kristaki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mishafreya's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I found this a lot more engaging and well thought out than I was expecting.
kvdiesel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kstockill's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carrotex's review against another edition
SOOO BORRIIINNGG
( please don't read this if you have a low attention span, this book is FILLED with journalistic reports which seemed cool at first, but after some time it gets real old, real fast. [T-T] )
( please don't read this if you have a low attention span, this book is FILLED with journalistic reports which seemed cool at first, but after some time it gets real old, real fast. [T-T] )
gizmoto16's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure I'd like this book when I started because each short vignette/interview is with a different person, and when I get into a book, it's because I get hooked on the characters. But this really surprised me. Max Brooks has a way of writing and uses story lines that keeps you so intrigued that you forget about who's telling the story and just get completely absorbed in the story itself. I was very pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the book.
somanytictoc's review against another edition
1.0
DNF- 90 pages.
So many people loved this book that I feel bad not enjoying it. But alas.
I was turned off (enough to put the book down) by three minor quibbles:
1. The story is told through a series of interviews, meaning lots of different characters enter the fray. The only problem with this is that all of the characters end up feeling shallow.
2. Shallow characters wouldn't be an issue if they contained any real characterizations. The doctors are written exactly the same way as the grizzled veteran mercenaries. There's no sense of voice.
3. (A VERY minor quibble, but the one that forced me to end it) Brooks uses a lot of rhetorical questions, but HE NEVER ENDS THE QUESTIONS WITH A QUESTION MARK. Sentences along the lines of "...and who took the blame for all of this." That's a question! Even though it's rhetorical!
I'm petty, I know, but I have two other books from the library and only a couple weeks to read them...and whose fault do you think that is.
So many people loved this book that I feel bad not enjoying it. But alas.
I was turned off (enough to put the book down) by three minor quibbles:
1. The story is told through a series of interviews, meaning lots of different characters enter the fray. The only problem with this is that all of the characters end up feeling shallow.
2. Shallow characters wouldn't be an issue if they contained any real characterizations. The doctors are written exactly the same way as the grizzled veteran mercenaries. There's no sense of voice.
3. (A VERY minor quibble, but the one that forced me to end it) Brooks uses a lot of rhetorical questions, but HE NEVER ENDS THE QUESTIONS WITH A QUESTION MARK. Sentences along the lines of "...and who took the blame for all of this." That's a question! Even though it's rhetorical!
I'm petty, I know, but I have two other books from the library and only a couple weeks to read them...and whose fault do you think that is.
cormoth's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.75
The performances are really good but this abridged version cut out some of my favourite stories RIP
pbanditp's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good! I’m not sure why that surprised me, seeing that it was good enough to make into a movie. I like character driven novels and I knew that this wasn’t one of those so I had my expectations set low. Max really pulls these interviews together and creates a great history