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Stranded
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November 2021 Group Read #2 - Stranded
Wow, this looks like a good one! I haven't read this one either and am looking forward to it, great choice :-)
I read this one back 2016. It's not completely fresh in my mind but I remember enjoying it. It was a little bit of a slow burn but I recall pulpable tension and some unique and creepy premises.
I was hit with one of my occasional bouts of insomnia last night and knew I'd be getting very little sleep so I said screw it and decided to start one of my HA Group Read books.
I made it to Chapter 16 (37% according to my Kindle) before calling it a night. I can't help but feel like this could have used a heavier hand to edit it. I like slow burn building dread in a horror book but this is a bit ridiculous. Nothing happens for a really long time. There's almost three chapters at the beginning devoted to the history of the fishing industry and the main character's family that have absolutely no bearing on the story. Meanwhile, seemingly key bits of exposition are dropped with a single sentence. It's really starting to get good now but I definitely think some bits could have been excised for the sake of pace.
It is definitely a slow burn with a constant building of tension. As to the main character's (Noah) family history info, it actually gives some insight into the relationship between him and the ship's captain. I loved the atmosphere and building tension, it made me want to keep reading, but I was rather disappointed with the twist to the plot and not much explanation for it, as well as the ending. I feel Macleod missed an opportunity with this one. It had such promise. It ended up a 3 star read for me, good not great. I hope everyone likes it better, though!😊
I just finished this today. I enjoyed it a lot, right up until the ending. It is definitely a slow burn but I like that as long as the tension keeps gradually building which in Stranded it definitely does. I enjoyed the twist however it's the sudden ending and lack of explanation that I didn't like. It's almost as if MacLeod himself couldn't come up with a satisfactory explanation so just ended the book and really left the reader hanging.To be honest it is really frustrating, it was easily a 4 star book up to that point and it dropped to a 3 star at the end.
I can get the audio from my library! :D I'm hoping to squeeze this one in this month. I'd never heard of this book before but it sounds interesting and mixed reviews... now I'm curious!
I finished it. I liked it but I like the twist and it’s one of my favorite types of science fiction (view spoiler) so when it veered in that direction I was excited and couldn’t put it down.
Alan wrote: "Started reading tonight, with appropriate background noise:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkh1..."
Thank you for sharing, Alan! I also like listening to background noise while reading.
I ordered a cheap used copy online and it's taking its time in the mail. Hoping to have in the next week!
Alan wrote: "Started reading tonight, with appropriate background noise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkh1..."
Oo that's a perfect one for this book!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGkh1..."
Oo that's a perfect one for this book!!
Finished it. This is my review (which doesn't contain any spoilers): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I liked the first half of the book much better than the second half.
I liked the first half of the book much better than the second half.
I just started the third and final part of the book. I agree with you, Alan, that the vitriol between Noah and his father-in-law is over-exaggerated. Reminds me of WWF wrestling matches with overly dramatic feuds to pump up ratings. I am digging the cold atmosphere, the bleak landscape, the isolation. I'm not sure about the new direction the story has taken, however.
The ending, however, still awaits . . . . !
Alan wrote: "Finished it. This is my review (which doesn't contain any spoilers): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I liked the first half of the book much better than the second half."
Yep, that's how I felt. Nice review!
I finished the book last night. It seems I, too, was disappointed with the second half of the book. It opened up too many unknowns for me, ones that were not explained and left multiple plot holes. I did like the atmosphere and the setting, however.
I'm glad to see so many other people feel the same way as I did. good first half, not so god second half!
Just started reading. The first couple of chapters are off to a rousing start. I'm sorry that the ending seems to drop the ball for a lot of readers :( I'll keep my expectations low.
I just started too, I'm at about 30% and already underwhelmed. I agree I don't get this hate towards the MC too, especially in a life thretening situation you'd try to forget the grudges and stick together, no?
I'm still only about 130 pages in, but I'm enjoying myself. I have to admit that so far, it reminds me of The Terror by Dan Simmons. This is not as detailed as that book was, but I did learn a lot about explorers getting stuck in the ice, sometimes for more than a year or two. Can you even imagine? What do you think it smelled like below decks after men have been living there for a year?
Char wrote: "I'm still only about 130 pages in, but I'm enjoying myself. I have to admit that so far, it reminds me of The Terror by Dan Simmons. This is not as detailed as that book was, but I did learn a lot ..."We all have this image of large ships, those wood ships were fairly small. I visited the Fram Museum in Oslo and they have a wood ship, its the only ship to have gone to the Arctic and Antarctic. You were ablet o actaully walk the ship, go inside all the rooms . It was amazing. And tiny,
https://frammuseum.no/
I have to agree I get shades of the Terror as well. I am not far into the book, but I have not read the comments.
Jennifer wrote: "Char wrote: "I'm still only about 130 pages in, but I'm enjoying myself. I have to admit that so far, it reminds me of The Terror by Dan Simmons. This is not as detailed as that book was, but I did..."Wow, that place looks cool! Thanks for posting that.
It's a bit late in the month, but I'm finally getting started on this one! The blurb sounded really intriguing, so here's hoping I enjoy it and it's not *too* slow burn for me.
I’m not used to such short chapters but they make for fast reading, only 50 pages in but I’m really enjoying it.
I finished it yesterday and I have to say I didn't enjoy reading it and gave it 2 stars. I don't know, I quickly lost interest and I felt like except for three characters all of them were interchangeable to me ((view spoiler)).
inciminci wrote: "I finished it yesterday and I have to say I didn't enjoy reading it and gave it 2 stars. I don't know, I quickly lost interest and I felt like except for three characters all of them were interchan..."makes for easy character development lol!
I'm about a third of the way through. I'm also getting some major vibes of The Terror. I loved The Terror so I'm hoping that's a good sign. Some early chapters were slow moving but it's starting to get interesting again. I still remember people being disappointed by the ending, though.
I finished late last night. I'm not saying anything about the ending or the last quarter or so of the book, I don't want to ruin it for everyone.
(view spoiler)
I gave it 3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4 for Goodreads because I did find it compelling reading.













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