adamkull's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dragontomes2000's review against another edition
5.0
Well that was an action packed and bloody continuation to the John Cleaver series. The added cast was a nice touch and Dan Wells brought them in as if they were always a part of the series. I think the stakes in this one were so much higher then previous books. Especially with how everything came to an end. I don't even know how to really review this for you guys since this is the fourth book but man oh man was that a mind boggling ending. John Cleaver has become one of my new favorite characters because of the fact that he is struggling with APD and Dan Wells does such a great job at handling the mental illness aspect of his books. We even get to see the effects of Dissociative Identity Disorder which is also handled and dealt with very well. I am trying to take my time with this series but each book is like adrenaline for me and I just want more. Really saddened by the fact that there are only 2 more books to read!
malorykiyomi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Love the realistic teenage snark in this main character. I'm also a big fan of the evolving lore of this supernatural thrill ride. The plot reveals are well foreshadowed without making it too overt. There is a bit of suspended disbelief that needs to go into accepting that in a group that acknowledges the Withered exists our 17 y/o protagonist is the only one who can profile them. But it's well done enough I'm willing to believe it for as long as the narrative remains compelling. And it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Domestic abuse
claudiereads's review
5.0
Thickening plot, new game-changing reveals, and moral dilemmas galore — looks like the second half of this series will be even better than the first three books.
First person POV has never been my favorite, and I kind of expected it to get tiring right about now, but nope — John’s head is such a weird place to be; I don’t want to ever leave! The dichotomy of his character is so masterfully shown here… I can’t get enough.
Just to be clear: I loved this. The new killer was damn scary, even before he showed his true colors. I really enjoyed the chase, as always — Dan Wells writes a good thriller. What I did not love were John’s new coworkers (especially Nathan, that little bastard…) and I can’t say I was bothered by their fate.
And that ending! Whew, it gave me chills.
First person POV has never been my favorite, and I kind of expected it to get tiring right about now, but nope — John’s head is such a weird place to be; I don’t want to ever leave! The dichotomy of his character is so masterfully shown here… I can’t get enough.
Just to be clear: I loved this. The new killer was damn scary, even before he showed his true colors. I really enjoyed the chase, as always — Dan Wells writes a good thriller. What I did not love were John’s new coworkers (especially Nathan, that little bastard…) and I can’t say I was bothered by their fate.
And that ending! Whew, it gave me chills.
lynn_k's review
4.0
This book takes place a year after the last book. John continues to struggle with who he is and for the most part figures out what he wants/needs to do.
I like that, even though this is a series, that every book has an ending that's satisfactory and you could just stop and be fine not continuing, but also leaves it ever so slightly open for a continuation to take place. Not that I would ever stop reading anything Dan Wells writes. I think he may be one of my favorite new (to me) authors. I've yet to read anything by him that is not this series, but I'm planning to change that soon.
I like that, even though this is a series, that every book has an ending that's satisfactory and you could just stop and be fine not continuing, but also leaves it ever so slightly open for a continuation to take place. Not that I would ever stop reading anything Dan Wells writes. I think he may be one of my favorite new (to me) authors. I've yet to read anything by him that is not this series, but I'm planning to change that soon.
a_chickletz's review
3.0
will post a review soon... I've missed you John.
EDIT:
When I first started this book I thought I missed something, like, it just dove right into John's new job with the FBI and I had no idea that that's how it was... John was now working for them. It felt weird, it felt foreign to me because I like John as a bit of a loner, not answering to higher-ups but doing his own thing.
I liked this book and then I didn't. I liked it for the character development and what was going on with Brooke. I didn't like it because all the characters that surrounded John were merely throw-aways with no real 'character' to them.
The Withered's backstory, the creatures that John is coming in contact with, gave me some serious Queen of the Damned origin vibes...
I just don't know if I like the downplay of the creepiness.
EDIT:
When I first started this book I thought I missed something, like, it just dove right into John's new job with the FBI and I had no idea that that's how it was... John was now working for them. It felt weird, it felt foreign to me because I like John as a bit of a loner, not answering to higher-ups but doing his own thing.
I liked this book and then I didn't. I liked it for the character development and what was going on with Brooke. I didn't like it because all the characters that surrounded John were merely throw-aways with no real 'character' to them.
The Withered's backstory, the creatures that John is coming in contact with, gave me some serious Queen of the Damned origin vibes...
I just don't know if I like the downplay of the creepiness.
adfgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wrm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
llim's review
4.0
Pretty damn fun.
There were a bit too many new characters to keep track of in the beginning, not helped by the fact that sometimes they were referred to by their last names. The military guy, the team leader who got killed early on and was then replaced by a new team leader archetype who may or may not have been there the entire time. The history guy who ended up being evil, the psychiatrist who you are tricked into thinking is evil but actually he wasn't. I was deceived--the hints that the psychiatrist was evil were kind of obvious, so when it was revealed that he was indeed the one who betrayed them all, I completely believed it (and was a bit disappointed that it was so obvious). So, when it turned out that he was actually being framed for that betrayal and was innocent, I was pleasantly surprised.
There were also a lot of shocking deaths at the end [the memory-stealing monster guy who was actually good :( and the military guy shortly after]. I'm glad that the entire FBI team ended up dying, I never did find it very believable that they'd recruit some 17 year old kid to help them. Next book should be interesting~ Though, they apparently killed the biggest baddest monster in this book, so I'm not sure who the antagonist will end up being...
Anyway, I like this series. It's really grown on me.
There were a bit too many new characters to keep track of in the beginning, not helped by the fact that sometimes they were referred to by their last names. The military guy, the team leader who got killed early on and was then replaced by a new team leader archetype who may or may not have been there the entire time. The history guy who ended up being evil, the psychiatrist who you are tricked into thinking is evil but actually he wasn't. I was deceived--the hints that the psychiatrist was evil were kind of obvious, so when it was revealed that he was indeed the one who betrayed them all, I completely believed it (and was a bit disappointed that it was so obvious). So, when it turned out that he was actually being framed for that betrayal and was innocent, I was pleasantly surprised.
There were also a lot of shocking deaths at the end [the memory-stealing monster guy who was actually good :( and the military guy shortly after]. I'm glad that the entire FBI team ended up dying, I never did find it very believable that they'd recruit some 17 year old kid to help them. Next book should be interesting~ Though, they apparently killed the biggest baddest monster in this book, so I'm not sure who the antagonist will end up being...
Anyway, I like this series. It's really grown on me.