Derek Lawrie

much preferred this to the first one, better character development , more interesting plot etc but it still retained the hard science fiction from the first book

As has been pointed out elsewhere the character development leaves a little to be desired, but loved the plot and the hard science of it just ramps up as the books goes on.

Nothing groundbreaking (hence three stars) but still very enjoyable, and contrary to what several others are saying in reviews here, it's not that convoluted.

Unlike Pünd I have never been very good at solving crosswords, puzzles etc. and I have to admit that I did laugh out loud when the main one in this book was revealed. You could say I'm Atticus Pünd

I'll be quite interested if the BBC version of his keeps that particular twist in there.

Enjoyable but it was never going to live up to the first book and does feel like a rehash of that novel. It has made me listen to a lot of Prince in the last day though.

Not as bad or overlong as many people on here would have you believe, but it's also not King seniors best, nor by any means his worst.

I remember being into Laymon's work back in the late 80s, had this one just sat there since it was published and picked it up on a whim, maybe shouldn't have bothered.

Large elements of the plot (well all really) are so massively implausible that I almost couldn't believe that's what was actually happening. It's easy enough to read without being simplistic, but his views on women and sex in general, whilst dated for the time feel very out of date now.

I realise this was published after his death, and there is something about this that feels like it wasn't completely finished. About halfway through the chapters seemed to drop to 1 or 2 pages more often than not, almost like they hadn't been fleshed out?

Anyway, I'd only bother with this if you are a Laymon completist.

Very mild spoilers in here, not really directly mentioning any of the plot, but if you don't want to know anything you probably shouldn't be reading personal reviews like this.

Like many others I had been greatly looking forward to this after 'I Am Pilgrim', and the first half to two-thirds is pretty good, not up to the previous novels standard but still good, then it, well, it takes an unexpected turn into basically a different genre for 60-100 pages and then sort of returns to what it started out as.

It didn't deter me, but it was certainly jarring and the story at that point is rife with trite cliches as well (maybe it always was and I just didn't notice till that point), and I forged on and finished it, but what I did finish wasn't the book I started.

Really odd it's almost Hayes got about two-thirds through, and something happened (COVID at a reasonable guess, not that it has has anything to do with the plot, but it does get mentioned), it's like he just couldn't decide what to do with it so made a radical sidestep. I suppose if you look at two of the more famous screenplays he was responsible for you get an inkling of where things could go from the standard spy far I thought I was getting.

Loved it, my only grievance is that when one character appears in the novel they as good as have a huge neon sign above their head screaming guilty. Still doesn't detract from the story, and always makes me feel a little special at the end when I see that I was right. It was probably written for idiots like me to feel that way.

Enjoyable zombie stuff, it's quite light, but there are a couple of darker moments near the end, I'll definitely read the next one at least.

I thought this was the best King I'd read in a long while, but then I think what are the other recent ones, and Mr. Mercedes was pretty darn good (it's 2 sequels were good but not great), and 11/22/63 was excellent as well. So just another really good Stephen King book then.

First book by Mcdermid that I've and I quite enjoyed it, not too difficult a read unlike a lot of other crime novelists whose first in a series is often a bit labored.
I did guess what was going on quite early on, mainly due to how the killers 'diary' entries were presented, but I never know whether that's the authors intention or not? Are they deliberately letting me feel a little smug?

Three stars is probably a bit generous, Reacher hardly gets anything to do and then it's done. Still I like Child's style so it was a pleasant enough 20 minutes.

Still not sure what incest-like legs are, that was used twice in this one, but you know I paid 99p for the whole thing so can't really complain.

Really excellent sci-fi, quite looking forward to the film.

not nearly as bad as a lot of people would have you believe, it's not like the originals are the best thing ever either (I did enjoy them, just think their quality may a bit overstated).
I do agree that Salander is not the main character and not in it enough, but then was she ever in the earlier books?

Not as dire as some of the reviews would have you believe, but it's still nowhere near Cobens best

Not the best Jack Reacher but still highly enjoyable

Very clever stuff based around the fact that the red shirted crew member always died on Star Trek away missions. No need to be a Trekkie/Trekker (my splitting of the term might give something away there) either, it's light comedy and some existential musings. It's not perfect, but you get the impression that Scalzi knows that and is happy with it.

Took me an age to read this, having twins is not conducive to reading plenty.

I like the tv show but this is better, its a plot they used on the show but with a different killer and different reasons. The show does get quite a lot things right, with some minor name changes and they didn't lop off Peter Wellers leg in order to play Lucian (he is still spot on though). Quite looking forward to reading the rest of these.

Brilliant, like all of the best King it's not really about the Kennedy assassination and it's all the better for it. The resolution of the whole time-travel aspect I didn't love, what actually happened with the time travel I did really like.

Quite enjoyed this one for the setting in the middle of a South Dakota blizzard.
There is a slight giveaway in the middle of the book that sort of tells you a major plot point, but it doesn't really spoil anything and it always makes me feel quite smug to see that I had guessed the ending (or part of it).

Really quite surprising, a touching western that isn't full of cliches and is quite brilliantly written.

The closest that he came to writing another family saga ala The Crow Road, but it isn't quite as good. The whole thing jumping back and forth through the lead characters life and the reults of his actions works really well, but the ;payoff in the final chapter feels a bit rushed and was reasonably obvious throughout the book anyway. I was actually hoping it would push the envelope a little further than it actually did. Still really enjoyed it, for books like this alone Banks will be sorely missed, let alone of the other stuff, especially the SF.