Jan

Slow start, but it gained momentum quick

Revisado: 12-15-17

This was a fun read! It started a bit slow, with a lot of character and plot building, but I was soon hooked on the story. What was happening in that cave? Who would get to the truth first? And who would survive?

I found the characters well presented, giving them background and depth to make them more interesting. Although the backstory of one of them, Kayla Meyers, could've been without the explicit telling about the abuse she went through as a child. Way too detailed.

There were no real heroes, IMO, in this book. No anti-heores either. Just people, making them more interesting to follow.

The secret down in the caves was cleverly revealed, making me want to find out more and more, faster and faster. It was hard to stop listening, the further down they got.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 110 personas

Not what I expected... but what a ride!

Revisado: 12-13-15

Wanting to avoid spoilers, I rarely read about a book more than what I have to. I want to be as surprised as I can be.

And boy, was I surprised... I knew this book was a post-apocalyptic story, following a couple of survivors of the nuclear holocaust. But what I didn't know was that the story involved a few supernatural elements. At first, I thought they were meant to be taken figuratively. But I soon realized that they were "real".

And that made me somewhat angry and disappointed. I love science fiction and have no problem with supernatural stuff. But I thought this was unnecessary. I was close to give up my listening a few times.

But I stayed on. Part of me wanted to see how ridiculous things could get with these sudden supernatural elements. And part of me wanted to see what actually happened with the characters. And I'm glad now that I kept listening, because this was a really good adventure! Or "adventure" is perhaps the wrong word. This book is so full of violence, hopelessness and sadness. But also a yearning for light, love and hope.

Some people have criticized it for being overly religious, that it only makes references to the Christian god, but I had no problems with that. First of all, the villain of the book is never said to be the Devil of the Bible. You can say that it is perhaps implied, and that he/it fits our picture of him, but you can also say that he/it is Pure Evil. Second, the reason people in the book talks about God (the Christian one) and about churches and prayers, is because the story takes place in the U.S. There are other religions there too, but most of the people are Christian. (For the record: Myself, I'm an atheist living in Sweden.)

It was a long book, but even if it felt never-ending in the beginning, it really caught on about a third into the book. And the closer I got to the ending, I both wanted to know how it would end and wanted it not to end.

The narration I found to be excellent.

I'm curious about what other books the author has written, but right now I feel I need to clear my head with something a bit shorter and not so gloomy.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting and unusual

Revisado: 03-27-14

There are some books that take me a bit by surprise. Their beginning is not what I expected, and that is true for both of the books I have read so far by Robert J. Sawyer including this one. And I have liked the endings as well. A good sign!

The beginning of this book sounds like the beginning of a joke: An alien walks into a museum in Canada...

And yes, the book has its funny moments, but that's not the central theme. Instead, we get a different kind of perspective through the eyes of a human being, whose life changes when he's face to face with a visitor from another world – with a surprise or two. Fully enjoyable and very interesting.

Some SPOILERS below.

I read some reviews of this book before I read it myself and half expected it to be Intelligent Design propaganda or at least leading the reader to believe in a god. And yes, god and design are parts of the story, but not in a way that makes in unbearable. Rather, they made sense. The only thing that bothered me was the main characters refusal to see what was obvious, as if the author wanted to show us that atheists will not accept a proof of god, no matter how scientific it is.

Does there exist a god? Did he/she/it create the (current) universe? The book implies it, but it's not a god of the Bible or the Quran. So don't mistake this book as an advertisement for any particular faith.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Very good story, but not narrated so good.

Revisado: 08-31-13

Nanotech... It's been in the news for a long time and it will not disappear soon. Quite the contrary. And in this book, set in the near future, it will definitely be on every human's mind.

I will not go into the story so much, as you can find information about it in other reviews, but I liked it very much. It was intriguing and thought provoking. Small SPOILER here: But I thought the addition of precognition into the mix was unnecessary. I know, it's a scifi book, but it seemed out of place.

A few words on the narration... Jim Meskimen did a good job portraying the different characters – and there were a few to keep track on. But unfortunately I was bothered by some things.

First: When characters stop talking/thinking and the story goes on, you stop sounding like the character. Even if it will be clear soon that the character has stopped talking, it's annoying when you can't hear the difference from the start. That happened a little too often.

Second: There should have been longer silent pauses between different events in time. Now it sounded like the narrator rushed, making it unclear whether the new paragraph was joined in time with the previous paragraph or not.

And third: Automaton... That was a word frequently used throughout the book, but the narrator must have pronounced it incorrectly when he first made the recording. You notice it, because every time the word "automaton" is used, the recording shifts slightly in tone and quality. Like he's gone back and re-recorded every instance of the word, but just that word (although sometimes a full sentence), and changed those soundbites. Which was probably what he/they did. It is obvious. And quite annoying.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona