Kelly

I feel so fortunate to have found this book.

Revisado: 05-13-19

The headline of my review says it all.

In my very, very humble opinion, this novel, its author, and its narrator deserve all of the accolades they have received and more. if you're looking for another cut-and-dry dystopian thriller, this isn't going to be it. This is a book about love, family, memory, and the inherent loneliness of the human condition; but also, and above all, the inherent capacity we have as humans to have hope, even when it seems there is none.

Nancy Wu's performance is breathtakingly realistic in its portrayal of all of the novel's characters, most notably the nuances of Candace's mother. From the main cast to the most fleeting of supporting characters, I felt like I knew and could visualize each one of them; not only because of Ma's beautiful yet true-to-life writing style, but because of Wu's performance.

Do yourself a favor and get this book. It's definitely one that I know will stay with me for a long time.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Frustrated & Confused

Revisado: 05-09-19

This book had an intriguing premise, that's for sure – but absolutely nothing made sense. And not in a way that's like "it's up to the reader to figure out what happened," in a way that's like "why did these 7 or 8 plot points not resolve in any capacity?" The ending, in particular, was a huge letdown.

I won't lie, I finished it in a few days because I was intrigued. The combination of the writing & narration made it seem like a futuristic/sci-fi/dystopian noir law enforcement mystery. For that reason, I can't in good conscience give it 1 star. But man... the book wraps up leaving absolutely no questions answered. None of the characters' motivations or actions were explained and the ending seemed unfathomably rushed (as in... the last 15 minutes of the audiobook), like a halfhearted excuse to explain away huge chunks of the book.

I finished this book extremely frustrated & confused. I don't doubt that this writer has potential, and the story's characters and premise DEFINITELY have potential, but my humble recommendation would be to skip this one.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

As beautifully written and unique as Bird Box - if not more

Revisado: 03-29-19

I’d been looking forward to the release of this book for months, and Malerman certainly delivered. Like Bird Box, Inspection’s plot is completely unique. In this modern world of what feels like repetitive superhero movies, unnecessary sequels, and remakes, I’m so thankful for writers like Josh Malerman who are able to craft narratives that are not only beautifully written, but inspire deep introspection through captivating, truly creative characters and situations. While there was one significant possibility that wasn’t addressed (which I won’t mention here, but you will probably ask yourself while listening to the book), this book is nothing short of inspiring. I hope to read and listen to many, many more stories by Josh Malerman.

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esto le resultó útil a 12 personas

Wow. This one will stay with me for a while.

Revisado: 09-30-18

Just... wow. What a completely different novel. I read horror/thriller/mystery novels almost exclusively and I can confidently say I have never listened to or read anything so mesmerizing and unique. I listened to it in 2 days, and while some people disliked the ending, I thought it was wrapped up perfectly - with a mix of dread and hope so perfectly concocted that this story will stick with me for a long, long time. The narrator was also flawless. Her portrayal of Hanna was especially convincing, and I felt like I could visualize all of the characters because of her variation and delivery.

Highly, highly recommend for anyone who likes a good psychological thriller and is looking for something totally unique.

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Not for me, but didn’t hate it

Revisado: 06-18-18

Title of the review says it all. I thought the story was a somewhat interesting take on the usual “haunted house” thriller, and I absolutely ADORED the ending. I disliked the protagonist immensely though (being a 26-year-old woman, the 25-year-old good-looking wannabe TV star bro induced so many eye-rolling moments I thought they’d fall out of my head). The narration was not varied enough for me, and I died a little inside every time he mispronounced “Annapolis.”

All in all, a decent haunted house book but not unique enough for me to read/listen to again.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Heartbreaking, twisty thriller

Revisado: 05-29-18

Great suspense, heartbreaking premise, twisty mystery. The characters are believable, but though one of the most important seemed a bit underdeveloped. Impossible to put yourself in the narrator’s shoes, but the author did a great job of getting the reader as close as possible to understanding her motivations.

Overall, really great listen. A few hastily wrapped up plot points/small holes in the last 40 minutes, but I blew through this one in just two days. You won’t be disappointed with this one!

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One of my absolute favorites

Revisado: 05-15-18

This is the only book that I keep in my phone's Audible library at all times. I first bought this book a few years ago thinking its stories would fall more in the horror/thriller genre (which I listen to almost exclusively), but they instead depict more of a subtle, delicate, yet unrelenting unease. The book is comprised of several short stories that stand strong on their own, but are also intertwined in the most beautiful, delicate way. The re-listen value of the book is huge because of this – you'll definitely want to go back and see if you can discern any of these connections that you may have missed the first time.

This stories in this book are definitely dark; but they are a subtle, gentle, almost minimal brand of darkness. It is not loud, and there are no occasions of extraneous exploitation or gore. Its masterful use of imagery, allegory & character development instead bring forth a sometimes-shocking, sometimes-heartbreaking, always-unique darkness that you don't see very often in short stories/novels these days, especially in the West.

Revenge may not be for everyone, but for me, this book is absolutely captivating and one of my all-time favorites.

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Not for me

Revisado: 05-05-18

I read and listen to horror novels almost exclusively, and unfortunately this one wasn’t one of my favorites.

- mild spoilers -

That being said, the first half of this novel is absolutely marvelous in its ambiguous horror. The stage is set well, and the narrator’s and audience’s introduction to the main antagonist is so cavalier that it makes the novel’s subsequent events that much more disconcerting. Before the supernatural portion of the plot is introduced, I was legitimately frightened - and that’s not easy to achieve.

After part 2 (which I actually did really enjoy) which delves into other incidents brought on by the antagonist, the book takes a haphazard turn towards a hastily thrown together supernatural explanation. Where the first part of the novel is terrifying in its ambiguity (think: bad people do bad things - we don’t know how, when or why, but the fact that they do them and could do them to you is horrifying in itself), the second portion is clumsily overexplained (think: a joke where you have to explain the punchline isn’t funny anymore).

I think that if the book were a novella and ended with more of a “The Strangers” esque finale (think: “why are you doing this to me?” “Because you were home.”), I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Instead, the compelling, frightening characterization of the antagonist immediately dissolved once this strange, overexplained supernatural mythos was introduced.

I didn’t hate the book - its brand of using hastily thrown together supernatural entities to hastily explain away the plot’s events just wasn’t for me.

** Note: If you are triggered by violence against animals, this book will definitely not be for you.

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I have never been so sad for an audiobook to end

Revisado: 04-19-18

I absolutely loved it. The performances were so incredible - I couldn’t believe there were only two narrators, bravo to them for playing so many unique characters.

If I have any criticism, it’s that the book seemed a bit too aligned with the plot of the lord of the flies, and certain characters seemed to correspond to those in battle royale. That being said, I think it’s fascinating that this book is like a mixture of the two brought into the age of social media dependence.

But wow. I listen to, read, and watch a lot of horror fiction and I have to say; between the writing style, the plot, and the performances, this is one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever been exposed to. I devoured it in less than two days and will probably listen to it again fairly soon.

Definitely get this one if you’re a fan of horror/thrillers. You will not be disappointed.

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A few too many correct guesses

Revisado: 12-29-17

I didn't love this book. That being said, I did listen to it all in three days, so there's definitely something to be said for that. I didn't find the protagonist very likable and after a while all of his lucky guesses became almost painfully annoying.

I did like the idea of the antagonist, though, he definitely seemed scary. I also liked how the case unraveled through biological science instead of forensics - I thought that was a really interesting spin on the crime drama genre.

Probably won't listen to again, but it was entertaining.

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