November 2021 Group Read #2 - Stranded

[LTJ]

Just starting this one now and can't wait! LoL 1% at the moment with much more to go...

[Kasia]

99% to go lol!

[Kasia]

On page 158, gah..

[Latasha]

Alan wrote: "Started reading tonight, with appropriate background noise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkh1..."

love this Alan!

[Latasha]

I think I will get the audible version and start this Monday.

[Char]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, Latasha!

[Kasia]

Latasha wrote: "I think I will get the audible version and start this Monday."

Awesome :) I'm on page 207, this reads really quickly, hope to finish today. Maybe I can still catch up to my reading goal, I only have like 30 books left to read lol.

[Latasha]

Kasia wrote: "Latasha wrote: "I think I will get the audible version and start this Monday."

Awesome :) I'm on page 207, this reads really quickly, hope to finish today. Maybe I can still catch up to my reading..."

i set my goal really low this year. i have 3 to go.

[LTJ]

11% in so far and wow, what a story so far. Love the characters and am genuinely curious as to what the hell is going on. LoL enjoying this one right off the bat...

[Kasia]

I can't stand it when my brain flips characters. Brewster and Boucher often appearing in the same line makes me stop and think "ok Brewster is this guy, and Boucher is that character, ok, keep reading" anyone else does that lol?

[LTJ]

@Kasia: Yes, that happens to me too! LoL what I try to do whenever a character is introduced is say their name/role numerous times in my head so I don't get confused. I will say that will almost always happen to me with two characters that have the same starting later. Imagine how much easier it would have been if the characters were Brewster and Timothy?

[Kasia]

I usually have a mental image for each character in my head, like watching a movie but here it's not the easiest to keep track of a few of them haha.

[Kristen]

I am so behind! I started so long ago already but I just have had no time. I am enjoying it, just have not have a significant chunk of reading time the last two weeks.

[Netanella]

When I hear Brewster, I think of Beer! 😁

[Kasia]

Netanella wrote: "When I hear Brewster, I think of Beer! 😁"

Ahahah yes! A brewski!

[Char]

Kristen wrote: "I am so behind! I started so long ago already but I just have had no time. I am enjoying it, just have not have a significant chunk of reading time the last two weeks."

No worries, the read goes on all month and the thread still stays open even if you finish later than November. I hate when I get no time to read. It makes me very grouchy.

[Jennifer]

I am about halfway through. All I can say is boy what a toxic environment.

[Lee]

Finished today. I actually quite enjoyed this one!

I found the first 2 parts easy to read, the third a little less so. After seeing so many comments that it was a slow burn, I was a little worried I'd struggle to get into the story, but it flowed really easily for me.

(view spoilers)[I enjoyed part 2 the most. That ending though. What the heck was that! You can't just leave us hanging like that! Definitely knocked off some enjoyment for me.

I found Brewster to be almost too unlikeable. There was nothing to connect to at all, making him an almost cartoonish villain.

Also, Mickle 2 just rampaging at the end seemed unnecessary to me. Why? What did that add? It also doesn't mesh at all with the Mickle 1 we know. I guess the author could be trying to highlight the difference, but it fell flat for me.] (hide spoilers)

Overall, I did enjoy this book, and would check out other works by the author.

[Kasia]

^ Your spoilers are visible

[Kristen]

I finished last night. The book was just okay for me overall. I’m still mulling over what to rate it so I gave 3 stars for the time being. The ending left way too much unanswered as several people have mentioned already.

[Amanda]

I finished this book last night and gave it 3 stars. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but it started to fall off for me towards the middle and I didn't care for the ending.

[LTJ]

About to hit 40% in and Stranded has been a genuinely good read so far. I'm enjoying the character development, plot so far, and still not even sure what the hell is going on. LoL very much enjoying this one and since I'm off this entire week for vacation from work, will try to finish this one by tonight :-)

[Latasha]

I’m up to chapter 19. I really like it so far. I have so many thoughts about what’s going on. I can’t wait to find out what it really is.

[LTJ]

@Latasha: Very awesome and yeah, it's really mysterious, creepy, and interesting. I have no clue how it's going to end and am genuinely confused about what exactly is going on in a good way! 58% done, been trying to finish this soon since I have other books I want to read for the month but really hoping I can finish this before Thanksgiving :-)

[Latasha]

I’m at the “fight scene” and I have no idea anymore. I hope I can finish this today. I’m just as confused as the crew. Thanks to whoever nominated this book! I probably wouldn’t have read it on my own. For me, it’s a overlooked gem.

[LTJ]

@Latasha: That's how I feel, thanks to this group, I also wouldn't have found this. I can't wait to see how it ends and will keep reading away throughout the day and night :-)

[Latasha]

I’m almost done! I hope you get some rest and good food and are able to finish it this weekend too LTJ!

[Kasia]

I liked it, and I didnt even mind some of the ambiguity.

[LTJ]

@Latasha: Yay! Yeah, I just hit 60% and am about to do some laundry as I keep plugging away. Definitely on pace to finish it tonight in between matches of Magic The Gathering: Arena :-)

@Kasia: Nice! Yeah, I'm at the point now where things got really weird and very curious as to what awaits next. I'm digging it so far, as it stands now, it's in the 3 to 4 out of 5 range for me!

[Char]

I actually enjoy when things are ambiguous-most of the time. I did enjoy it here as well.

[LTJ]

@Char: Yeah, I'm starting to see the ambiguity that Kasia was talking about as I can't wait to finish this hopefully tonight. I can tell it's leading up to something big... hopefully!

[Kasia]

Solid 3.5 stars from me and I liked the (view spoiler)[ choice that Noah picked in the end (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]. (hide spoiler)]

[Yolanda]

I finished this last week. It was an interesting concept, but....the unexplained hatred for the main character by his father-in-law was over the top ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes. I wanted the main chartacter to punch him in the face! There were way too many questions left unanswered for my taste. I gave it 3 stars because I enjoyed the atmosphere.

[Vickie]

Yep, that's exactly how I felt, Yolanda.😊

[Alan]

That was almost exactly what I said in my review.

[Latasha]

I finished this yesterday. I liked it. 4 stars from me. I didn’t mind the ambiguity either!

[LTJ]

Just finished this one last night as I give “Stranded” by Bracken MacLeod a 3/5 for having an abundance of characters with several that were completely forgettable, pacing issues, and just a confusing plot that wasn’t explained in more detail towards the end of the novel.

Perhaps it was meant to be left with unanswered questions for readers to speculate on but when you read a horror novel about being stranded in the Arctic with “ghosts” heavily mentioned going into it, expectations are high but this ends up being a huge letdown. It starts off as a slow burn, gets good, then completely fizzles out.

I did very much enjoy the atmosphere of the ship and dealing with Arctic conditions. I felt from the halfway point on is when things got a bit boring and confusing with no explanation as to why things that happened... happened!

[Kristen]

I felt the same way. I can deal with some ambiguity, but this was too much for me. Someone said earlier in this thread that it seemed like MacLeod didn’t know how to explain it so he just ended it and I totally agree. I also agree with others who have the friction between Noah and his father in law was overdone. I thought that applied to some of the other characters’ hatred of Noah as well.

I struggled through the first third, then felt like it picked up in the middle, but the ending was a major disappointment for me. There were too many things that were completely unexplained for my liking.

[LTJ]

@Kristen: Completely agree and wow, yeah, now that makes sense. I think if MacLeod explained the reasoning behind what happened, it would have added more value to the reading experience. Leaving it up to interpretation and just having to "accept" it just because it is, never really works.

I felt this was more of a suspense/survival book than actual horror. The "ghosts" were a letdown in that regard as I wish more of that happened. I also wished more of that backstory as to why all that friction was toward Noah. Was he a lazy worker? A hypocrite? A lone wolf unwilling to be a team player? Again, more of these things fleshed out could have turned this into a great book for me.

[Kasia]

I was surprised that Brewster was always so mad at Noah, like he wasn't good enough to marry his daughter, but at the same time Brewster didn't seem to care about his own daughter either.

[LTJ]

@Kasia: Same here! I was hoping that would be explained as to why Brewster hated Noah so much, same with the crewmates. Just thought it was so weird without a real reason...

[Latasha]

The way I took it was Brewster didn’t like Noah to start with and when his daughter died, and he was a complete ass, he was taking his angry out of Noah and that piled on top of his preexisting dislike made it too much.

[Kasia]

Ahh that makes sense Latasha. Brewster didn't even like himself lol.

[Latasha]

I don’t think so. He was one of the worst characters I’ve read in a long time and omg who ever thought it was a good idea to put them together?!?!

[Kasia]

Not a single redeeming quality in Brewster, and that can be hard to read sometimes.

[Latasha]

Absolutely

[LTJ]

Excellent insight and yeah, I totally see it now as to why Brewster is the way he is...

[Kasia]

Having a good week reading LTJ? :) I'm trying to get some done myself haha.

[LTJ]

@Kasia: Oh yes! Finally finished Stranded and just started Dead in the Water. LoL my goal is to finish it before going back to work on Monday, fingers crossed :-)

How's your reading been?

[Amanda]

LTJ wrote: "@Kasia: Oh yes! Finally finished Stranded and just started Dead in the Water. LoL my goal is to finish it before going back to work on Monday, fingers crossed :-)

How's your reading been?"

@LTJ is Dead in the Water the one by Stuart Woods?