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rusticreadingal's review against another edition
4.0
Placebo was an action-packed, exciting, thrill ride of a novel. There was never a dull moment. It's one of those books that is almost impossible to put down. It's the first Steven James book that I've read, but it definitely won't be my last. It's written in a way that's utterly compelling and had me turning the pages as fast as possible. From the first sentence to the last, I was hooked. Though there were times when things got technical with all the scientific explanations, it didn't hinder my enjoyment one bit. It was extremely interesting, even if I didn't understand it all, lol. I'd highly recommend Placebo to anyone who enjoys thrillers. I'm can't wait to start reading book two, Singularity.
courtney9long's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining but doesn't live up to Patrick Bowers series
I enjoyed this book but don't think it lives up to James's other work. This wasn't as suspenseful or as enthralling as the Patrick Bowers series.
I enjoyed this book but don't think it lives up to James's other work. This wasn't as suspenseful or as enthralling as the Patrick Bowers series.
gbdill's review against another edition
1.0
Read to page 100 and the story never really progressed. A lot of scientific technical jargon, that, to the average layman was quite foreign. It was slow going, and honestly, a bit boring.
trumpeta19's review against another edition
1.0
Poor plot and character development. I usually like thrillers but this one played into too many stereotypical tropes.
lizanne95's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a disappointment for me. It wasn’t at all what I expected it to be. Scientific fiction is just not for me. I had to force myself to finish the whole thing.
Anyway a little background of the story….
After Jevin Banks loses is wife and sons in an accident, he stops doing his job of escapes. When he learns of a new project, where people can do stuff to other through the mind, even spread a virus, he and a companion of his go to the Doctor who is doing the research.
After they see that it is possible, they realize that the Doctor is in danger. When he dies, they seek for the man who has ordered is death.
Anyway a little background of the story….
After Jevin Banks loses is wife and sons in an accident, he stops doing his job of escapes. When he learns of a new project, where people can do stuff to other through the mind, even spread a virus, he and a companion of his go to the Doctor who is doing the research.
After they see that it is possible, they realize that the Doctor is in danger. When he dies, they seek for the man who has ordered is death.
jdsutter's review against another edition
4.0
A great suspense thriller with a fascinating premise. The book explores psychopathy, telepathy, telekinesis, and more. Interesting characters and an intriguing plot. A few scenes that get a little gruesome but I'm not too squeamish so it didn't bother me too much.
josiahdegraaf's review against another edition
4.0
Placebo was an exciting read that dealt with a lot of great themes, but had suffered from some plot issues.
Pros:
Very engaging and suspenseful story that kept me turning pages till the end.
The characters in this book were pretty well done; they all had fascinating personalities and well-defined traits that kept them from all looking like one another. A few of them bordered being a caricature at times, but they were mostly all really well done.
The villains in this book were also all developed and had realistic motivations, for the most part (more on this below). Riah was a fascinating character study, and, while they weren't developed that much, the Twins were also pretty well-defined characters.
The themes in this book were excellent. I really enjoyed the investigation of the sort of "mental quantum mechanics" that James introduced for this book, and the key insights he made about how even the "real-world" quantum mechanics points toward God. In addition, there were a couple conversations between the two MCs concerning the problem of evil that also gave particularly good insights.
Cons:
The book sometimes felt too much like James' Patrick Bower series. Both series have a guy who's a bit of a loner after his wife died, a woman who he works with but whom he's falling in love with, a struggle through the book to deal with his wife's death, a fascination with figuring out puzzles and mysteries, a mastermind villain who is orchestrating everything... It was still a good story. But felt a bit too similar.
The motivations of the main characters were kind of confusing. Other than that the plot needed them to, what exactly compelled these people to move from filming for a TV show to trying to stop this pharmaceutical company? The motivations were kind of provided, but they didn't feel realistic.
The motivations of Villains were confusing.
Overall:
Despite the different plot and motivation issues in the book, Placebo is a suspenseful, while dark, and fascinating read. While these issues make the end a bit disappointing, the read overall was really good as James did an excellent job in developing characters and themes, and I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series.
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars. (Very Good)
Pros:
Very engaging and suspenseful story that kept me turning pages till the end.
The characters in this book were pretty well done; they all had fascinating personalities and well-defined traits that kept them from all looking like one another. A few of them bordered being a caricature at times, but they were mostly all really well done.
The villains in this book were also all developed and had realistic motivations, for the most part (more on this below). Riah was a fascinating character study, and, while they weren't developed that much, the Twins were also pretty well-defined characters.
The themes in this book were excellent. I really enjoyed the investigation of the sort of "mental quantum mechanics" that James introduced for this book, and the key insights he made about how even the "real-world" quantum mechanics points toward God. In addition, there were a couple conversations between the two MCs concerning the problem of evil that also gave particularly good insights.
Cons:
The book sometimes felt too much like James' Patrick Bower series. Both series have a guy who's a bit of a loner after his wife died, a woman who he works with but whom he's falling in love with, a struggle through the book to deal with his wife's death, a fascination with figuring out puzzles and mysteries, a mastermind villain who is orchestrating everything... It was still a good story. But felt a bit too similar.
The motivations of the main characters were kind of confusing. Other than that the plot needed them to, what exactly compelled these people to move from filming for a TV show to trying to stop this pharmaceutical company? The motivations were kind of provided, but they didn't feel realistic.
The motivations of Villains were confusing.
Spoiler
How is the same company able to work on both trying to lengthen life and work on "mind control" via quantum mechanics? I couldn't figure out how they were related. Sure, the "mind control" was needed to try to kill the president, but they couldn't have just developed the mind control in order to kill the president in order to get better research for their longevity research. There would be a cheaper and less risky way. I didn't feel like these two lines of research were ever connected enough at the end, and thus, by the book's end, I didn't fully understand what the villain's goal was. Which seems to be a common problem in a lot of James' books.Overall:
Despite the different plot and motivation issues in the book, Placebo is a suspenseful, while dark, and fascinating read. While these issues make the end a bit disappointing, the read overall was really good as James did an excellent job in developing characters and themes, and I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series.
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars. (Very Good)
amandagstevens's review against another edition
2.0
Given how highly I respect some of Steven James's craft techniques (status, causality), I feel the need to explain the low rating of this book. I wanted it to be good! I did. It's an interesting plot with an unexpected speculative edge I liked. However ...
Repetition and exposition run wild. The inconsistent verb tense in Jevin's POV makes me think his sections were originally written in past and changed to present at the last possible second (without time for a good final edit). Characters remain shallow, dialogue is forced, implausibility is off the charts, and everything is spelled out for the reader--from Jevin telling his emotions to whole scenes of plot-explaining/reminding dialogue (literally, "Let's summarize the information we have so far." Cue exposition).
I really wanted to like Steven James fiction, but it doesn't seem to be for me.
Repetition and exposition run wild. The inconsistent verb tense in Jevin's POV makes me think his sections were originally written in past and changed to present at the last possible second (without time for a good final edit). Characters remain shallow, dialogue is forced, implausibility is off the charts, and everything is spelled out for the reader--from Jevin telling his emotions to whole scenes of plot-explaining/reminding dialogue (literally, "Let's summarize the information we have so far." Cue exposition).
I really wanted to like Steven James fiction, but it doesn't seem to be for me.
taytaybomar7's review against another edition
5.0
Do not miss this book! It is masterfully written with an engaging story, fantastic characters, and intriguing information! If you liked The Patrick Bowers Files, you're going to love Placebo, the first installment of The Jevin Banks Experience!
analicia_simar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5