andshe_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Great read, great price. This is definately a book out of my comfort zone, I don't usually read genre's like this one, but I think i'll definately read more. This is so much better then I expected it to be.
I don't know about some of the things going on in Somalia so it was interesting to read about what crazyness went on there. You get the sense of actually being there in the character of Susan Chen from the descriptions the author gives. Her characters are well developed, and although there are a few, I didn't get confused or lost. It's not a fast read, it contains a bucketful of information that has you wanting to know more and so you read on. Look forward to reading some of Veronica's other great reads.
Happy reading
Anna =)
I don't know about some of the things going on in Somalia so it was interesting to read about what crazyness went on there. You get the sense of actually being there in the character of Susan Chen from the descriptions the author gives. Her characters are well developed, and although there are a few, I didn't get confused or lost. It's not a fast read, it contains a bucketful of information that has you wanting to know more and so you read on. Look forward to reading some of Veronica's other great reads.
Happy reading
Anna =)
andshereads's review against another edition
5.0
Great read, great price. This is definately a book out of my comfort zone, I don't usually read genre's like this one, but I think i'll definately read more. This is so much better then I expected it to be.
I don't know about some of the things going on in Somalia so it was interesting to read about what crazyness went on there. You get the sense of actually being there in the character of Susan Chen from the descriptions the author gives. Her characters are well developed, and although there are a few, I didn't get confused or lost. It's not a fast read, it contains a bucketful of information that has you wanting to know more and so you read on. Look forward to reading some of Veronica's other great reads.
Happy reading
Anna =)
I don't know about some of the things going on in Somalia so it was interesting to read about what crazyness went on there. You get the sense of actually being there in the character of Susan Chen from the descriptions the author gives. Her characters are well developed, and although there are a few, I didn't get confused or lost. It's not a fast read, it contains a bucketful of information that has you wanting to know more and so you read on. Look forward to reading some of Veronica's other great reads.
Happy reading
Anna =)
abookishaffair's review
4.0
This book is vastly different than Journey Across Four Seas but still sucks you right in. I was born in the mid-eighties so I really don't know much about the issues in Somalia during the early 1990s (except for Black Hawk Down; I know about that) so it was really interesting to get a little perspective on how truly crazy things were in that country at that point in time. I love books that truly give you a sense of place of where the characters are and what they are seeing and what they are doing. I think that creating a true sense of place can be really difficult a lot of times (it can be hard to make a place truly engage a reader if they don't really understand the context of the place)but Li does a really wonderful job.
I also really liked the character of Susan. She's smart. She's strong. And she knows how to kick some you-know-what. It's everything that I like in a hero. Thrillers are not my usual book fare but between the interesting location, the strong characters, and the great story, I found myself flying through the book in no time. I find a lot of times that thrillers are heavy on action but not heavy enough for me in substance. I most definitely did not find that in this book. It was fast-paced but still had a really good foundation.
Bottom line: Thrill seekers and non-thriller lovers alike will both like this fast paced story.
I also really liked the character of Susan. She's smart. She's strong. And she knows how to kick some you-know-what. It's everything that I like in a hero. Thrillers are not my usual book fare but between the interesting location, the strong characters, and the great story, I found myself flying through the book in no time. I find a lot of times that thrillers are heavy on action but not heavy enough for me in substance. I most definitely did not find that in this book. It was fast-paced but still had a really good foundation.
Bottom line: Thrill seekers and non-thriller lovers alike will both like this fast paced story.
tmycann's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.
For those who are interested in an insider’s view of complicated recent history, this novel does a fantastic job of drawing broad outlines of the players in the game and introducing an element of real understanding to a convoluted situation. For those who appreciate strong female characters, too, there is a lot to love about Susan Chen, the protagonist, a recent CIA trainee testing herself in her first assignment. I had to chuckle that Li was able to turn the “they sent a woman to do a man’s job” into a subtle, ongoing joke that truly upset gender bias and expectation. For both of these reasons I can happily recommend this book–and am really looking forward to reading her next book, to see whether this first experience has built on Li’s strengths as an author.
For those who are interested in an insider’s view of complicated recent history, this novel does a fantastic job of drawing broad outlines of the players in the game and introducing an element of real understanding to a convoluted situation. For those who appreciate strong female characters, too, there is a lot to love about Susan Chen, the protagonist, a recent CIA trainee testing herself in her first assignment. I had to chuckle that Li was able to turn the “they sent a woman to do a man’s job” into a subtle, ongoing joke that truly upset gender bias and expectation. For both of these reasons I can happily recommend this book–and am really looking forward to reading her next book, to see whether this first experience has built on Li’s strengths as an author.
More...