Grațian

TL;DR

I don't get the "masterpiece in the spy/thriller genre" reviews of this book. I watched the new TV show and I liked it way more than this book. I will explain more of my thoughts in the Extended section but in my opinion this is an average book. Starts boring, gets interesting towards the end and then the ending leave me unsatisfied. I do not agree with most of the people saying this is a great thriller/spy story. I would look elsewhere and just watch the new TV show.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The beginning is rather boring, we don't get to meet and start to follow the Jackal until halfway of the book. Once we get to that point it starts to get better. From there until the ending it's good.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): The books main problem in my opinion is how many character we get introduced and every single one of them has a backstory that we have to stop and learn when that character is meaningless to the story. We read half a chapter of their past then we don't see that character again and their arc doesn't even finish. It happens to so many characters in this book.

X - Characters: There are way to many characters, every time we get introduced to a new character we learn that he has another five people under his command, so we get names and descriptions of those characters as well. Even if they don't matter to the story. This is just my personal take but I hate French names, they're so complicated half of the time I don't even know who we're talking about.

The only main characters in this book should have been Lebel and the Jackal.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I liked how we visited different places in Europe. They were interesting.

X - Ending: I didn't like the ending at all. I'm not going to talk about it because any little thing I say it will be a spoiler or give it away but I was not pleased with it.

Extensive Review

The main problem in my opinion are two things:

1- Too many characters: There are so many unnecessary characters. You meet a new character and on top of getting his complete backstory about his past that no one cares since in a few chapters this character won't be mentioned again we learn that he has five more people under his command and we get descriptions and names for those characters as well.

2- The backstories of all those unnecessary characters: You will learn about the childhood of so many random not interesting characters it's not even funny. You will learn about the motivations of characters and after a few chapters you won't hear from them again. Leaving you with the feeling "why did I read half a chapter about that character if we don't even get to see where it goes?"

The book from the beginning was just straight up boring. Nothing interesting happens until more or less half way when the Jackal gets to be more or less the main characters. Which he's not, we spend more time with the police than the Jackal. Then the ending I didn't like at all.

TL;DR

I very much enjoyed reading this book. Great concept and it was well written. I would definitely recommend it. Though when you hear people say this is a first contact story I don't agree with it since the only time the two civilizations meet is at the end of the book (they do have a brief interaction around the middle part of the story but point still stands)

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The are two stories going on at the same time, one from the humans side and the other from a different species. I would consider the other species story as the main one since I like it far more than the human ones. I was really nice seeing them grow and

X - Side Stories (if it applies): The humans story was boring, I didn't like it and was trying to get though it as fast as I could to get back to the other species. The only time I was interested was when the humans interacted with Doctor Avrana Kern. When they were talking between them and solving problems with their ship I was tuned out.

✓ - Characters: The human characters were pretty boring in my opinion. I didn't care much for them at all. The other species steal the show by far. Portia, Bianca and Fabian were the stars. I loved all three of them, seeing them starting as "cavemen" and over the generations growing into more complex characters and how different they become compared to their ancestors. Every chapter that involved them were great and fun to read. Great written characters.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The human ship is just a hunk of metal, nothing to say about that. The green planet of the other species was interesting and it was interesting to see how they built upon it and created their settlements and cities. Later on the humans visit a different planet that also was pretty interesting to imagine how it would have looked based on it's description.

✓ - Ending: I was nice to see the two species interact with each other even if it was just a brief moment at the end of the book. The ending wasn't bad but nothing amazing. It sets up the next book and I think I will keep reading this series to see where it goes.

Extensive Review

Nothing much to say here, great book for the most part. The human story didn't connect with me. Reading the story of the other species was amazing, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did, it was really a great surprise.

TL;DR

Great adventure with great characters and interesting places. I liked almost everything about this book, the story, the characters, the writing. The only few things I didn't like are some stuff about the ending but everything else was great in my opinion. This is a great science fiction book.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: It started out very interesting and once we get to know more about main thing going on that's when I was very intrigued because the implications of this are pretty big and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): I liked Miller as a character but I think that his story with Julie Mao wasn't as interesting as the main thing going on in the world. For me this was the weakest part of the book.

✓ - Characters: I like every character in this book. I've watch season one of the series and the characters are pretty different. I liked the ones in the book far better.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The different stations and ships were very cool to imagine and having seen the series I can picture it a bit better. The nauvoo was a thing to behold and imagine.

✓ - Ending: Towards the ending chapters is definitely where the book starts to ramp up in action and also the implications about the main thing going on. It was great reading the stuff with the Eros station. I really want to know what happens next.

Extensive Review

Nothing to say here just a few things that I didn't quite like I guess but they are spoilers.

I didn't like how we don't get to see what happens at the end with Miller and Julie, I would have liked to see them together in their final moments. We've been building up these two and at the end they just die off screen. I wished we got to see more.

Other than that tiny issue I had a blast reading this book and I will definitely be continuing the series to see what happens next with the main thing. Because what Dresden said when he was explaining it it made me want to know more.

TL;DR

Not a terrible action thriller book but a bad Jason Bourne story. My major dislike is how many perspective there are, we switch from three different ones in a single chapter constantly. Jason feels like a side character in his own book. I get into detail in my extensive section but I'm not optimistic about the next book.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: It's not as interesting as the previous books because those stories were personal to Bourne, this one he just gets dragged into it because of who he is. No other particular reason. So it doesn't feel as important and quite frankly he didn't have any personal stakes in it.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): One of the problems of this book, I didn't care about the Chechian's war with Russia or the Agency's preparation for a summit with the world leaders. Those side stories were very boring and unfortunately it's a very large portion of the book.

✓ - Characters: The main villain I liked because he was capable, not on par with Carlos but he wasn't just ordering people around he actually got in the field and did the dirty work himself. Khan was good as well, a nice addition in my opinion. Unfortunately from the agency side there wasn't any one I really liked.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: Just like in the other books we get to see a diverse set of interesting different places.

✓ - Ending: Average ending, nothing spectacular but it wasn't as bad/anticlimactic as the previous book. Everything gets resolved by the end.

Extensive Review

Okay so lets get the obvious out of the way. Different author who wants to do his own thing with Bourne. But we can't ignore the fact that one of my favorite characters from the previous books will never appear again and that does not spark joy. Also it's very jarring how we go from the previous books of Jason's constant obsession with Marie and being so protective and worrying about her to "Gotta go do a thing, go to our safe house." in the first chapters and we never see or hear from her ever again until the end. Now that I think about it the only time Marie talks to Jason is to ask him "Confirm that you want me to go to the safe house." that's it.

If you're going to get rid of my favorite characters at least give me some that are on par with them. The only good one we got here is Khan, the rest are forgettable. In terms of allies, the villain was interesting in my opinion. He was resourceful, clever, and experienced in the field. He didn't just wait in the sidelines and ordered people around, he got his own hands dirty. Not as cool as Carlos though.

I didn't like how Jason feels like a side character in his own book. We get more time with the villain, the agency and the Chechians than we do with Bourne. It's very frustrating how in one single chapter and in the span of two pages after a paragraph we switch perspectives from Jason to the villain, then to the agency then to the Chechians and then back to Jason.

How on earth are we suppose to believe that after a major event happens in the story that Jason was responsible and now the entire agency even the president wants him dead? Literally in the previous book every single person in a high position of power was thankful and said how much of a service Jason did for the world. Now we're back to "I don't know who this Jason is but I want him dead, start a world wide manhunt on him right now." This is absurd.

There were a lot of instances in the previous books where Jason did something and I was like "damn, that's so badass. Jason is so cool." or "Wow I didn't think about that, he really had everything planned." I don't think I've ever felt that here in the entire story. Jason's inner monologue with him trying to take over David and tell him what to do and how to act? Gone. This isn't a Jason Bourne story, this is a David Webb story. I'm not even going into how in the previous book Jason was fifty years old and was constantly struggling and thinking how old he is and how he can't do the same things he was able to do. None of that is mentioned here and I get it's because this author wants to keep making more stories about him so we just have to ignore his age from now on I guess.

TL;DR

I did not enjoy this book, bland characters, boring story and a rushed ending.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: Started really slow and boring, got interesting once the main thing happens and then it got rushed towards the ending.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): Not interesting at all, the stories of her daughter and her boyfriend were really boring and I found myself skipping through most of those chapters.

X - Characters: The only character I liked is the detective Rose, all the rest I did not find interesting at all.

X - Setting/Ambiance: Nothing out of the ordinary, just your average city.

✓ - Ending: I felt the ending was really rushed, it did finish the story and plot points. It didn't end in a cliffhanger at least. But I think it should have taken a bit more time to end.

Extensive Review

I don't like how this book is written, every chapter ends so abruptly that it's jarring. I would say that the first half of the book is the most boring part of it because you just read about this woman's life. How she is struggling and her problems. I don't care and it's not interesting at all.

Then the main thing happens and the story starts to go somewhere, we get introduced to the detective and we switched point of views from her and Eric, which were far more interesting (except the constant movie scenes references he makes in all of his interactions, they were annoying). I found myself reading skimming though the chapters with out main character because I did not enjoy them.

And when you get to see how this thing plays out and start to wonder what's going to happen you see that there are 30 pages left. The ending needed more time in my opinion.

I didn't enjoy this book and I wouldn't recommend it for people who are looking for a thriller as it's marketed.

TL;DR

I didn't enjoy this book very much because it doesn't have a main story. It feels like it's a normal workday in the life of the people on this spaceship. You see them work on the ship, go to a planet to get supplies, eat, argue with each other... I prefer when there's a main story clearly defined.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: Almost non existent, it's a mission to create a tunnel from place A to place B. Nothing more so it's no interesting and it's definitely no the focus of the book.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): They weren't that interesting and most of them lead to nothing. Like Rosemary, her backstory doesn't mean anything because it's brushed off and never had an impact on her crew or the main story.

✓ - Characters: They were all nice, every one felt like their own distinct individual. Can't say anything bad about them because they written in a way where you don't dislike them at all.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I liked the ship, and all the different planets and stations they visit. They were all descriptive and cool to imagine.

X - Ending: Like I said since there's no main story there isn't an ending per se, the mission ends and there's that.

Extensive Review

There is a "main story" but it's so insignificant that it's not even worth mentioning. They have to create a tunnel from point A to point B. And by the end of the book nothing changed, the mission is over but the galaxy is the same. It felt like everything they did was a waste of time. I can understand people who like this book because of the characters and that cozy feeling it can create. The book is not bad it's just that I prefer story focused ones better I think.

TL;DR

I didn't enjoy this book very much because it doesn't have a main story. It feels like it's a normal workday in the life of the people on this spaceship. You see them work on the ship, go to a planet to get supplies, eat, argue with each other... I prefer when there's a main story clearly defined.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: Almost non existent, it's a mission to create a tunnel from place A to place B. Nothing more so it's no interesting and it's definitely no the focus of the book.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): They weren't that interesting and most of them lead to nothing. Like Rosemary, her backstory doesn't mean anything because it's brushed off and never had an impact on her crew or the main story.

✓ - Characters: They were all nice, every one felt like their own distinct individual. Can't say anything bad about them because they written in a way where you don't dislike them at all.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I liked the ship, and all the different planets and stations they visit. They were all descriptive and cool to imagine.

X - Ending: Like I said since there's no main story there isn't an ending per se, the mission ends and there's that.

Extensive Review

There is a "main story" but it's so insignificant that it's not even worth mentioning. They have to create a tunnel from point A to point B. And by the end of the book nothing changed, the mission is over but the galaxy is the same. It felt like everything they did was a waste of time. I can understand people who like this book because of the characters and that cozy feeling it can create. The book is not bad it's just that I prefer story focused ones better I think.

TL;DR

I didn't enjoy this book very much because it doesn't have a main story. It feels like it's a normal workday in the life of the people on this spaceship. You see them work on the ship, go to a planet to get supplies, eat, argue with each other... I prefer when there's a main story clearly defined.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: Almost non existent, it's a mission to create a tunnel from place A to place B. Nothing more so it's no interesting and it's definitely no the focus of the book.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): They weren't that interesting and most of them lead to nothing. Like Rosemary, her backstory doesn't mean anything because it's brushed off and never had an impact on her crew or the main story.

✓ - Characters: They were all nice, every one felt like their own distinct individual. Can't say anything bad about them because they written in a way where you don't dislike them at all.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I liked the ship, and all the different planets and stations they visit. They were all descriptive and cool to imagine.

X - Ending: Like I said since there's no main story there isn't an ending per se, the mission ends and there's that.

Extensive Review

There is a "main story" but it's so insignificant that it's not even worth mentioning. They have to create a tunnel from point A to point B. And by the end of the book nothing changed, the mission is over but the galaxy is the same. It felt like everything they did was a waste of time. I can understand people who like this book because of the characters and that cozy feeling it can create. The book is not bad it's just that I prefer story focused ones better I think.

TL;DR

This is the peak of the trilogy, if you liked the first one you need to read this. If you didn't like the first one just know this improves on everything, the action, the story, the characters... Okay minus the main villain, Carlos the Jackal isn't here and it's a shame but that's the only bad thing about this book.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The Main main story I didn't care about but the one related to Jason and Marie I did, the government did him dirty and it was great to see how Jason does what he does against the odds.

✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): There are quite a few side stories going on at the same time, at first I thought I wasn't going to enjoy them I only care about Jason Bourne but when we're with Alex or Marie they were really interesting. I was surprised by the one with Marie to be honest. She's amazing.

✓ - Characters: Again like the first book we get a great set of characters and some returning one which are my favorites. Echo was the standout for me and what happens to him made me sad. Lin Wenzu was a badass, too bad he was just gone towards the end and then never referenced again in the next book, what a total waste.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We're on the east side of the globe now in oriental China, this is Jason Bourne's home territory. The jungles are his playground.

✓ - Ending: A good ending just like the first one, this one doesn't leave stuff hanging like the first one with the Jackal. Here the main conflict gets resolved by the end.

Extensive Review

This took everything from the first book and cranked it up to the maximum. In the first book Jason does the things he does based on instincts but here he's pretty much remembered who he was and he's at his peak. This is Jason Bourne the legendary Delta One and you really get to see him. The inner monologues of Jason Bourne conflicting with David Webb and how he takes over was really interesting to read.

Echo was a great addition and seeing him with Jason was great.

There's not much more to say, I don't see how you wouldn't like this book if you enjoyed the first one. I think you can read this without even having read the first one because every time something is mentioned from the first book there's a short context explanation of it. I'm assuming it's for the people who didn't read the first book.

TL;DR

Weakest of the trilogy by far, this is an average action thriller and when comparing it to the other two this one isn't even on the same league. Shame because here's where the conflict with Carlos the Jackal get resolved and it's disappointing. I'm going to keep reading the rest of the series to see where they go but if you just stop at the second book you're good.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The only interesting part is when Jason is going after Carlos, every other thing that happens is not nearly as engaging.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): There are a lot of them and I didn't care about most of them. The medusa one, the Italian mafia the brother in law and his resort. All pretty boring and I didn't care.

✓ - Characters: Great set of characters as always. Dimitri Krupkin and Jacques Bernardine were the stars by far. The author did Bernardine dirty which again made me sad.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We're back to Paris, home of the Jackal and we also go to Russia, Novgorod was actually very interesting to imagine.

X - Ending: I did not like how the conflict with Carlos ended, you will have to read and find out yourself but in my opinion it was disappointing.

Extensive Review

I didn't like this one very much compared to the other two previous books. Jason is old and he's pretty much lost everything that made him Jason Bourne. He constantly thinks he's still got it but he doesn't. In the previous books we heard his inner monologue and Jason talking to David and I liked that but in this book he's gone full schizophrenic talking like he's two different persons. Saying "He loves you...I mean I love you" to Marie and the only word I can use to describe this is cringe.

In the previous book you had interactions like this "You're..." "I wouldn't finish that sentence" never trying to reveal who he is. Meanwhile on this book every one is "You're the legendary Jason Bourne", even Jason himself constantly keeps saying "I'm Jason Bourne" to every living creature he encounters and this wouldn't be a problem if it were true but it's not. He always loses to Carlos, gets outsmarted on every encounter they meet. And Jason's keeps saying "I'm better than he ever was", "I can take him", "I'm going to beat him". Yet every single time they meet he gets his ass handed to him and Carlos manages to escape, also it's not just Jason alone he always has help from multiple parties and still they can't beat Carlos, it's embarrassing. It's sad to see Jason go from the previous book where he was at his best and you can see how ruthless and exceptional he can be to this version of himself.

We're not going to talk about the ending and how the final showdown goes. The final sequence is great but how it ends isn't at all. It's incredibly disappointing.

Not a bad book action thriller but this isn't Jason Bourne how we know him.

TL;DR

Weakest of the trilogy by far, this is an average action thriller and when comparing it to the other two this one isn't even on the same league. Shame because here's where the conflict with Carlos the Jackal get resolved and it's disappointing. I'm going to keep reading the rest of the series to see where they go but if you just stop at the second book you're good.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The only interesting part is when Jason is going after Carlos, every other thing that happens is not nearly as engaging.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): There are a lot of them and I didn't care about most of them. The medusa one, the Italian mafia the brother in law and his resort. All pretty boring and I didn't care.

✓ - Characters: Great set of characters as always. Dimitri Krupkin and Jacques Bernardine were the stars by far. The author did Bernardine dirty like he did with Echo which again made me sad.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We're back to Paris, home of the Jackal and we also go to Russia, Novgorod was actually very interesting to imagine.

X - Ending: I did not like how the conflict with Carlos ended, you will have to read and find out yourself but in my opinion it was disappointing.

Extensive Review

I didn't like this one very much compared to the other two previous books. Jason is old and he's pretty much lost everything that made him Jason Bourne. He constantly thinks he's still got it but he doesn't. In the previous books we heard his inner monologue and Jason talking to David and I liked that but in this book he's gone full schizophrenic talking like he's two different persons. Saying "He loves you...I mean I love you" to Marie and the only word I can use to describe this is cringe.

In the previous book you had interactions like this "You're..." "I wouldn't finish that sentence" never trying to reveal who he is. Meanwhile on this book every one is "You're the legendary Jason Bourne", even Jason himself constantly keeps saying "I'm Jason Bourne" to every living creature he encounters and this wouldn't be a problem if it were true but it's not. He always loses to Carlos, gets outsmarted on every encounter they meet. And Jason's keeps saying "I'm better than he ever was", "I can take him", "I'm going to beat him". Yet every single time they meet he gets his ass handed to him and Carlos manages to escape, also it's not just Jason alone he always has help from multiple parties and still they can't beat Carlos, it's embarrassing. It's sad to see Jason go from the previous book where he was at his best and you can see how ruthless and exceptional he can be to this version of himself.

We're not going to talk about the ending and how the final showdown goes. The final sequence is great but how it ends isn't at all. It's incredibly disappointing.

Not a bad book action thriller but this isn't Jason Bourne how we know him.

Also another thing I didn't like is that I didn't noticed it in the other books but in this one there's a lot of swearing and I don't understand why, the previous books either had almost no swearing or it was so subtle that I've never noticed but here I noticed it pretty much from the beginning.

TL;DR

Weakest of the trilogy by far, this is an average action thriller and when comparing it to the other two this one isn't even on the same league. Shame because here's where the conflict with Carlos the Jackal get resolved and it's disappointing. I'm going to keep reading the rest of the series to see where they go but if you just stop at the second book you're good.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The only interesting part is when Jason is going after Carlos, every other thing that happens is not nearly as engaging.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): There are a lot of them and I didn't care about most of them. The medusa one, the Italian mafia the brother in law and his resort. All pretty boring and I didn't care.

✓ - Characters: Great set of characters as always. Dimitri Krupkin and Jacques Bernardine were the stars by far. The author did Bernardine dirty like he did with Echo which again made me sad.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We're back to Paris, home of the Jackal and we also go to Russia, Novgorod was actually very interesting to imagine.

X - Ending: I did not like how the conflict with Carlos ended, you will have to read and find out yourself but in my opinion it was disappointing.

Extensive Review

I didn't like this one very much compared to the other two previous books. Jason is old and he's pretty much lost everything that made him Jason Bourne. He constantly thinks he's still got it but he doesn't. In the previous books we heard his inner monologue and Jason talking to David and I liked that but in this book he's gone full schizophrenic talking like he's two different persons. Saying "He loves you...I mean I love you" to Marie and the only word I can use to describe this is cringe.

In the previous book you had interactions like this "You're..." "I wouldn't finish that sentence" never trying to reveal who he is. Meanwhile on this book every one is "You're the legendary Jason Bourne", even Jason himself constantly keeps saying "I'm Jason Bourne" to every living creature he encounters and this wouldn't be a problem if it were true but it's not. He always loses to Carlos, gets outsmarted on every encounter they meet. And Jason's keeps saying "I'm better than he ever was", "I can take him", "I'm going to beat him". Yet every single time they meet he gets his ass handed to him and Carlos manages to escape, also it's not just Jason alone he always has help from multiple parties and still they can't beat Carlos, it's embarrassing. It's sad to see Jason go from the previous book where he was at his best and you can see how ruthless and exceptional he can be to this version of himself.

We're not going to talk about the ending and how the final showdown goes. The final sequence is great but how it ends isn't at all. It's incredibly disappointing.

Not a bad book action thriller but this isn't Jason Bourne how we know him.

TL;DR

This is the peak of the trilogy, if you liked the first one you need to read this. If you didn't like the first one just know this improves on everything, the action, the story, the characters... Okay minus the main villain, Carlos the Jackal isn't here and it's a shame but that's the only bad thing about this book.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: The Main main story I didn't care about but the one related to Jason and Marie I did, the government did him dirty and it was great to see how Jason does what he does against the odds.

✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): There are quite a few side stories going on at the same time, at first I thought I wasn't going to enjoy them I only care about Jason Bourne but when we're with Alex or Marie they were really interesting. I was surprised by the one with Marie to be honest. She's amazing.

✓ - Characters: Again like the first book we get a great set of characters and some returning one which are my favorites. Echo was the standout for me and what happens to him made me sad.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We're on the east side of the globe now in oriental China, this is Jason Bourne's home territory. The jungles are his playground.

✓ - Ending: A good ending just like the first one, this one doesn't leave stuff hanging like the first one with the Jackal. Here the main conflict gets resolved by the end.

Extensive Review

This took everything from the first book and cranked it up to the maximum. In the first book Jason does the things he does based on instincts but here he's pretty much remembered who he was and he's at his peak. This is Jason Bourne the legendary Delta One and you really get to see him. The inner monologues of Jason Bourne conflicting with David Webb and how he takes over was really interesting to read.

Echo was a great addition and seeing him with Jason was great.

There's not much more to say, I don't see how you wouldn't like this book if you enjoyed the first one. I think you can read this without even having read the first one because every time something is mentioned from the first book there's a short context explanation of it. I'm assuming it's for the people who didn't read the first book.

TL;DR

Amazing action thriller, if you want fast paced action with an incredibly trained assassin outsmarting everyone you have to read the Bourne series.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: It's a great story, I don't have complaints about it. Kept me engaged and it felt like an action movie.

✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): I liked the side story about Jason Bourne's past and the government thinking he's gone rogue without knowing he just has amnesia.

✓ - Characters: I can't think of a bad character that I didn't like, all are great, from the main characters to the villains.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: A good variety, we go from the Mediterranean sea to Zurich and Paris. I liked the scenery described.

✓ - Ending: This book has a good ending, some things are not resolved yet that will be in the other two books but it doesn't leave you on an unsatisfied cliffhanger.

Extensive Review

I didn't read action thriller books until now. My only experience with them was https://hardcover.app/books/recursion and https://hardcover.app/books/dark-matter people recommends those books as science fiction thrillers and after reading those two I was ready to put down the thriller genre and say it's not for me because those are some of the most boring books I've read. Then I found out the Bourne trilogy. I've seen the movies and thought they were good action movies and read some reviews online saying the books are way better and have nothing to do with the movies.

This is what an action thriller book looks like. I was seriously shocked while reading it, in my mind I was thinking "Ok so this is what people mean when they say this book feels like an action movie, it's fast paced..." (all of those things were said about those books I mentioned and again, incredibly boring reads) so I was not ready for how amazing this book is. I'm coming from seeing the movies first and they don't hold a candle to the books. It's so weird because the story of the first book is like a perfect recipe for an action movie. I have no idea why they removed the main villain and made it out to be Jason vs the government. Carlos the Jackal is a great villain and it's one of the reasons this book is such a great read.

The creativity of Jason Bourne and how he handles different scenarios, how he gets ready and has a plan for everything is incredible. I kept thinking how much of a badass he is constantly.

If you want to read a great action thriller book I don't see how you can go wrong with this one. Highly recommend this book.

TL;DR

This is one of the classics science fiction stories and I can see how it inspired other books. I liked a lot about this book. The only negative I have is that at the end you're left with a lot of questions. I felt a bit unsatisfied with it but I do believe that if this were to happen in real life it would go down like this and we would all have the same feeling.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: You don't need to know much because it's better to go in blindly. Know that while the story is good and it's well written, I think it will leave you unsatisfied because we don't get much answers.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I liked every crew member of the ship, they were all how I expect a crew of astronauts on a special mission to be. Methodical, calculating, calm under pressure, not doing dumb mistakes that probably cost them the life of other. Great job on the writing for them to the author.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The inside of Rama was amazing, I can't wait for Denis Villeneuve's vision of how Rama will look because the way I imagined it was breath taking. The author did a phenomenal job at describing it. Don't want to talk specifics so that you go into it blindly but know that it will be great.

✓ - Ending: At first I didn't like it but after a few days have passed and I kept thinking about it I think I like it more and more. I don't want to talk more about it to not spoil it but I think that if we had a first encounter with extraterrestrial beings it would probably go down like this ending. We're not the center of the universe as much as we humans like to think so.

Extensive Review

Even though it ticked all the boxes I can't give it a 5 star rating because...I don't want to spoil it but we're left with a lot of questions and I think that's exactly what the author wanted. I believe it's exactly how it would go down in real life if it happened. But this is not real life, it's a book and I like to feel some sort of fulfillment at the end of a story. It is frustrating because you constantly keep discovering new things about this object, more and more and you're thinking soon you will get the reveal but it doesn't happen. It did answer one of the biggest questions of humanity though, we're not alone in the universe.

One of my favorite books "The Last Astronaut" is literally this story but with a bit more answers, I didn't know it at the time but I'm thankful for this book to have inspired that one and probably many more that I haven't read yet. Great book if you into it knowing you probably won't get your questions answered, many people don't like that myself included but it was still a good story.

TL;DR

Average is the word I'd use to describe this book, I didn't waste my time reading but it wasn't a great read either. I keep trying these police/detective thrillers but they all just seem so boring to me. Maybe because we always get to see the killer's perspective and the tension is gone for me at that point.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: It was okay, I liked our main protagonist and how she thought and handled herself.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: Ryan is the worst character in this story, he's completely useless and didn't do anything at all. I have no idea why was he in this story. The rest of the cast were good. I liked the dynamic of the FBI agent getting on our main protagonist's nerves.

X - Setting/Ambiance: Nothing particular interesting to talk about, just your average scenery.

✓ - Ending: No twist or any surprises here but it wasn't a bad ending either. Just average. Setting up for future stories.

Extensive Review

TL;DR

A decent read, main problem is I didn't like the protagonist. I really don't like quirky, goofy always trying to be funny characters and that's exactly what we're dealing with here. The story was interesting and I did like the whole ship full of robots. It reminded me of a game called "NieR: Automata".

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: I liked it, all the different robots and areas in the ship were cool to visualize and read about.

✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): I enjoyed reading about Kaydee's backstory, I found her an interesting character.

✓ - Characters: Pretty much every character except our main protagonist was great. Even the evil robots that we fight.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The whole story is in a ship composed of different areas and they were all interesting and cool to go though.

X - Ending: Wasn't anything spectacular but it didn't ruin the story. Average in my opinion.

Extensive Review

Our main protagonist is a vessel that it's purpose is to be filled with a mind, at the beginning we meet The Librarian, which will be our mind, a few pages later he gets killed and we get a different one called Kaydee. I don't understand the purpose of The Librarian. I guess it was so that our mind can have access to his memories and explain why he can do some stuff...

The important thing is that at least Kaydee is a cool character and I like her. This would have been a rough read if it were just our main protagonist alone.

Later on we will meet Delta, if this book had Delta as our protagonist with Kaydee as her mind it would be a way better story I have no doubt about that.

The side characters we meet along the way were interesting and the hacking part that the vessels and robots do was interesting. A nice story overall, wish we had Delta as our main girl but alas...

TL;DR

I love the Gothic/Victorian era that this book is set it, love how it's written and really like all the characters in the story. I had a great time reading.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: It's not very interesting, I found that the "story" isn't really there, it's just the life of a poor girl turn bloodmaid and how that changed her perspective on things. And her relationship with the new "sisters" and the ruler of the house that she has now.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I liked every character, really liked the relation between all the sisters and how they got more close to each other.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I loved the era and ambiance of this book, the Gothic/Victorian era is my favorite in terms of looks and dresses so I really liked that about this book.

X - Ending: I think the book could have really used an epilogue to let us know what happened after the ending and gives us a bit more of a satisfying conclusion. Not a bad ending but it could have been better.

Extensive Review

Even though the story isn't very interesting I really liked this book, mainly due to how it's well it's written, the conversations between the characters are very natural and I love the Gothic/Victorian era style so that did help my rating. I've read other people's reviews and can agree with them on how the romance didn't work for them because it felt a bit hollow and rushed, I do agree but I still had a good time reading it.

TL;DR

I really liked the horror and gory parts of this book, we get alternate chapters of our main protagonist and then one with The Skeleton Man, those were the hightlight of this book. I liked this book primarily because of his chapters.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: It's actually interesting but it could have been better, we get introduced with this couple that do a hunting show as a side gig and I thought that aspect could have been the main story but sadly it isn't.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): A few uninteresting side stories like Jacker's stuff and the reporters ones that I thought should have been the main story.

X - Characters: I didn't particularly liked most of the characters. Ratchel and Stephen were the only decent ones, our main protagonist is not someone I enjoy reading about. A lot of "No, I have to do this, I'm done running away", two seconds later "Get me out of here!" that made me roll my eyes.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I liked the creepy town of Widowsfield, it was creepy and atmospheric. Too bad that's just the ending few chapters.

✓ - Ending: I liked the ending, it leads nice into the next book and I feel like we got at least some answers even if we didn't get the full story yet. I wasn't dissapointed with it.

Extensive Review

The horror and gory stuff were the hightlight of this book, every chapter with The Skeleton Man is good, the rest of it is kinda boring up untill the last few chapters where they go to the town. If this book didn't have the horror chapters I would have been bored for almost the entire story. It's worth reading just for the gory chapters.

I was sad when the hunted side gig of the reporters wasn't a bigger part. It would have been nice to have that as the main focus and as a side story the actual main story of our protagonist.

TL;DR

I liked the book and it's characters. The story doesn't do anything you don't expect it to do. No twists or unexpected things happen but the ending didn't dissapoint me either. I had a good time reading this book.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: No twists or unexpected things happend but an enjoyable story in my opinion.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I liked all the characters present here. I liked our main protagonist and her partners in crime. A hint of a romance was present that thankfully wasn't explored and it didn't disturb my reading.

X - Setting/Ambiance: Nothing special just the landscapes of the United States.

✓ - Ending: I'm satisfied with the ending, there was no twist or big reveal. But it didn't feel dissapointing.

Extensive Review

Considering my previous crime story was Gone Cold by Rylie Dark this is leagues ahead in terms of how it was written and how I enjoyed the story and I still think it's just okay nothing amazing. But a good crime story to read.

TL;DR

I really enjoyed this book, a great science fiction horror in my opinion. I was constantly saying to myself, just another chapter, just one more...until I had to force myself to put it down in order to get some rest for work. Great atmosphere, great story (for the most part) and good characters.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: Great story up until the end where things are revealed, it's not a bad reveal but after that it isn't scary anymore.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): The side stuff with our main protagonist and what's going through her mind isn't as interesting as the current mission. It's not too much filler and it's just sprinkled in every now and then but still, not that interesting.

✓ - Characters: I like all characters except one, Kate. The rest of the crew were really interesting and I liked their personalities.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The best part of the book, the ambience of being in a old forgotten that housed five hundred passengers ship that supposedly exploded. It's scary and the book makes sure you feel it.

X - Ending: Weakest part of the book in my opinion, mainly because it's spoiled in the first few paragraphs of chapter one. You see that our main protagonist made it out alive. Did not like that approach.

Extensive Review

I find the premise of this book amazing, a crew of five people are on the edge of the communication hub, as far and remote as you can be when the navigator suddenly sees that an S.O.S signal is being broadcasted from further out of their location, on a very old frequency. After debating on what action to take, they decide to check it out. They come across a very old luxury cruiser that supposedly dissapeared twenty years ago in an explosion...or so the news said.

That alone has potential and I'm happy to say it didn't let me down. The beginning of the book is strong, once they board the ship and try to find out what is going on and what happened to it and it's passengers is filled with tension and atmosphere, I really liked the first few days on the ship and seeing the characters go through that experience.

The characters were really good and enjoyable I like all of them except one. Kane is the most boring thing ever put to paper, he's just perfect, always doing the right thing, always caring for everyone. Keeping the peace and making sure everyone is okay...get him the hell out of my ship. Compare him to Voller who's the complete opposite and that's what makes him great, he's openly confrontational and disrespectful to the main protagonist who is his captain. Doesn't like her and he let's her know it but at the end of the day he will do what the captain says which is why I respect him. The other are also great, each with their own personality and complementing eachother. The whole crew just felt natural and I enjoyed their banter.

Things I did not like:

- Once you learn about what truly happened to the ship the mystery is gone. It's not a bad reveal and it makes sense it's just that it isn't scary anymore and at that point the book becomes a thriller.

- There is a romantic relationship going on between the main protagonist and a crew member, I didn't care for it at all, thankfully it's not very intrusive and I didn't bother me that much.

- Probably the biggest one, (Spoiler? but it's literally the first thing your eyes read on the first chapter) the book starts with an interview of the main character being acused of killing her crewmates and making it out alive of the mysterious ship. That just spoils the fact that she made it out okay and her crew didn't. I hate this trope of starting from the present, telling the story of the past.

TL;DR

Creepy and digusting in a good way, I really liked this book for how short it was. Kept me at the edge of my seat reading through it, all the places we go though and the depictions are pretty amazing and scary. I really liked the final part of the book, definitely it's strong point and since it's short you don't have to wait long to get to it. If you want a short creepy and scary story I would recommend you give this one a try. Check the price and see if you can get a discount at some stores becuase it is a fifty page book, I've seen some stores selling it for a pretty high price and at that point I think it's not worth it when you can get other horror books that have way more story than this one.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: I liked it, interesting, intriguing and terrifying.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

X - Characters: Too many characters for such a short story, they're all pretty much a one line description but the banter between them was nice and enjoyable.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: I really liked the setting, the dark forests of central Europe are nice.

✓ - Ending: Great ending, this was probably the best part of the book.

Extensive Review

Okay the problem with this book in my opinion is that there are like twelve characters, for a book of fifty pages I think that is pretty overkill. Right at the beginning you get bombarded with names and quick summaries of their character left and right. I get that our protagonist is a mercenary leader and has followers but maybe let's not spend time on each and every one of them when our story is fifty pages long. I don't know the process of writting short stories and it must be hard but if I had to pick something that I didn't like about this book it has to be the number of characters.

We spend too much time getting to know them a bit before we get to the good part right at the end. If the book spent it's entire time on the last part and just expanded on it I think it would have been better, but then again not knowing anything about the characters in your story makes it hard to care about them. Short stories are hard to write, overall this one succeeded and I enjoyed it very much.

TL;DR

I liked this book, my only problem is that is too short. I would have liked a bit more to the story. Everything happens fairly quickly and by the time you keep turning the pages it's over (I guess that's a good thing?). I bought all the rest in the series because I want to know more.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: Pretty short but it was enjoyable, I liked the interaction between Murderbot and the humans.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I like all the characters, there wasn't anyone who I thought was annoying.

X - Setting/Ambiance: The planet they're on is pretty standard, nothing over the top. Just a bland planet.

✓ - Ending: Normal ending, nothing spectacular but not terrible either.

Extensive Review

Didn't like the inner monologue of Murderbot in the beginning because I thought he was an AI. With that in mind when he talked like a human I was like "uhh why is he thinking that?", but he's like half AI half human so the way he thinks makes sense then. I really like the characters and the interactions between them. Even if we don't get to know them on a deeper level I still enjoyed the time we had with them. I'm going to read the entire series and see what's in store next.