Rob
I eventually gave this book 4 stars but there were large parts of the book where I thought it would be 3. The main story is interesting and engaging but the pace was awfully slow at times and the level of detail some of the back stories were given was a bit much. Saying that, I could see the pay off of all that detail when the threads came together at the end.
Tldr: Beautifully written characters but at times a bit slow
As with the previous two books the scale and imagination of this story is truly impressive. It is rare for me not to see the conclusion coming but even with 10 pages to go I couldn't guess its resolution.
With a slightly stronger ending it could have been 5 stars.
I highly recommend this trilogy of books and as with all great books am sad that it is finished, despite each book being 700 pages long.
I didn't enjoy this very much. It was slow and pondering in sections and the middle part that goes into detail about her past trauma nearly made me stop reading it. Tempted to see what the movie is like but not a book I'll be recommending to anyone.
The book had an interesting central conceit that, although was handled solidly, left a feeling of wasted opportunity. More complex intertwining of the timelines would have improved the book but the ending was solid and avoided the over used tropes.
When I first started Extinction Trials the writing and characters led me to expect a long read. The characters told you exactly what they were feeling, instead of trusting you to figure it out, and the plot moved faster than a hyperactive toddler. Luckily once it had got going it settled down into a nice little adventure. It's nothing groundbreaking or original but it's a nice B-Movie book with a satisfying ending.
I enjoyed this twist on the well trodden disaster/apocalypse genre, making the protagonist a soft “man child” struggling to man up before the main event made for a different and sometimes funny read.
I'm a bit shocked I gave this 5 stars, half way through it was feeling like a run of the mill 3 star book. The lack of the typical elements of a crime novel, investigation/evidence etc, disappointed me for much of the story but over time the book really snuck up on me and by the end this difference was it's greatest strength. It's rare that a book can make you care so much about its characters and rarer still for it to also surprise you at the end.
This is a very special book.
It is rare that a book gives you such a sense of gratitude for being able to read, it is a celebration of knowledge.
Great read that gets you hooked after the first page.
Started with a bang and had a great premise but I felt pretty let down at the end when they avoided answering any of the many questions the book itself raised. It's a lot easier to write a mystery book if you're not constrained by actually having to explain anything.
The plot style borrows heavily from Hyperium, which isn't a bad thing, but I found some of the tangential stories less engaging than they needed to be. Saying that, most of them were good enough to hold my interest and the central thread ended on a massive high so that I'm looking forward to starting number 2 at some point.
For most of this book it felt like it was very much ‘of its time'. It used very familiar tropes that appeared everywhere 10-15 years ago, such as twilight and divergent. However, the last quarter introduced some more complex characters and the plot took off to the point that I was intrigued enough to think about reading the sequel.
This is where the series really kicks in and uses all of the build up from the first book. There are some really big ideas along with some real world science (apparently!), which was really up my street.
Solid 3 star book that finishes on a high. It's a shame the level of intrigue wasn't the same throughout instead of just the last quarter or it could have been a higher rating.
Despite it being a bit explainy around the middle, it was a great conclusion to the epic Olynx saga.
The cover describes The Passage as an epic and it's definitely not false advertising. It covers many years and many ideas to bring an original take on a post-apocalyptic world. Definitely worth a read!
I haven't read any of the new 52 superman so only read this one to understand the origin of the rebirth superman. Good introduction of the new Superman and a good end to the old.
I Liked the mix of Indiana Jones, X-Files and Stargate. It was a great start to what will hopefully be a great trilogy with a satisfying conclusion (hopefully!).
I really enjoyed this book, especially the slice of japanese culture. The Prince gave Joffrey a run for his money in annoying-ness as well!
Looking forward to seeing the film now
Another interesting take on gender roles and how a massive shift in power can influence society. If that sounds a bit dry, swarms of Moths appear and nearly wipe out all men on the planet!
This book is well written and builds the world(s) vividly; however, for there wasn't enough payoff for all of that world building. It needed an exhilarating final act that unfortunately never happened.
I couldn't get into this book and was a bit of a chore towards the end. The concept is great but the language and style made it a hard read.