Brian
Runs very close to the film with the major story beats, with a couple of additional scenes (including a slightly different ending and some expansion of certain scenes from the classic movie). All in all, it does feel like it is one of the rare times that the creative liberties that the movie took actually enhanced the decent story here. Quick and easy to get through and while written well, it probably trends a tad too much towards a children's book at times for the average adult reader.
A solid, yet straight-forward murder mystery with some well-written and fun family theatrics that play well into the pace of the story. The backdrop of the NFL played really well into the real story about a familial and political power struggle with (the good) shades of all of the movies and television shows about rich people behaving badly. A slight downfall might be that there aren't too many twists, turns, or surprises and even though the whodunnit was really more of a subplot, the final answer to it felt a little uninspired.
Writing was a little bit elementary, more in-line with the Mile Morales novel than what seemed to be a higher-level of writing from the Loki one. Action wasn't very detail-oriented or graphic or lengthy and dialogue was a bit clunky and even hard to follow as it bounced from one character to another in over-populated scenes. While it was intriguing to have a dynamic with a massive number of villains to play with, the ones they focused on in more depth fell flat. The Avengers that were selected were all engaging and the references to their character histories were easy noticed and appreciated. Would tend to say that this was written for a younger demographic than one or both of the aforementioned novels and the ending seemed a bit of a dramatic move and somewhat of a cop-out to solving the crisis.
Feels like a long read, but is definitely readable. While one might get through the prose quickly (maybe due to short chapters), it does seem to take too long a time to get to any big reveal about what is really going on. It starts with some familiar story beats as it is introducing supporting characters and stories that will eventually connect and does a decent drop planting little seeds of intrigue. Yet, it does get a little run of the mill without many answers or surprise for the bulk of the book, and even gets a bit difficult to keep track of which characters are related (or report) to whom and even which agencies (or even countries) they represent. The action scenes are written very well (maybe even excellently), but are few and far between. A decent-sized frustration could be that there really isn't much clarity, explanation, or full understanding of the extent of things until the last 20-30 pages.
If you know the premise going into this classic story, this becomes a fairly straight forward journey (but still worth it). It has a good pace and some strong pivotal scenes that are driven by great, creative detail in the writing. The clear story struture and conclusive/neat ending, coupled with a few story beats that might surprise, also make this a quick and satisfying read.
Just a tad slow getting to the main plot, but the writing does move quickly and strong character development is the result of said pace. Does a very good job painting the picture of the rich lifestyle and some decent commentary on the privileged, while also having a clear feeling that it takes place in the heart of New York. The dynamics of the tunnel are well flushed out and the impact of what is seen on the other side is layered in and built piece by piece very nicely. Some of the elements in the third act did have a tinge of ‘Mean Girls' to them and and the motivations eventually revealed were a bit undercooked or adolescent, but a well written and action-oriented ending lands well.
A little difficult to follow the prose and took a very long time to realize that this was a story about an undercover recruit- even what agency (is it even a government one?) the main character is now working for. Felt like way to much detail, side-story, and unnecessary background and backstory in the first 25%. Not sure we even know the main plot, other than some revenge-driven man going after a really bad-man? The whole who, what, when, where, why, how is a very slow, unengaging burn. The entire read feels disjointed and the opposite of ‘readable' often going off track and into irrelevant content. Ironic that about halfway through the author uses the phrase ‘scattershot method of talking', when scattershot is the abjective that is the only way I can think to describe how this writing actually reads.
Outside of the Marvel elements baked into the plot, the pace was quick and more character driven than action-oriented or even marred in conflict. It might be slightly confusing in the beginning with the fragmented storytelling and jumping around, but the appearances from adjacent characters (and teams), in addition to a plethora of name drops, is still a plenty. This story itself turns out to be more about discovering your identity and the true meaning of family, but it does take a slightly surprising turn for an exciting and well-earned ending.
While there is a decent flow and narrative to the novel, it is a thick read with detailed storytelling that feels at times ‘stuck in the weeds' - it doesn't even begin to unravel the central mystery until about halfway through. There are long stretches of well-written prose, but even the exposition around the cold case provide too much detail about the circumstances and characters that end up making it a bit of a slog in parts. The reveals are decent (if not disturbing), but at the same time, they are nothing unique, shocking, or even surprising if you've read a handful of dark thrillers before.
Good Indiana Jones type adventure- Good, quick, easy to read writing. A little repeititive in the back half as each part of the adventure eventually got a little predictable and somewhat surface-level. A bit of a disappointing ending similar to a lot of ancient mystery hunt stories.
Was surprised how detailed-oriented and tactical this was, where one might have expected this to be much more of wartime strategy laid out as a metaphor that can be broadly applicable to regular hurdles in our lives. This instead gets granular to the level of describing how to set up meticulously planned border attacks around identified targets and how to weaken generals by making them spread their forces, or even how to capture and repurpose munitions. There are a few applicable takeaways that someone could mine for - including when and how to strategize, design, then execute a plan to win a (proverbial) battle... maybe even stretched to connect to how to handle certain everyday personal or professional conflict.
This could be a one-sitting book for a lot of people and it is definitely a quick, streamlined guide to a spiritually healthy life. The simplicity of the plan that the author lays out is also what makes this such a plausible, practical, and encouraging read. And anyone who is not already in tune with these concepts or wired this way will certainly have a plethora of takeaways from the book.
There aren't too many variations from the most recent movie version of this book (or vice-versa, maybe), but this is worth the read based on the quality of the writing and a slight additional depth that you get with the characters, action, and storyline. It seems like any novels in this series would ultimately be best served for those that have not seen the corresponding films or can't recall the story beats, thus allowing for the potential of fresh and exciting journeys.
Expect a much more immersive and vastly different version in the book than one might remember from the movie. And it's a bit crazy that this story about a poverish future where society lives mostly in a Metaverse was written almost 15 years ago. The social commentary and depiction of where we seem to be headed in real life is not subtle, but is also not heavy-handed and is rather clear, concise, and pointed. Playing this out against the backdrop of virtual reality, video games, and a healthy obsession with pop culture made it a fun and engaging read that moved at a really good pace, while at its foundational level also being a well-told, unique treasure hunt story.
This is an excellent guide to the ‘Dos and Donts' around every aspect of the M&A process, starting right at the beginning of when you might even think about this strategy. It also provides a good overview of why and when companies might/should explore this path and ultimately can serve as the only thing you need for each step of the venture.
This is a really good introspective narrative about having the right attitude and turning so many negative things in the world to a positive outlook. Anyone looking for a guide on how to live a mentally healthy life should give this a go. Plenty of takeaways on how to be a better, stronger, more impactful human in this crazy world that continuously will throw challenges/problems at you. A guide to a better mental state and a glass half (or all the way) full attitude, if you will.
In the spirit of sprawling tales like Lord of the Rings, this has strong dialogue and creates a whole new world for the reader. At the same time, it can also be tough to understand new words, phrases, and terminology specific to the stage being set and it can make it a slow read, at times. The swashbuckling vibe mixed with a con artist/thief dynamic worked very well, especially with extremely well written, cinematic action scenes that never pulled any punches.
There is a very cinematic depth to the backdrop of this and the characters are well developed through some strong dialogue and the quick pace of the story. The intrigue around the wider picture works really well as things are unraveled for the reader at the same time as the main character, including some nefarious reveals that might make you wonder how far it's all gonna go. The prose is strong and there are some very clear stakes as the writer doesn't tread lightly or serve up any of those frustrating misdirects and time-wasting subplots.
There are some really good stories, examples, and ‘case studies' in this book that serve as blueprint for dealing with a fractured team that will have objections, doubt, and pushback relevant to team building. It does a really good job articulating what Leaders face but struggle to hone in on or a desired culture they struggle to cascade. It is just as clever as the other fables written by this author, using characters as a way to make the (sometimes) abstract point. This serves as a great cliff notes version or roadmap on how to rebuild, or first build, a proper harmonized team.
Another solid action tale with the same amount of surprising depth to the writing as the original Bond novel. This one ventures into a completely new world/dynamic for the character which keeps it intriguing, and there continues to be more of a fallible nature to the hero than in the films that makes him more human.
The methodology was well outlined and this certainly serves as an in-depth look at what makes a team shine over time. At times, though, the case by case analysis of every leader as the potential protype goes down quite long-winded rabbit holes (with examples as granular as play by play through certain games or moments) when it might be better served with some examples from the five or ten-thosand foot view. If one is to slog through all of the detail and a formula at the end that doesn't seem to add up, there are some decent takeaways, mantras, and best practices in the final chapter or two.
It is uniquivocally rare that I do not finish a book - be it even ones with bad writing, confusing exposition, or ridiculous story beats. In this case, what I thought was going to be a book rooted in understanding people better that promotes self-awareness and self-improvement, instead turned out to be the equivalent of a clinical psychology textbook pointing everything to one's upbringing. But all of the reptitive deep psyche analysis and categorization becomes hard to follow or keep interest in, and it's even unclear how it all ties into some sort of Games People Play. The whole manifest seems like just a methodoloical way of explaining how world works and the dynamics at play and one might also give up before even the halfway point.
This entry into the series suffered a bit by being all over the place- ironic as it is, based on the protagonist(s). It's clear what the author was trying to do with multiple points-of-view, but it became hard to track/follow some of the jumping around even with the strong prose. The idea to merge some of these characters on paper is great, but the story struggled to find an interesting or engaging macguffin and while there were some mentions/references about a wider universe, prior books involved said people and things much more in significant pieces of the narrative. And way too little of Eddie for a tale centered around Venom...
It is hard not to wonder if this ‘corporate fable' is somewhat of an Autobiography, one both about fixing a mess at the office while also being one about trying to save a marriage. While this reads like a story more than a textbook/guide, it does have a clear point it is trying to make. However, it does get very convoluted and a bit hard to follow when the infamous Jonah introduces and helps implement new process and a whole new measuring system for success - some analogies or adjacent examples wouldve helped tremendously. This book is a long way of saying dont believe everything you are handed down and consistently try to innovate or look at things through alternate lenses than what everyone might be used to.
One might expect this to be a twisty, psychological thriller and while at times it does get disturbing, this is more of a (basic) detective's journey to solving a murder than a deep, dark tale about a serial killer on a rampage. There are certainly the elements that one would anticipate, but surprisingly, there is very little Hannnibal and some of the creative choices are either predictable or sometimes a bit silly - SPOILER ALERT - would a serial killer really be ultimately foiled by falling in love? And these shortcomings aren't helped by slightly elementary or unevolved prose.