bentersbookshelf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mylhibug's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
chrisofcourse's review
1.0
If you're going to write sci-fi, write sci-fi and leave out all the irrelevant mystery/thriller/romance crap.
rachelleighz's review
4.0
Very much a thriller. Fast paced and keeps you hooked until the end. Uses real science to explain what is happening with "Nomad". Very interesting tale of survival. Could have done without the side story of the disputing Italian families though, that was a little weird.
jlsigman's review
1.0
Too much "OMG a cliffhanger worse than the one in the previous chapter!" Reads like a television script, not a novel.
ryaninc's review
4.0
This is a really good book that is very thought provoking. It definitely gets a bit ridiculous at times and jumps the shark more than once, but overall it's a good read. It brings up a lot of really interesting "what ifs" that truly make you think about the future. How will humanity react if we know a near-apocalypse situation is coming? Once it happens, how will we survive?
It's definitely a good book that I recommend, even if just for the science discussions and social thought experiments it brings up. That being said, the book has WAY too many convenient situations. The characters are often saved at the last minute by something unexpected, lots of deus ex machina situations going on here. Plot lines seem way too convenient for driving the characters in one direction or another. I found myself doing a lot of, "oh come on, really?" when things would happen. It's a book that wants to be taken very seriously and has some majorly interesting science topics, but it's hampered by plot devices that seem just a bit too perfectly lined up, you know?
If you like apocalyptic stories or dystopian stories, then I recommend this one, you'll probably enjoy it. But you'll have to be ready to look past some of the all too convenient plot devices.
It's definitely a good book that I recommend, even if just for the science discussions and social thought experiments it brings up. That being said, the book has WAY too many convenient situations. The characters are often saved at the last minute by something unexpected, lots of deus ex machina situations going on here. Plot lines seem way too convenient for driving the characters in one direction or another. I found myself doing a lot of, "oh come on, really?" when things would happen. It's a book that wants to be taken very seriously and has some majorly interesting science topics, but it's hampered by plot devices that seem just a bit too perfectly lined up, you know?
If you like apocalyptic stories or dystopian stories, then I recommend this one, you'll probably enjoy it. But you'll have to be ready to look past some of the all too convenient plot devices.
anothercurleyhairbooklover's review
5.0
good engaging plot that just carried me along; coupled with great characters.
lilyn_g's review
4.0
Nomad took a while to hook me. The first few chapters I was more or less “okay…where’s he going with this?” There’s this whole bad girl side story that takes precedence early on, and it just didn’t do it for me. However, eventually the story found it’s stride, and I found myself extremely interested. Yes, I snickered when the space baddie was revealed, but it definitely not one I’d seen in science fiction book before. (“The world has numbed to asteroids. I guess this was the logical step up.” – My aside to my partner.) More of a focus on the science beyond the apocalyptic element and less of a focus on the characters would have been preferable. I know for most people characters are king, but I feel like the personal drama distracts me from the ‘good stuff’ at times.
Even when it comes to books, I’m not a people person.
Anyways, the pacing felt slow at first, but soon Nomad picked up the steam. Towards the end of the book I couldn’t wait to figure out how the author was going to handle things. I was definitely on edge, and only mildly disappointed at the ending that he chose. It’s not that it wasn’t well done, because it was. It’s just that I have a destructive streak that doesn’t get fulfilled nearly often enough.
The main character, Jessica, is a former marine who is missing most of one leg. I did like the fact that she’s missing the leg actually figures into the story on more than one occasion. Mather doesn’t just do the token “oh look, my character has a disability – but here’s how we magically move past it!”. It hampers Jess, but there’s also this awesome scene with a leg-bat and a cheesy one liner that you just need to read. I also liked that even though she was a marine, she doesn’t fall into the stereotypical behavioral models often portrayed. I won’t say more for fear of ruining it.
The other characters were neither here nor there. Whilst they weren’t cardboard cutouts, they just weren’t people I could care about. I know that I was supposed to feel a sense of tenseness as they raced against time in more ways than one, but I didn’t. Instead I wanted them to get their personal problems dealt with so the author could get back to destroying the earth.
Overall, Nomad was a good read that would probably thrill character-driven readers a lot more than it did me.
Even when it comes to books, I’m not a people person.
Anyways, the pacing felt slow at first, but soon Nomad picked up the steam. Towards the end of the book I couldn’t wait to figure out how the author was going to handle things. I was definitely on edge, and only mildly disappointed at the ending that he chose. It’s not that it wasn’t well done, because it was. It’s just that I have a destructive streak that doesn’t get fulfilled nearly often enough.
The main character, Jessica, is a former marine who is missing most of one leg. I did like the fact that she’s missing the leg actually figures into the story on more than one occasion. Mather doesn’t just do the token “oh look, my character has a disability – but here’s how we magically move past it!”. It hampers Jess, but there’s also this awesome scene with a leg-bat and a cheesy one liner that you just need to read. I also liked that even though she was a marine, she doesn’t fall into the stereotypical behavioral models often portrayed. I won’t say more for fear of ruining it.
The other characters were neither here nor there. Whilst they weren’t cardboard cutouts, they just weren’t people I could care about. I know that I was supposed to feel a sense of tenseness as they raced against time in more ways than one, but I didn’t. Instead I wanted them to get their personal problems dealt with so the author could get back to destroying the earth.
Overall, Nomad was a good read that would probably thrill character-driven readers a lot more than it did me.
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