Matt Ellis

Overall, this was a really interesting story. I thought the plot was intriguing and kept me hooked.

Not 5 stars because there were several dialogue moments in the book that were a bit confusing and took me out of the story.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend.

This was my 2nd Blake Crouch read (Dark Matter) and I enjoy his style of writing. Dark Matter was good, but this book was incredible! The plot line is very unique and I was hooked trying to figure out how this was going to end.

I also listened to this via audio book and the reader was excellent.

5/5 would recommend!

This book is for anyone who loves science fiction! Look no further, just go ahead and read it.

This book has such an interesting concept, and a completely different take on what might happen if humans met an alien civilization.

Minor complaint: I which there were some better character development throughout this book. I also had a harder time at first with the names, but this was originally a Chinese based book, so that is expected.

After getting 40% through this book, I couldn't go any further. I really wanted to like this series but it just isn't for me. If you liked this book, great!

I really like the premise of this story and I think it could have been exceptional. However, I just find myself not caring for any of the characters - even Darrow. I thought Red Rising was OK, but this was a step back for me.

My issues:
1. As in Red Rising, Darrow can again do no wrong. Or when something doesn't go his way he just magically is better and saves the moment and everyone loves him.
2. Way too many characters to try and keep track of, many of which don't seem to play much of a role.
3. I can't see any reason to root for Darrow at the moment.

I had high hopes for this book. I have read a lot of reviews that really praised it... I must be missing something because it was just ok for me.

The issues:
1. Character developments. We really don't get to see our protagonist develop in this book. Stuff happens to him, but I wanted his character to struggle more with his choices. Some of these big defining moments were just done and then moved on. Also, we are introduced to a TON of other characters and get zero development from them.
2. Our protagonist seems to be perfect in everything he does. He is missing some character flaws for me.
3. The middle part of the book gets a little repetitive. It is a different conflict of the same flavor.

After getting past some of those issues, I must say, I enjoyed the book. I was hooked at the beginning! I just fell off the “this is incredible” bandwagon shortly there after. I also love the overall plot of the book. I just need a little more. It was good enough that I will continue on with book 2.