Scan barcode
lisa_reads_a_lot's review against another edition
5.0
Yesssssssss. So good! Definitely one of my favorite authors. A must read.
leafy_jean's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ikandree's review
dark
mysterious
tense
3.0
This book was very okay. I especially liked the concept of an experiment in raising children with no "distractions" including the knowledge of the opposite sex. The plot got a bit slow in the middle, otherwise I probably would have given it a higher rating. The end was a bit crazy.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
3.0
This really could have been a novella. It was a fast read but……..nothing really happened? You can anticipate how the threads will weave together very early on, but it takes forever to get there. It’s like watching a thriller movie when you’ve guessed the twist 20 minutes in.
While the book was 200 pages too long, at the same time I needed J and K’s stories to be more fleshed out. We also didn’t get a good enough feel for Q, F, and B’s personalities either. When you reduce character names to a singular letter you’re making them immediately forgettable, and you consequently need to overcompensate with character development. Sadly we didn’t get that at all.
The thing that saved this from a 2 star rating was the shocking ending. Malerman absolutely delivers on the shock factor and gore and I got my juuuuuuuuush!
3.5 stars
While the book was 200 pages too long, at the same time I needed J and K’s stories to be more fleshed out. We also didn’t get a good enough feel for Q, F, and B’s personalities either. When you reduce character names to a singular letter you’re making them immediately forgettable, and you consequently need to overcompensate with character development. Sadly we didn’t get that at all.
The thing that saved this from a 2 star rating was the shocking ending. Malerman absolutely delivers on the shock factor and gore and I got my juuuuuuuuush!
3.5 stars
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
3.0
"Inspection" was an okay read for me. Malerman did a good job building tension and putting information out slowly, but it took way too long. The beginning is very slow and repetitive. Then the last quarter of the book goes at breakneck speed. One hundred pages could have been cut to make an amazing story.
There were a couple minor plot issues, but what book doesn't have that problem?
There were a couple minor plot issues, but what book doesn't have that problem?
jennc's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book had an interesting premise and I liked the writing style. I also loved the two main characters. The book was however very, very wordy. Sections that took four pages could have been handled sufficiently in one. The ending was also meh.
ratgrrrl's review against another edition
DNF @ 61%
I am learning the hard way that Malerman is a very inconsistent author...
I absolutely adored Bird Box and Malorie, each for different reasons, and I honestly thought Black Mad Wheel sucked, but it at least had thar punchy, super effective, even if it's just a literary sleight of hand when not backed up by the text itself, but this was something entirely different.
Black Mad Wheel felt like Malerman at his most King, with the concept and musician MC, whereas Inspection seems to be him trying, and in my opinion, failing to go for a more Atwood or Ishiguro tone and concept.
The thought experiment itself is a really interesting one, but the painfully slow way its told with practically no tension, detail, or intrigue (beyond the premise), and then goes out of its way to undercut or reset any tension it does build is truly maddening!
There are those authors I consider concept and thought experiment based, Chiang, Egan, Tchaikovsky, for example, but there is something head over heels, excitable, and/ or passionate about the way they approach stories as vehicles for exploring and extrapolatkng ideas.
There are those authors who have a similar approach, but softened, sharpened, and quenched by plunging their stories into their hearts, Atwood, Butler, Ishiguro, Le Guin, St John Mandel, for example.
Unfortunately, Inspection is all head and, unfortunately, I have some complaints, because I just didn't care and I wasn't getting anything more than being told the concept of the story--a complaint I equally had of Atwood's Peneolpiad.
Maybe this comes together beautifully in the last third and I'm DNFing, so I won't be rating, but a great third act and close can truly make something you're invested in, but it can't justify not caring about two thirds, so I'm out.
I'm so sad to have gone from being 100% Malerman fangal, to 75%, and now only 50%. Kinda scared to pick up another one for a moment. This is a lesson in getting over excited about a book or two and then grabbing everything they've published...
I am learning the hard way that Malerman is a very inconsistent author...
I absolutely adored Bird Box and Malorie, each for different reasons, and I honestly thought Black Mad Wheel sucked, but it at least had thar punchy, super effective, even if it's just a literary sleight of hand when not backed up by the text itself, but this was something entirely different.
Black Mad Wheel felt like Malerman at his most King, with the concept and musician MC, whereas Inspection seems to be him trying, and in my opinion, failing to go for a more Atwood or Ishiguro tone and concept.
The thought experiment itself is a really interesting one, but the painfully slow way its told with practically no tension, detail, or intrigue (beyond the premise), and then goes out of its way to undercut or reset any tension it does build is truly maddening!
There are those authors I consider concept and thought experiment based, Chiang, Egan, Tchaikovsky, for example, but there is something head over heels, excitable, and/ or passionate about the way they approach stories as vehicles for exploring and extrapolatkng ideas.
There are those authors who have a similar approach, but softened, sharpened, and quenched by plunging their stories into their hearts, Atwood, Butler, Ishiguro, Le Guin, St John Mandel, for example.
Unfortunately, Inspection is all head and, unfortunately, I have some complaints, because I just didn't care and I wasn't getting anything more than being told the concept of the story--a complaint I equally had of Atwood's Peneolpiad.
Maybe this comes together beautifully in the last third and I'm DNFing, so I won't be rating, but a great third act and close can truly make something you're invested in, but it can't justify not caring about two thirds, so I'm out.
I'm so sad to have gone from being 100% Malerman fangal, to 75%, and now only 50%. Kinda scared to pick up another one for a moment. This is a lesson in getting over excited about a book or two and then grabbing everything they've published...
buckyshuman's review
3.5
Some of characters were borderline cringe and a stereotypical for the genre (DAD could have been written by a soap writer). The storyline was a little uneven. But if this genre is your jam then the plot is good, it moves nicely and gives enough surprises to keep you reading.
keen's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Grief