_mjg_'s review against another edition
3.0
~2.75. See review of Sanctuary which is really a somewhat essential continuation of this book.
ornithopter1's review against another edition
I don't know what is going on in this story. There is little that is coherent about it and given that I'm now 50% through I've finally lost the patience to find out.
DNF.
DNF.
gianouts's review against another edition
4.0
An exciting read about the impending end of the world, with some good twists thrown in. The story did drift at times but in general it was a good read.
toeffy's review against another edition
2.0
Good science, interesting premise, mediocre story
About 15% into the book I was on the verge of quitting. The female protagonist was annoying and marysue-ish, the characters' actions and motivations didn't make sense, plot twists felt predictable, and the romantic subplot ticks the worst tropes of the romance genre: insta-love, single attractive billionaire guy, feisty not-like-other-girls girl. Blergh..
The writing was wobbly, at times so unnatural that it was distracting. Personal pet-peeve: there are verbal witness accounts of catastrophic events written in first-person but the writing style slips into flowery expressions no one uses when speaking. You would have a paragraph starting with "Yo, mate, I was on a boat when it struck" and ending with "inky black pools were engulfing the sky in long streaks." No one talks like that! Especially not after a traumatising global cataclysm.
I finished the book, but didn't like it any better than in the beginning. At least it stopped actively annoying me. The overall premise and the science are the only redeeming qualities of this novel and I am most certainly not picking up the sequels.
2/5
About 15% into the book I was on the verge of quitting. The female protagonist was annoying and marysue-ish, the characters' actions and motivations didn't make sense, plot twists felt predictable, and the romantic subplot ticks the worst tropes of the romance genre: insta-love, single attractive billionaire guy, feisty not-like-other-girls girl. Blergh..
The writing was wobbly, at times so unnatural that it was distracting. Personal pet-peeve: there are verbal witness accounts of catastrophic events written in first-person but the writing style slips into flowery expressions no one uses when speaking. You would have a paragraph starting with "Yo, mate, I was on a boat when it struck" and ending with "inky black pools were engulfing the sky in long streaks." No one talks like that! Especially not after a traumatising global cataclysm.
I finished the book, but didn't like it any better than in the beginning. At least it stopped actively annoying me. The overall premise and the science are the only redeeming qualities of this novel and I am most certainly not picking up the sequels.
2/5
_viscosity_'s review against another edition
2.0
Too much "Taken"-style vendetta nonsense, not enough earth getting destroyed by black holes.
dmwhipp's review against another edition
2.0
I thought I was getting an interesting sci-fi read about an approaching astronomical apocalypse -- how's that for alliteration? -- instead I got an implausible romance with an apocalyptic backdrop. Jess, our protagonist, is spoiled and obnoxious with little self control, and giving her a prosthetic leg did nothing to make her more likeable or interesting to me. The other characters were mostly two dimensional. If there's a sequel, I'll be skipping it.
cats22's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty good, though schizophrenic little book.
The story is about a giant mass- thought at first to possibly be dark matter, then maybe a black hole- that's hurtling through space toward our solar system. It will either destroy the earth, destroy the solar system, fling the earth into the sun, fling the earth into deep space, or....well, nobody really knows what's going to happen.
Anyway, the daughter of one of the astronomers working on the project is the main character. She's stubborn, has a haunted past, is somewhat abrasive, and kind of unlikeable. You're supposed to like her because she has a prosthetic leg and an indomitable will. And maybe I should, but... I kind of don't.
In fact, none of the characters are particularly likeable. There's a conventionally handsome Italian baron love interest with a bit of arrogance and an appropriate awe of the main character. There's a wise, doting, caring, supportive mom who's just too cardboard to be interesting. There's a little boy whose entire purpose is to be put in danger so he can be rescued. I guess I kind of liked the dad.
Anyway, this is part unlikely romance, part interesting speculative fiction, and part totally unbelievable big budget action flick. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining, but I don't feel invested enough in the characters to continue the series.
The story is about a giant mass- thought at first to possibly be dark matter, then maybe a black hole- that's hurtling through space toward our solar system. It will either destroy the earth, destroy the solar system, fling the earth into the sun, fling the earth into deep space, or....well, nobody really knows what's going to happen.
Anyway, the daughter of one of the astronomers working on the project is the main character. She's stubborn, has a haunted past, is somewhat abrasive, and kind of unlikeable. You're supposed to like her because she has a prosthetic leg and an indomitable will. And maybe I should, but... I kind of don't.
In fact, none of the characters are particularly likeable. There's a conventionally handsome Italian baron love interest with a bit of arrogance and an appropriate awe of the main character. There's a wise, doting, caring, supportive mom who's just too cardboard to be interesting. There's a little boy whose entire purpose is to be put in danger so he can be rescued. I guess I kind of liked the dad.
Anyway, this is part unlikely romance, part interesting speculative fiction, and part totally unbelievable big budget action flick. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining, but I don't feel invested enough in the characters to continue the series.
mistylyn's review against another edition
3.0
A tale of two halves here, really. The first half of this book is incredibly well done. I can’t rave enough about the development of the characters, the storylines and the wonderfully atmospheric settings. Somewhere around the 50-60% mark, however, it was as if someone else sat down behind the keyboard. The writing became almost “juvenile” in tone and far more steeped in a well of fantasy. Suddenly the sci-fi aspects were replaced with throw away lines, ridiculous relationships and almost slap-stick style missteps, not to mention golden swords, jeweled daggers....you get the picture. What began as an awesome apocalyptic novel was sent into costuming and forced to wear an ill fitting coat of “chick-lit meets medieval fantasy.”
Would love to see this as a rewrite, without the nonsense.
Would love to see this as a rewrite, without the nonsense.
mrrwmix's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent!
Make sure to watch the YouTube video that Mather referred to at the end of the book. It will help explain a lot of what happened.
Make sure to watch the YouTube video that Mather referred to at the end of the book. It will help explain a lot of what happened.
books10's review against another edition
3.0
I found the scientific parts of this book interesting, but was not captivated by the family saga part of the book.