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Balcony of Fog

Rich Shapero (Goodreads Author)

2.51 · Rating details · 258 ratings · 173 reviews

A toiler from post-nuclear America meets a mysterious woman who escapes with him to the cloud realm, where sublimity and nightmare mix to illuminate the tension between the power of love and the love of power.

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Hardcover, 232 pages

Published January 15th 2020 by TooFar Media

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Average rating 2.51 ·

Rating details

· 258 ratings · 173 reviews

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Dec 29, 2020 Will Byrnes rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, romance, fiction

…how many stories like theirs, Arden thought.
People who escaped to the sky with high hopes, lived a short life there and disappeared.

I am no angel. I can be bought. I guess that is how this review came to be. I spotted an ad in my daily feed of Literary Hub. The come-on was a chance to win an iPad. In return for filling out a form to enter, the sponsor would send a copy of a book that sounded, at least, readable. Sometime later the book arrived at my doorstep. Sadly, it was not accompanied b ...more

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May 09, 2020 delaney rated it did not like it

I think this had some deep meaning to it, but it got lost in the lack of character development, world-building, and overall explanations in everything.

On page three, he faces some kind of confrontation with a man. I do not understand their relationship or what really happened there. It was unclear and lacked a couple of sentences to make it easier to connect certain actions.

On page 10, he meets a woman who, as a male writer, is of course naked and "beautiful" even though there is a lack of why I think this had some deep meaning to it, but it got lost in the lack of character development, world-building, and overall explanations in everything.

On page three, he faces some kind of confrontation with a man. I do not understand their relationship or what really happened there. It was unclear and lacked a couple of sentences to make it easier to connect certain actions.

On page 10, he meets a woman who, as a male writer, is of course naked and "beautiful" even though there is a lack of why she is beautiful. How does she even look like? How does Arden, the main character even look like? WTF is happening?

By page 23 they bone. Not just once, they bone twice. And then he describes her breasts to be like "driftwood." Afterwards, they plan to escape together from this random area Arden lives at because they LUVV each other.

And this is all happened in chapter one.

I am not sure if Rich Shapero intended to be humorous, but I found how bad it was to be comedic. Like: wow, clouds eating other clouds and we are cloud people now by swimming upwards to the sky. Instead of going after the villain, who is Estra's ex, we are just going to write poems with our fingers and they'll turn into cranes, and when we have sex, our bodies LITERALLY become one because, yeah, boning! And now we are going to eat each other and then throw it up from our bodies and call it this "Cannibal game." This game is actually non-sexual, but also WTF.

It was a trip on acid through this entire novel. There are random words that are capitalized and I am not sure why they are. And just the overall lack of explanations. Where am I? How do the characters look like? Everything was so surface level, I felt like I was just reading words, instead of delving into a story, the entire time.

Also, the main villain is this Ingis/Ingishead guy who is a cloud god? Sky god? Not sure. But Shapero creates this weird and toxic love triangle between Ingis, Estra, and Arden. And it's to illustrate how love of power is dangerous and power of love too. But it's poorly explained and executed so it didn't have the impact it was supposed to have with me.

Welp, it gave me a good laugh, but I think I need to go find a good read now. ...more

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Aug 01, 2020 Pandora Clairmond rated it did not like it

First of all, I received TWO copies of this book at my home address around July 16th from the publisher. I DIDN'T ask for them. I asked on my Instagram story to NOT be sent more and today I received THREE more copies. I contacted the publisher via Instagram and complained. Basically, they accused me of lying and insisted the copies were prizes for some giveaway that I've "entered." I know for a fact that this a lie because there is no way anyone in my household entered the giveaway. The first ti ...more

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Jul 16, 2020 Jerusha rated it did not like it

This book was sent to my home address from the publisher with out my consent to get my address. I previously read and reviewed a book of this guy who is disgusting and now he has found my address and sent more crap. My address is PRIVATE information and this not appreciated. I will never read this author again.

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Nov 24, 2020 Ashley Kvasnicka marked it as to-read

Shelves: on-my-bookshelves

UPDATE: Book Riot mentioned the giveaway and it was “sign up to win an iPad and receive a free copy”

I just wanted to write this real quick to maybe clear the air. Obviously I can’t speak for everyone but maybe some of these people who are questioning where it came from might have an ‘oh yeah’ moment? I was pretty surprised when I saw the reviews on this book that I had just received in the mail and obviously disappointed in. Now I personally am NOT confused as to where the book came from... But ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Allie rated it did not like it

got this book sent to my address, even though I didn't even ask for it. not going to bother reading it because I can tell the author is making fake accounts and rating his own book just to boost rating. no thanks. ...more

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Nov 28, 2020 Debbie rated it it was ok

I never won this book from Goodreads, the author sent me this book and said I had won it. I did try to read it, the first couple of chapters I was pulled in by the characters and the story. But after that I was totally confused about what was going on. I gave this book two stars for trying. The author needs to be more honest especially who he sends his books too. Don't tell me I won when I didn't, that lie will not get you a honest review. 😒 ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Patricia E Yarian rated it did not like it

What a flipping waste! Too bad there's no half stars....no wait...I really am torn with even "awarding"a single star!! And I can truly say I most certainly gave it an honest try to find a redeeming factor in this book. Did I say book? Well hell, it is a hard cover.....would I pay for something like this? Oh hell no, not in this lifetime or any time!!
Is it worth telling , or hinting, you'd maybe like to read this? Nah....not worth your time!
So go grab a good cup of java juice (or tea) get another ...more

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Nov 24, 2020 Erin marked it as to-read

Shelves: i-won-it-in-a-giveaway

Giveaway Win???Kind of?

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2020 Igenlode Wordsmith rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This book wasn't quite as bad as initially I thought it was going to be, in that it did eventually pick up some kind of interesting plot theme — the risks of seeking to become ruthless in order to defeat ruthlessness. The actual ending was unexpected and I didn't find it particularly dramatically satisfactory, but it is at least less of a cliché than one might have predicted.

Unfortunately the central love affair is arbitrary and deeply unconvincing, the science-fiction setting at the start is po This book wasn't quite as bad as initially I thought it was going to be, in that it did eventually pick up some kind of interesting plot theme — the risks of seeking to become ruthless in order to defeat ruthlessness. The actual ending was unexpected and I didn't find it particularly dramatically satisfactory, but it is at least less of a cliché than one might have predicted.

Unfortunately the central love affair is arbitrary and deeply unconvincing, the science-fiction setting at the start is poorly established, the violence is contrived just to make the protagonist look good (if they can winch in Arden by his safety harness, why don't they simply winch in Neely?), and the whole thing is clumsily and inexpertly written and full of purple prose. It really doesn't help that the author is using all these nautical metaphors but appears to have no practical knowledge of boats (hint: 'sheets' are ropes, not sails, a sailing ship doesn't have a raised bridge in the centre, and the idea of attempting to caulk the seams of a newly-built boat — even above the waterline — while it's afloat is not going to work).

You really don't want to describe your hero as "finning his legs and flexing his trunk" unless he actually is an elephant (and/or a mermaid). "Wind rusked the billows" — it chewed on them toothlessly? "He put his arms around her, and as they pressed together her face lost its border. The rays of her iris were sage-coloured spokes, and the hub was a fathomless pupil". "As the contact was made, a fresh hurl of rain rapped against the window". "The love she poured into you, like cream down the throat of a white orchid" - seriously? Pouring milk products into flowers is supposed to be an appealing mental image? "Long pink clouds lay side by side like fish steaks on a blue platter"?
"He curled there, muttering to himself, full sentences at first, then phrases and fragments, losing connectives to the cold. People and objects went next, along with any hint of future or past; until his rambling was nothing but a stream of rhymes ending in I-N-G. ... He crossed the borderline of dream, and continued reeling off gerunds in his sleep."

Even when it's not ludicrous, the prose is seriously overwritten: "A grooved arcus roiled at the base of Ingishead's neck, pale scuds churning on either side. ... The corded neck buckled, and the storm's face descended, its chrome beak gleaming, brow trenched with a murderous rage.". I was astonished to find multiple books by the same author listed in the credits, because this reads like an amateur's unedited first draft; there are gleams of potential in there, but I find it hard to imagine any publisher's reader getting beyond the first scene. To be honest, if I'd picked it off the shelves of a library, looking for reading material at random, I'd have put it back; if I'd found it published as fanfiction on the Internet I'd have bailed out before the end of the opening chapter. The only reason I read grimly through to the end was because it was given to me by a friend as a book festival freebie (and, looking at other comments on Goodreads, I'm wondering if anyone has ever purchased a copy at all, or if all the books out there are unsolicited promotional material).

Because of the nonstandard format, I can't even give this away — no charity shop would take a flip-book the size of a pocket diary. So it will have to go into the bin: the only book I think I've ever done that to. Maybe it works better as "an immersive story experience on tablets and phones", but here it just reads like self-published, self-indulgent dreck. ...more

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Dec 06, 2020 Elyse marked it as to-read

People need to read the fine print!

I'm just laughing at all of the 1-star reviews from idiots who don't read the giveaway that they are entering!! They see "WIN AN iPAD" and then enter their address and email address. Book Riot has been putting on an iPad giveaway for a few months now and EVERY entry wins you a free book. EVERY ENTRY. I just entered a 4th time. I have not won an iPad yet but I want to so I will keep entering (the giveaway ends and they put on another one, it's not multiple entri ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2020 Emily Perkovich rated it liked it

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I didn’t hate it, but I am glad I didn’t pay for it. There is little to no character development which makes it difficult to keep up with dialogue and character purpose. The first 50 pages of storyline are so rushed that I had no idea what/why things were going on, and then I was just suddenly expected to believe that two characters, whose only real distinguishing factor is their names, have now fallen in love and are running away together. A good ...more

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Sep 14, 2020 Kay Stephenson added it

I also received a copy of this in the mail but I did not enter a contest for it. I am upset that the publisher was able to get my address from Goodreads (or their parent company Amazon). I can see that others have also complained about this. Please take the time to write to Goodreads and complain so they will take this security issue seriously. They need to contact the publisher and find out where/how they got our addresses.

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Oct 01, 2020 Anna rated it did not like it

Shelves: giveaway, dnf, just-bad, one-star

One star

This book was...weird? I have no problem with the genre, but the subject matter almost didn't make sense at times. All the characters had the exact same voice to the point of almost not being able to tell who is speaking at times. I couldn't finish this book because I had zero interest in the characters. I didn't care about them at all. Its rare enough for me to dnf that I was quite disappointed. I can't rate something I couldn't even get through higher than one star.

I felt the author ...more

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Oct 13, 2020 Courtney Lake rated it it was ok

I received a copy of this book as part of the Goodreads giveaways.

This was a beautifully written story, but it was all flash and no substance really.

The imagery was gorgeous, I loved the descriptions of the cloud realm and the cloud ships. It was magical and breathtaking. I would have loved to see that world actually explored.

But the plot.... It is clearly an allegory for life and chock full of symbolic meaning. But that's all. I didn't really get invested in the story once they reached the clo ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Brennan rated it did not like it

This was just....a whole bad experience.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 28, 2020 Sarah rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 11, 2020 Neva Womack rated it did not like it

I went into reading this book with an open mind. But the further I got, the more I disliked this book. It was written (just in my opinion) while the author was in a LSD fog. I realize it was supposed to be based in a post nuclear world, but it was just too far out there for me.

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Aug 02, 2020 Chris Hughes rated it it was ok

It's not often I even think about not finishing a book once I start, but I came very close to doing just that with this one. The plot was very thin, very little character development, and the descriptions of the world were way too flowery and added little to understanding what was going on. The whole thing was very confusing. The ending was very abrupt & disappointing. I first thought this would be some sort of post-apocalyptic science fiction, but it turned into a weird fantasy about life in th ...more

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Aug 05, 2020 Vernon Luckert rated it did not like it

Review is of a free copy. My review of this book will be almost the same as my review of this authors book "The Hope We Seek". Neither book is interesting, entertaining or well written. The author may have a good idea of what is in his head, but he does not have the necessary skill to convey his ideas to others via the printed word. ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Lor rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1-star

this book was given to me for free by a random man peddling a cart full of them, and i still paid too much. rich shapero owes me money.

by the way, he's a millionare who started his own publishing company so he could actually publish his books (what other publishing house would take them?), and he hands them out on college campuses for free because he's so desperate for people to read them.

a short list of the worst things i discovered while reading because yes, i unfortunately read the entire tra ...more

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Jul 31, 2020 Kira Simion marked it as to-read

Shelves: gift-or-won

I won a copy of this book through a giveaway online. Thank you for sending it to me and writing it, Rich. I will review it honestly with a family member as I received two copies as part of the giveaway. So one for me and another.

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Dec 27, 2020 Allison Krulik rated it did not like it

Weird, just weird. I didn't actually finish the book because I wasn't all that interested and honestly just confused half the time because of all the wordiness. ...more

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Nov 01, 2020 Hannah rated it did not like it

Shelves: giveaways, popsugar

What did I just read?

Unlike most of the reviewers, I did finish the book in its entirety, but it certainly did not help me understand.....anything really about this book. There is one review on here that was obviously written by the author, and honestly it explained the book better than the book itself.

Now, if you love bad books, this one is perfect for you. All of the author's attempts to be serious or meaningful had me laughing because of how bad it was. I'm kinda upset I didn't get 3 copies o ...more

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Aug 29, 2020 Arlene added it

Could not get into it. It was like it should have been book 2 or 3 of a series. And then I got
another copy in the mail. It was bad enough I didn't order it in the first place. Now I have
2 I have to get rid of. ...more

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Oct 02, 2020 Carolyn rated it did not like it

Disclosure: This book was received as a promotional giveaway via Goodreads.

Perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind but no matter how hard I tried I wasn't able to connect with the characters or the story. Maybe I'll come back to it in the future but as of today I didn't enjoy it.

...more

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Sep 27, 2020 Elizabeth Gordon rated it it was ok

Weird. Would not recommend to anyone. A book I could not understand.

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Dec 20, 2020 Book Club of One rated it did not like it

Shelves: giveaways, fiction, fantasy

* I received a free copy of this book after entering a Book Riot contest.*

Balcony of Fog Arden, a peon in a dystopian future America(?) is planning his escape when he meets Estra a mysterious (naked) woman who appeared out of the fog. They escape into the wilderness and then somehow journey to the cloud realm. There they seek to start a new life together until Estra's past catches up with them.

Thankfully this book was short, but I spent almost the whole of it wondering what was actually happeni ...more

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Nov 15, 2020 Ryo rated it did not like it

Shelves: giveaways

I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

The first few pages were already confusing, with some action taking place up in the air that leaves the protagonist, Arden, injured. Then there's some attempt at world-building in this post-apocalyptic America (and I only knew it was America from the inside of the jacket), with what seemed like a promising setup with people separated into nine levels according to class and gender. But then there's a sudden romance between Arden and ...more

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Dec 06, 2020 Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) marked it as to-read

I see a lot of people confused as to how they got this book in the mail. There was a recent Book Riot giveaway for an iPad, and it said you'd get this book free just for entering. So if you entered that giveaway, that's why you've gotten this. That's how I got it. If you didn't enter that giveaway, then I don't know. ...more

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About Rich Shapero

Rich Shapero

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Rich Shapero is a writer and musician whose multimedia storytelling projects pioneer unseen worlds. He published his debut novel, Wild Animus in 2004 and in the mid-2000’s founded TooFar Media to produce and distribute his multimedia stories and future works. He is the recipient of the 2015 Digital Book World Award for Best Adult Fiction App for The Hope We Seek.

Rich creates visionary landscapes a ...more