strong here.
Also, I was a little baffled by the framing story, which is left hanging at the end, and the inexplicable first-person section in the middle.(less)
Two and a half stars, really. I wanted to like this more, because I enjoyed her other books set in this universe, but there's just no real story here....moreTwo and a half stars, really. I wanted to like this more, because I enjoyed her other books set in this universe, but there's just no real story here. The entire plot hinges on a sort of reverse-deus-ex-machina of a misunderstanding that is perpetuated by a character's convenient deathly illness that renders him unable to tell anyone what has gone wrong, and another character's convenient inability to get anyone on the phone.
It also sadly shows its age, as cell phones don't seem to exist, and a 2.5 gigabyte chip corder, hee! (less)
I declined to rate or review Blackout because it finished in the middle; this is its second half. And of course I'd forgotten a lot of details of the...moreI declined to rate or review Blackout because it finished in the middle; this is its second half. And of course I'd forgotten a lot of details of the first half, and Willis often refers to events in the past timeline of this universe that aren't (I think!) actually in any of the books, so I was frustrated for some time trying to remember what was going on. But eventually I got sucked in, because, TIME TRAVEL, which I adore. And I like the way she layers all the little quotidian bits into a story. But honestly, who would send UNIVERSITY STUDENTS to do history projects in the past like this? Okay, disbelief re-suspended. :-)(less)
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