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caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I think I would have enjoyed this book more if Cronin had picked one storyline and stuck to it. Is this a book about the events leading up to a bio-apocalypse or is it an aftermath/rebuilding story? The passage attempts to be both, and for me, that didn't quite work.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly was entertaining--Cronin's writing style lends itself to fast paced action scenes--but the character work just wasn't there for me. In part because the women characters suffered from an abundance of "written by a man" syndrome (women either get to be nurturing mothers or Action Gals, and all of them are pretty/sexualized by at least one man. Plus, if their suffering doesn't include at least some sexual violence, then how do you even know they're women??), but also because, to make room for so much Theme and Plot, the character work is a lot more "told" than demonstrated. The sort-of exceptions to this are Agent Wolgast and Carter/one of the Twelve, and they're gone by page 200ish/900ish.
I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of the Twelve; it made them more rounded as antagonists, and while Amy was more a plot device and a stereotype of girlhood than a character (and certainly not the protagonist Cronin has stated he wanted her to be), I still enjoyed seeing a girl be a Messianic figure of sorts, even though her Trump Card Nature made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic and abrupt.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly was entertaining--Cronin's writing style lends itself to fast paced action scenes--but the character work just wasn't there for me. In part because the women characters suffered from an abundance of "written by a man" syndrome (women either get to be nurturing mothers or Action Gals, and all of them are pretty/sexualized by at least one man. Plus, if their suffering doesn't include at least some sexual violence, then how do you even know they're women??), but also because, to make room for so much Theme and Plot, the character work is a lot more "told" than demonstrated. The sort-of exceptions to this are Agent Wolgast and Carter/one of the Twelve, and they're gone by page 200ish/900ish.
I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of the Twelve; it made them more rounded as antagonists, and while Amy was more a plot device and a stereotype of girlhood than a character (and certainly not the protagonist Cronin has stated he wanted her to be), I still enjoyed seeing a girl be a Messianic figure of sorts, even though her Trump Card Nature made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic and abrupt.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
also TW Military Violencebookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Vomit
kkarinh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, and Pregnancy
arnicas's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Maybe a bit too much mysterious foresight and amazing helpful coincidences, but a solid page turner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence