Brig Berthold
This book was almost good. I wanted to like it, I started it with pleasure and I was let down with each new chapter. Please do not peddle a book about a fantastic ball player, market it almost entirely on his religion, hop from one random topic to the next and all the while write your autobiography at the same time. This made me very angry and I'm sorry I wasted so much of my time waiting for this to get better.
This book was on the shelf for approx. $1.00 new. I now know why.
This book started off strong, was pretty sluggish at the mid-way point, and ended in damn near amazingland. Yeah, you've been there.
“Blurred lines” a Coen bros film. That's what this book should be called. Almost everything was two sides of the same coin and it was super worthwhile.
Protagonist vs. Antagonist? Blurry.
Right vs. Wrong? Blurry.
Piety vs. Perversion? Blurry.
Perhaps the shining accomplishment of this tale was the gorgeous scene setting. Every leaf sagged under the the dew of Joy's love of Jackson County. I kid you not, I have not often been so totally transported to a story's locale like I was with this one. What's more? Joy found a way to make even the landscape a chatacter in the story. He used it to provide exposition and to set tone and to inspire feeling and it was wonderful.
Fair warning: It's a bit dark-ish.
The substance was satisfying.
The writing was great.
The social and human commentary was fantastic.
Officially, I would give this 3.75 Stars.
The detail was excellent. The planning and plotting were almost visceral. The world building was justly large-scale.
That being said, I found occasion to complain far too often to be as fully impressed as the masses claim to have been. Repeatedly throughout I found myself, quite innocently, bored. I don't want to fight through a novel but I'm not against it if I'm duly rewarded. That's not to say this book wasn't supreme in it's reveal, it certainly was. I found, however, the pace and timing of the story a bit too lumbering at an alarming regularity.
The final scenes ought to have been an afterward rather than being included in the bulk of the tale. Furthermore, the finality needed desperate help in being more concise. Robert gets the girl, I get it. They have sex, preceded by banter and foreplay, good for him. I don't need so much time wasted on denouement.
Q-Worthwhile?
A-Without question.
Q-Greatest book ever? Greatest thrill ride ever?
A-No ... and ... no.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Can't beat a good spy thriller. Hard to match up against Ken Follett, who seems to do everything well.
A lot of people hated this book. I have read reviews labeling it tedious, laborious, and gratuitously painful for the protagonist. In my opinion, things are just as they ought to be in the lives of Thomas and his band of “candidates.”
First, the blueprints W.I.C.K.E.D. is attempting to map out/discover must be the neurological pathways triggered by various life circumstances, responses, emotions, etc. Furthermore, I believe they are attempting to discover how those pathways react with/possibly defeat the neurological disease wreaking havoc in the world.
Second, given the theory I have illustrated above, that is what book two is all about. Book one was fantastic. A completely new idea, filled with intrigue, and it left all of us wanting to discover more; wanting to discover why. The Scorch Trials is here to set the stage for Book three.
Third, do not tell me you expected anything to change, or for things to get better at the end of this installment. The casual nonchalance of the guy at the end, the one Thomas was pointing a gun at, was way too practiced to be anything but planned for.
Lastly, and most brilliant of all, is the (don't worry I won't spoil it for you) relationship between Thomas and Teresa... Brilliant. Fine work Dashner. Damn fine.
Ugh...I'm glad this was free. Usually, the Audible annual Christmas gift book is a delight. And, judging by the overwhelming majority of positive reviews I must be the exception here. That being said I don't have to like this story.
I thought it was entirely predictable. Boring and mercifully short. I read older stories like this often. So my issue had nothing at all to do with the language or anachronistic setting.
The one thing deserving of praise was the way the author depicted the thing I can't talk about for fear of spoilers. But it actually succeeded in making me sad. That was nice hahaha.
This is 100% brain candy. And for what it is, it's fun. For you hyper-critical readers (like me) you'll be rolling your eyes at the redundancy of detail and the syntax issues. But suspending that, it was a pretty good time. Palate cleanser for sure.
I will catch hate for this, but here goes.
I'm pissed! The only reason this book is called Burner is because Greaney just burned all his readers.
There is little to no emotional tension. We barely care about the characters. The plot was largely stale. The political implications were the heartbeat of the narrative. Then, somehow, we are left with nearly zero political fallout!? One person dies, the other resigns, that's it?! The journalism angle never paid off.
Not once have I been disappointed in this series. Perhaps that is the source of my frustration.
Just fantastic. Authoritative, accessible, richly detailed. How can you not be romantic about baseball? Fischman gets it and, here, he's told a deeply human story the way it deserved to be told.
A blow-by-blow accounting of the military history of Afghanistan, labeled ‘The Graveyard of Empires' for a reason.
Tanner does more to illustrate the history of this region than any other work I've come upon. Cited references, thoroughly conducted research, and what appears to be years of difficult scavenging the world round for information. The information is presented clearly and without embellishment. Topping it all off, the author offers his personal suggestion of how the world should treat Afghanistan moving forward; note that this information finalizes circa 2002.
Overall, this is stellar, high-brow research with easily accessed information.
In truth this book deserves both 2 star and 4 star ratings; of course they must only be bestowed upon certain parts of the book on either side. Hence, my 3 star rating.
Masterful and Engaging
I could not say enough about how brilliant this collection was. I was held in a tight but loving embrace from start to finish.
Quirky and Fun; Short but Complete
I didn't know what I would get from this one but it was far more enjoyable than I expected. Nothing too deep, here. Just some good old (?) millennial romance, barely longer than a tweet. For what it's worth, I hope the author makes a boatload selling micro-novellas like this.
I'm giving it 3-stars merely because it WAS a complete story. Something I know personally is difficult to accomplish.
Audible Freebies almost NEVER work out. This one did.
I know this is a cop-out but I really feel like I have just experienced the equivelant of a foreward or a preface to the greater whole.
I'm not sure it is possible to have a well founded opinion of this book without first reading at least the next book in the series. From what little I know, all installments of the series are best thought of as a single, continuous book.
Meh.
Way too much extraneous detail. Lots of padding. There is anlot to recommend this story but I'm afraid much of it was lost in the quagmire of “mostly uninteresting and irrelevant.”
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC
I was WAY too into this book. The characters were so well thought-out and wonderfully developed. The plot was layered and just good enough to be called “rich.” But the best part of it all was the tone.
Scott Thomas is clearly an accomplished writer, but a quick glance at his bio is illuminating. From the moment this book began I was gripped. Scene setting, world building, pacing, all formed a unique and excellent experience. It was as good as most Stephen King novels; better than some for sure.
The language is intense. The content of this book is very adult and readers should know that going in. But it always served a greater purpose and I didn't feel ig was gratuitous or beyond the barriers set by honoring his characrters. But it'll certainly offend some people.
If you like scary stories, don't miss this one.
I loved this book.
The story expanded perfectly for a sequel.
The cliffhangers were staggering...yeah, there are multiple.
The characters developed along with the story and I never felt as though either plot or character development suffered for the sake of the other. Shusterman's dynamic voice and brilliant imagination stole the show, once again. Often, sequels are a let-down, but this is not one of those times. Multiple times I wanted to throw the book. Twice, I was brought to tears—in the same scene no less. I had just recovered myself to continue and I was blindsided not three paragraphs later. Well played, Shusterman.
One thing I will allow for greater specificity is my admiration of Shusterman's tact when it comes to sex. Nothing is blatant. He is artful and subtle—even gentle—in his suggestion that sex is even present in the story. He leaves room for those who wish to interpret his words to include, or to omit. This shows me that he truly understands and respects his audience. Obviously, this is one of many examples where love for his readers shines through, but this detail is both the noblest and the most endearing.
Encore! Encore!
Zach Anner delivers his candid and irreverent views on coming of age, finding love, and crapping your pants.
I appreciated Zach's hilarious delivery of a very personal narrative. The book chronicles Zach's incredible 30 year life. His stories inspired me like good vinyl on repeat and I will refer back to them frequently. Being as open as he was is compelling, but I often felt the urge to applaud at regular intervals. I love being around people who hunt positivity and while I don't know Zach personally, I can now have his optimism and zeal in my life at a moment's notice.
I wish him the best of luck and I want more Zach Anner. Consider this my lighter thrust in the sky as I passively beg for an encore.
