Andrew
I was enthusiastic for the first third of the book, by half way through however, it started to feel heavy. It seemed to dwell more in the older time period, and much of that was a sappy romance between Mireille and Tallyrand. There is adventure here, but also a lot of fantasy, romance. It did not hold as much mystery or suspense for me. The secret contained in the Montglane service felt forced and over the top.
I liked the setting and the way we learned about the character history for the first 3/4 of the story, but then it got a little silly while also invalidating a fair part of the setting's history and left too many loose ends in my opinion.
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book, but something about the conclusion just felt a little too “bow on top”. And yea, there were those messy parts, but still, somehow...
Others wrote about the glacial pace, but I did not feel that way at all. I appreciate that the author spent half the book helping us to learn about Kalchakra and Harry's world before the conflict between he and his nemesis becomes clear.
Liked the tvmovie. Got about 100 pages into this, but it just moved very slow. Yes, the tvmovie was slow too, but...
This felt a little shorter and less complex than any of the three “Wool” omnibus's. I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next Sand omnibus.
It took me in terribly long time to finish this very short book. I liked the style of writing, but it moved slowly, and didn't really go anywhere interesting. This is more about politics/corruption with racial undertones. Was hoping for some science twist with the elevators but there was NONE.
Outstanding multi-layered mystery thriller with excellent character development. There are some dark, one very disturbing patch along the way... The conclusion is a little bittersweet, but practical and not much of a surprise. Very fast read. I want to go out right away to pick up the next book in the series.
[b:Dragon 2429135 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) Stieg Larsson http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275608878s/2429135.jpg 1708725] primarily dealt with Mikael Blomkvist and the Vanger family, in Fire we (finally) learn a lot more about Salander. Definitely recommend you read Dragon first to understand the continuing characters. After Dragon and some of it's dark moments, I was just a bit concerned that Fire may be too dark for my taste with the cover summary stating that Blomkvist's next big story will be about sex trafficking. After completing Fire, and can say that I thought Dragon was actually the darker of the two stories. Still very good character development. After the crime, each new character introduction had me considering how they could possibly be integrated into the crimes! I also thought the suspense for the 40 year old Vanger disappearance was better than the present day crime that Fire deals with. I felt the background and development for two of the characters was a little extreme (you know who if you've read). There were some strange turns in Dragon, but it all felt believable. These two characters in Fire were just a little too extreme for me to chalk this up as a believable story. Yes this is fiction, but but not fantasy... There were some very big points were left unfinished and I was disappointed with the cliffhanger ending. I am still looking forward to reading Hornet, but wish I could begin it with a clean slate, not to close things that should already be resolved.
I had a really hard time staying motivated to read this. Took me much longer than books of similar lengths. I appreciate the style of writing pays tribute to your smaller modern western town, and that part of that may be a slower pace. I appreciate the skill of the author to to artfully describe and convey the beauty of the west. But it needed something else to build suspense or keep you excited, and I found that lacking.
Shorter novella unlike her other books that were each very good. Read 33% and this wasn't giving much focus to a plot or the characters.
2.5 stars. Slow starting. At least 1/3 of the way in before there was any character development to be interesting. The mid part was good, but then there was 5-10 years as flashback/epilogue to conclude which felt rushed.
It started out okay, and I kind of enjoyed it, but I prefer a little more character development. The action was a little too unbelievable, and there was a little too much of it. Not the type of writing I was expecting from a former FBI agent. The dialog between Vail and the two women in the novel was corny at times. The twist at the end, well I started suspecting that no later than half way into the book.
This was the weakest of the 3 books, but in the end there was a mind bending payoff.
Other than the first few chapters setting the stage, the rest of the first half was disappointing and hard to read. What a slog to read a text version of Jurassic park. Finally that ended and we returned to learn about more about the grid. I read the first part of the reveal one evening, and was troubled to make sense of it. Feared it was going to be one of those sci-fi stories that pushed too far and had a ridiculous ending. I had to make a few notes and think about what I had read and was finally able to get an understanding of it. Was able to start the next read with optimism for the finish. What a whirlwind. Amazing trio of books. I will read more of AG again some day, but need a breather after this with something less intense.
The extended epilogue online seemed over the top. Don't bother, wish I would have skipped that.
Really enjoyed the characters, places, mystery and story development here. Was able to forgive the author for the crazy religious implications that were approached. The end really left you hanging and I felt ripped off for the time invested to get no closure at the end.
A quick read and I liked it. But a little slow for my taste.
Felt it got too bogged down with all the internal dialog about taking Miltown.
I didn't like this at all. Court's character has undergone significant changes. In the first book he was an ace singleton assassin. Although the first was over the top at times, it was entertaining and I wanted to believe it. The second just didn't work for me in too many ways. It seemed as if Court developed some kind of Lifetime Chanel disorder, questioning all of his own actions. Author could be developing a story arc here, this book to show Court's own weaknesses, and the next his rise back to greatness, but... Surprised this and the first book were written by the same author.
Had read book #1 some time ago. Enjoyed this quite a bit. Was a little disappointed in how quickly and cleanly the story ended, but will certainly read more about the commissario.
I had forgotten I tried to read this until I stumbled across Lori's review, which was identical with my experience
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6050831
Had seen this recommend several times, but with a title like “murderbot” I figured it would be just another sci fi shoot em up, so I kept passing it by.
While there are parts like that, it is so much more and I am so glad I finally gave it a chance. At times MB is funny. We also get a great ride observing MB's personal journey and friendship with the humans and other artificial life forms along the way.
Read them all in short order after this first one.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. There was extensive character development, and the story moves along (most of the time). I would classify it as more of a fantasy with strong romance tones. I more of a mystery buff and this had some of that, and the conclusion was satisfying, but left a number of unanswered questions.
I haven't read any Murakami before. I was cautious about embarking upon this due to it's length, but overall it didn't bother me in this case.