I have to admit that I do somewhat agree with the critics of this book. It was kind of a slog and not a whole lot happens for long stretches of pages.

But I loved all of these characters so much that by the end I didn't care at all about that other stuff.

August 14, 2021

Loved the plot and really wanted to like this book. But after 200 or so pages I found myself constantly wanting to see the plot move forward faster and knew I couldn't make it through another 700+ pages of it.

February 1, 2013
February 10, 2015

I've re-read this book once a year or so since it came out. It stays as enjoyable every time.

September 18, 2015

A good read, but not great. It was mostly character development for the rest of the series, which isn't bad in itself, but way too much for a 700+ page novel.

September 4, 2013

much better than the first. even though the violence was disturbingly graphic, the story was great and all that character set-up in the first on finally paid off.

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Series losing steam? How many murders can happen during one year in a small English town?

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Not quite as good as the first, but still terrific.

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Even better than the first

June 28, 2024

Just like a ton of other dystopian, fall of civilization novels. The EMP cause was a bit interesting, but the writing itself was meh. It's also sort of heavy on the “Red Dawn” like NRA propaganda.

May 1, 2016

What a fantastic book. I can't recommend it enough. Enjoyable, thought-provoking, and unpredictable. I really loved it. My new favorite book of 2016.

December 4, 2016
July 20, 2015

Clever and funny. There are lots of terrific passages and lines.

But the format does wear after a while and I found that I was missing a “story.”

October 30, 2017

Just as good as the other two books in the series. Brown gets the story to a realistic and satisfying ending. I can't wait until I forget everything about it and can re-read them all again. One of the few perks of getting older.

May 15, 2016

Best of the series since the first one. Different from the rest of the series. It will take the series in a new, needed direction.

April 29, 2014

Where's the third book?!!? :-)

August 5, 2016
April 21, 2018

Not my favorite John Varley book, but that's a pretty darn high bar. It was still a compelling and terrific read.

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