dkoplos's review against another edition
3.0
picked this up after reading Gillian Anderson's AMA on Reddit. I enjoyed it and the characters were interesting, I just felt like there was something more to the novel than there was (I was waiting for something more dramatic to happen in the climax, but it was lacking) but still an enjoyable book. The lead character is very well done, and for a first time novel, Gillian Anderson does will with the format.
jacks_library68's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Very much like an X-Files episode. Can't wait for book 2 and 3.
jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book, quite at random, through Audible and decided to give it a go since I was intrigued by Anderson writing a book. Now, as one might suspect when there's a tiny little name of another author in the corner, there are always questions about who did what. Anderson's been pretty open about it, and it sounds like she left most of the sci-fi stuff to Rovin and mostly contributed character stuff along with plot. At least, that's the impression created.
After finishing the book, I looked around at various critic reviews and most have been pretty harsh against the book. I think part of that is simply them sharpening their knives, ready to carve up an actor who is putting their name on a book. I get the cynicism, in a way. Through interviews, it seems like Anderson would like to make a movie based on the books and wants to play the character. So, you could see this as her creating a part for herself, and the whole project is part of that. But... I don't see anything necessarily damning about that. What writer doesn't, to an extent, write books for themselves to be a part of? Even if it's just in the act of writing it?
So, all that being said, I really enjoyed the book. Now, it has issues. It's not rocketing to my "best of" list. But I found it an enjoyable mystery. I know some reviewers are down on the fact that there's no antagonist here. A shadowy group of also exploring the central mystery of the book (though from a different angle) has the chance of producing an antagonist or two in future books. But, here, it's mostly Caitlyn against the mystery itself.
I think Anderson's reading of the book added a lot to it. She has a very relaxing voice, in some ways, but she's also very good at different accents and giving characters their own feel. For a book that does consist of a lot of talking between characters, that's a plus. I thought the role of the characters, and the global backdrop against which the story takes place, was really interesting and different. The story does do that thing wherein Western writers accept Eastern spiritual philosophy as totally true in a way you suspect they'd never just fully accept, say, Christianity. As an atheist, I have no "dog in the fight" either way. Just something I noted. In any case, I think it's fun to explore the metaphysical aspects of the mystery and it didn't bother me or annoy me or anything.
I will say, by the book's end it became hard imagining how it'd work on the screen. But I would go see the movie, just to see how someone could tackle it! Caitlyn feels very much like a role that Gillian Anderson could do wonders with. Though, I will say I did find the journey the character takes from skeptic to believer a bit abrupt. It's kind of the equivalent of Scully going from no believing in aliens to piloting an alien aircraft to rescue Mulder in the span of one episode in the X-files. Caitlyn does take some awfully big leaps here in logic, but to be fair it actually does make sense of the context of the story.
I'll definitely be checking out the second book.
After finishing the book, I looked around at various critic reviews and most have been pretty harsh against the book. I think part of that is simply them sharpening their knives, ready to carve up an actor who is putting their name on a book. I get the cynicism, in a way. Through interviews, it seems like Anderson would like to make a movie based on the books and wants to play the character. So, you could see this as her creating a part for herself, and the whole project is part of that. But... I don't see anything necessarily damning about that. What writer doesn't, to an extent, write books for themselves to be a part of? Even if it's just in the act of writing it?
So, all that being said, I really enjoyed the book. Now, it has issues. It's not rocketing to my "best of" list. But I found it an enjoyable mystery. I know some reviewers are down on the fact that there's no antagonist here. A shadowy group of also exploring the central mystery of the book (though from a different angle) has the chance of producing an antagonist or two in future books. But, here, it's mostly Caitlyn against the mystery itself.
I think Anderson's reading of the book added a lot to it. She has a very relaxing voice, in some ways, but she's also very good at different accents and giving characters their own feel. For a book that does consist of a lot of talking between characters, that's a plus. I thought the role of the characters, and the global backdrop against which the story takes place, was really interesting and different. The story does do that thing wherein Western writers accept Eastern spiritual philosophy as totally true in a way you suspect they'd never just fully accept, say, Christianity. As an atheist, I have no "dog in the fight" either way. Just something I noted. In any case, I think it's fun to explore the metaphysical aspects of the mystery and it didn't bother me or annoy me or anything.
I will say, by the book's end it became hard imagining how it'd work on the screen. But I would go see the movie, just to see how someone could tackle it! Caitlyn feels very much like a role that Gillian Anderson could do wonders with. Though, I will say I did find the journey the character takes from skeptic to believer a bit abrupt. It's kind of the equivalent of Scully going from no believing in aliens to piloting an alien aircraft to rescue Mulder in the span of one episode in the X-files. Caitlyn does take some awfully big leaps here in logic, but to be fair it actually does make sense of the context of the story.
I'll definitely be checking out the second book.
canadianbookaddict's review against another edition
2.0
I very much wanted to like this one and I was actually excited to read it.
Unfortunately I didn't like it as much as I wanted to like it. Don't get me wrong I did keep reading but some parts were slow but I kept reading even though some times I just wanted to quit reading .
It is well written but I just wish it was action packed.
I give this 2 out of 3
Unfortunately I didn't like it as much as I wanted to like it. Don't get me wrong I did keep reading but some parts were slow but I kept reading even though some times I just wanted to quit reading .
It is well written but I just wish it was action packed.
I give this 2 out of 3
mateusjobim's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
scholastic_squid's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, it should probably be 3 Stars but, Gillian Anderson read the audiobook and I’m obsessed with X-Files soooo… also, the epilogue made it somewhat X-Files like which is probably going to get me to read the 2nd book in the series.
Main characters name is Caitlin, and my names Caitlin ⭐️
Her sons name is Jacob, my best friends name is Jacob
Main characters name is Caitlin, and my names Caitlin ⭐️
Her sons name is Jacob, my best friends name is Jacob
reasonpassion's review against another edition
4.0
Weird but fun. Slow then speeds up to a cataclysmic finale and a world-shifting epilogue. I can't recommend enough listening to this as Anderson herself is the narrator, adding a quality to the story that is difficult to describe. If you want an interesting exploration of obscure psychology, viscerally based in human suffering and served with a large dollop of supernatural eye-brow-raising, this is really quite fun and there are two more!
missamandamae's review against another edition
3.0
This seemed like an extended episode of The X-Files (totally not surprising), along with faint Michael Crichton styling. It's definitely set up as the exposition for a series, so the story doesn't move at quite the clip I would like. And it kinda lost me at the end. Lots remains unexplained, but that's the point, since it's the start of a series. I might get pulled into reading more, but though I kept up with this story and the characters to read the whole book, I just didn't get enough investment in it to really want to see the story through.