nyky's review against another edition
5.0
Great continuation of the Atopia Series. As war between Terra Nova and Atopia and their respective allies draws nigh our characters are on the hunt for Willi's body. In the process they are caught up in the war and must decide what to sacrifice in order to defeat Jimmy and the forces behind his actions.
Of great interest is the Bob vs. Jimmy dynamic and the connection between their eternal struggle and religious beliefs.
Of great interest is the Bob vs. Jimmy dynamic and the connection between their eternal struggle and religious beliefs.
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
1.0
This is a complete opposite of the first book. The first one had interesting characters in interesting backgrounds. This one starts on a farm. And instead of showing how they all stumble, it takes them on a dusty car ride. What a complete snoozefest. I started and couldn't finish chapter 2 for MONTHS.
mrrwmix's review against another edition
4.0
Lost and Found
It's easy to get confused with all that's going on in this series. Between the alternate realities, multiple subjectives, splinters, and so on, the plot tended towards chaos. However, the ending of the book really ties everything together nicely. I thought that the ending would be a cliffhanger since there's a third book coming (Utopia), but it's a satisfying conclusion actually. Still, I'm curious about what this great author's planning to add to this mind blowing series!
It's easy to get confused with all that's going on in this series. Between the alternate realities, multiple subjectives, splinters, and so on, the plot tended towards chaos. However, the ending of the book really ties everything together nicely. I thought that the ending would be a cliffhanger since there's a third book coming (Utopia), but it's a satisfying conclusion actually. Still, I'm curious about what this great author's planning to add to this mind blowing series!
sarahoretsev's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely enjoyed this, and will absolutely read the final book in this trilogy (I already have it downloaded on my Kindle, so it would somewhat suck if I decided not to) - however, I felt the plot was slightly more confused than The Atopia Chronicles; which is quite funny really, because realistically The Atopia Chronicles actually has a lot more scene setting. The Great Destroyer plot and Bob being the fourth horseman of the apocalypse was interesting, but confused me, and I finished the novel very confused as to whether I was meant to view the Destroyer as good or bad. I have no idea.
Something I really did like about this book though was that Mather changed the narration - in The Atopia Chronicles, everything was written in first person, and considering there were about ten different points of view, it could get SO confusing over who was talking, and remembering names was far harder. In this book, the sequel, he changed to writing in third person; and this made it much easier to follow. It also tied up the loose storyline about Olympia, and the storyline it's setting up with that - sheesh!
Overall it was good, didn't enjoy it as much as The Atopia Chronicles, but it was still good and I am really really looking forward to reading the finale, The Utopia Chronicles.
Something I really did like about this book though was that Mather changed the narration - in The Atopia Chronicles, everything was written in first person, and considering there were about ten different points of view, it could get SO confusing over who was talking, and remembering names was far harder. In this book, the sequel, he changed to writing in third person; and this made it much easier to follow. It also tied up the loose storyline about Olympia, and the storyline it's setting up with that - sheesh!
Overall it was good, didn't enjoy it as much as The Atopia Chronicles, but it was still good and I am really really looking forward to reading the finale, The Utopia Chronicles.
sticksnstout's review against another edition
5.0
I am amazed at people that can create such thorough worlds. Even with a lot of characters and so much going on, I didn't have any problem keeping track of the story. Enough detail to picture every scene, but not so much it ever got bogged down. Loved Zoraster!
ctorretta's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Atopia and could not wait to get my hands onto this one! Matthew Mayer just has a way of bringing the reader into this fantastical world that he has imagined. But the scary thing? Not only can I imagine it for fiction, I can actually see this happening in our future!
I recommend reading the Atopia Chronicles before delving into this one. He brings back quite a few of the people that we met in Atopia and their background stories are important to what happens to the plot in this one.
In Atopia Chronicles the narration jumps from one character to another and you're not sure where you're standing with each character until close to the end of the stories. This one is much more stream lined and due to that I think it was a better read. Instead of being a little choppy it flowed quite well. This does start RIGHT where Atopia Chronicles left off too, leaving the questions that were left at the end to be answered! I love when an author does not skip portions. It has been a little while since I read the first but I was able to immediately fall into this story. There are just enough reminders to help that transition be very smooth.
The only thing I question is how the story progresses. Even without being as choppy as the first with narration at times I had to move backward to be able to figure out where I was. Or re-listen to a portion to ensure I got the entire story right. This also may have something to do with the fact that this is getting into some serious science fiction, which is definitely not my normal genre!
Over all I thought the narration by Nick Poedhl was done very well. The audio was very clean and easy to stay with, minus the few story portions where I got lost! I absolutely love when a narrator takes time to really tell the story. This includes adding pauses. I can get lost when the pauses are not done correctly but Nick Poedhl did a fantastic job reading this and the voices were pretty easy to tell apart.
In short: A few downsides but all in all it was a good read. I loved listening to this one even with the few times I had to look back.
Received from Audiobookreviewer for an honest review.
I recommend reading the Atopia Chronicles before delving into this one. He brings back quite a few of the people that we met in Atopia and their background stories are important to what happens to the plot in this one.
In Atopia Chronicles the narration jumps from one character to another and you're not sure where you're standing with each character until close to the end of the stories. This one is much more stream lined and due to that I think it was a better read. Instead of being a little choppy it flowed quite well. This does start RIGHT where Atopia Chronicles left off too, leaving the questions that were left at the end to be answered! I love when an author does not skip portions. It has been a little while since I read the first but I was able to immediately fall into this story. There are just enough reminders to help that transition be very smooth.
The only thing I question is how the story progresses. Even without being as choppy as the first with narration at times I had to move backward to be able to figure out where I was. Or re-listen to a portion to ensure I got the entire story right. This also may have something to do with the fact that this is getting into some serious science fiction, which is definitely not my normal genre!
Over all I thought the narration by Nick Poedhl was done very well. The audio was very clean and easy to stay with, minus the few story portions where I got lost! I absolutely love when a narrator takes time to really tell the story. This includes adding pauses. I can get lost when the pauses are not done correctly but Nick Poedhl did a fantastic job reading this and the voices were pretty easy to tell apart.
In short: A few downsides but all in all it was a good read. I loved listening to this one even with the few times I had to look back.
Received from Audiobookreviewer for an honest review.
thereaderofbooks's review against another edition
1.0
I wasn't sold on the first book. The first book was enjoyable but I should have stopped there. There were a lot of loose ends and that is why I tried this book. I don't feel the story was well put together and there was nothing in the book that grabbed my attention. Sorry, this book was not for me.
neyhart's review against another edition
2.0
I did not enjoy this book the way I did the first one in the series. It was confusing to keep up with the characters and what was taking place in the real world vs. virtual reality. I felt like I was just pushing through it to finish it.
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Mini-Review:
4.5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
4 Stars for Concepts
2.5 Stars for Lopsided Progression
Currently on KU Read & Listen
Overall, a fun SF that pulls together a bunch of interesting tropes. This is a story you have to experience and it's best if no one tells you what happened. I knew I would get a nice payoff if I made myself stick with the story to the end and I got it! It's impossible to enjoy all of the events at the end without the building blocks put into place before. I figured out what was going on as the story unfolded and enjoyed how my guesses were revealed.
Cool Bits:
- Futuristic World, Tech, Bending of Virtual of the Fantastic/Bizarre/Nightmare/Beautiful
- Solid Characters (Not all are meant to be likable but great parts to a whole.)
- Cool showing of different perspectives/arguments/choices/consequences.
Meh:
- Abstract ideas that are not well expressed.
- Relationships are very cookie cutter but good enough to float the raft of ideas.
- While parts of the boundaries of belief are pushed hard, the story plays it safe & becomes YA in a few events. YA vibe is not in the whole book, but does come into play at parts.
4.5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
4 Stars for Concepts
2.5 Stars for Lopsided Progression
Currently on KU Read & Listen
Overall, a fun SF that pulls together a bunch of interesting tropes. This is a story you have to experience and it's best if no one tells you what happened. I knew I would get a nice payoff if I made myself stick with the story to the end and I got it! It's impossible to enjoy all of the events at the end without the building blocks put into place before. I figured out what was going on as the story unfolded and enjoyed how my guesses were revealed.
Cool Bits:
- Futuristic World, Tech, Bending of Virtual of the Fantastic/Bizarre/Nightmare/Beautiful
- Solid Characters (Not all are meant to be likable but great parts to a whole.)
- Cool showing of different perspectives/arguments/choices/consequences.
Meh:
- Abstract ideas that are not well expressed.
- Relationships are very cookie cutter but good enough to float the raft of ideas.
- While parts of the boundaries of belief are pushed hard, the story plays it safe & becomes YA in a few events. YA vibe is not in the whole book, but does come into play at parts.
useriv's review
2.0
I was reluctant to write this review since the author kindly sent me an advanced copy, and I didn't like this book as much as its predecessor, [b:Complete Atopia Chronicles|15794568|Complete Atopia Chronicles (Atopia Chronicles 1-6)|Matthew Mather|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345771518s/15794568.jpg|21516661]Atopia chronicles.
What in the previous book was an interesting, exhaustive extrapolation of the possible consequences of virtual (synthetic) reality, is here derailed into realms of quasi-religious speculation.
There are also other problems with the book, I felt the first third was quite pointless, with characters that don't appear again and go from one place to another without much direction.
So, two stars, meaning "it was OK". Not my cup of tea, less hard SF in this volume, although there are a few nice ideas here and there.
Note that I was provided an Advance Review Copy at no cost.
What in the previous book was an interesting, exhaustive extrapolation of the possible consequences of virtual (synthetic) reality, is here derailed into realms of quasi-religious speculation.
There are also other problems with the book, I felt the first third was quite pointless, with characters that don't appear again and go from one place to another without much direction.
So, two stars, meaning "it was OK". Not my cup of tea, less hard SF in this volume, although there are a few nice ideas here and there.
Note that I was provided an Advance Review Copy at no cost.
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