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mom2triplets04's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this one on audio. It started out really good. I thought the concept of a person who has the ability to talk to the dead was really interesting. However, somehow the book just got a bit boring from the middle to the end. I was hoping it would pick up and we'd see more of the revival part of the story but it just didn't do that. Sorry to say this was a disappointment.
craftsy_auri's review against another edition
3.0
In a world where the dead can come back for a short time, with help from a reviver, Jonah Miller finds himself confronted with mysteries others write off as overwork during several revivals.
The way this world reacted on revival is really well written in this book. With people against, people pro and people just totally intrigued. Extremes come up against each other and make a story that is interesting enough to read.
The characters could have been better tough. Jonah's back story is interesting, but his main characteristics aren't that great. Just some main good guy who is special because of something from the past. Never is really likable, pretty smart, socially very understanding and easy going. And that's about it for him. All the other characters could have been better as well.
The end wasn't as great as I expected, slower and less spectacular.
This book is sometimes creepy and occasionally very surprising. Overall it was a good read. The short story in the end is a good and funny conclusion.
The way this world reacted on revival is really well written in this book. With people against, people pro and people just totally intrigued. Extremes come up against each other and make a story that is interesting enough to read.
The characters could have been better tough. Jonah's back story is interesting, but his main characteristics aren't that great. Just some main good guy who is special because of something from the past. Never is really likable, pretty smart, socially very understanding and easy going. And that's about it for him. All the other characters could have been better as well.
The end wasn't as great as I expected, slower and less spectacular.
This book is sometimes creepy and occasionally very surprising. Overall it was a good read. The short story in the end is a good and funny conclusion.
bookswithlukas's review against another edition
2.0
A really cool concept, but I just couldn't get invested in the characters.
'Reviver' is a book that was all about the concept for me, I'd read somewhat similar things featured in side-plots of other novels (mainly in the urban fantasy genre) and was interested to see the concept become the main focus of a novel. The concept being that there are people in the world, who are capable of 'reviving' people who have been murdered, so they can tell the police what has happened and who killed them.
While I have given the novel a low(ish) score overall, there were a few things I liked here. There was a definitive effort here to give you the back story of the 'revivers' and how these people developed these powers and what public opinion on them was. They even focused on the political side as opposed to just the moral, and I think it felt quite real in the way that it would be perceived. There was also side plots about the side effects, and medical repercussions for the actual revivers themselves that were quite interesting, that were told in a very scientific way, which was a nice touch.
I also liked the somewhat supernatural twist that happens towards the end, and the idea of something piggybacking onto a murdered persons soul and being released into this world was a really good idea, and one of the reasons I may read the sequel somewhere down the line.
The main thing that I felt let it down and my main issue was, in the novels characters. I just couldn't get fully invested in them, it's not even that they are paper thin cardboard cutouts. The first half of the novel is slow with the build up, and we get some definite character development for our main character, but I just couldn't get too enthusiastic about him. I was never really convinced to root or care for him.
Overall, this is an interesting debut novel, and in all likeliness, the issues I had with this entry could even be improved upon come the next entry in this series. I can say that I probably would read the sequel, if just to see how the religious aspects at the end of this entry developed after the end of this one.
'Reviver' is a book that was all about the concept for me, I'd read somewhat similar things featured in side-plots of other novels (mainly in the urban fantasy genre) and was interested to see the concept become the main focus of a novel. The concept being that there are people in the world, who are capable of 'reviving' people who have been murdered, so they can tell the police what has happened and who killed them.
While I have given the novel a low(ish) score overall, there were a few things I liked here. There was a definitive effort here to give you the back story of the 'revivers' and how these people developed these powers and what public opinion on them was. They even focused on the political side as opposed to just the moral, and I think it felt quite real in the way that it would be perceived. There was also side plots about the side effects, and medical repercussions for the actual revivers themselves that were quite interesting, that were told in a very scientific way, which was a nice touch.
I also liked the somewhat supernatural twist that happens towards the end, and the idea of something piggybacking onto a murdered persons soul and being released into this world was a really good idea, and one of the reasons I may read the sequel somewhere down the line.
The main thing that I felt let it down and my main issue was, in the novels characters. I just couldn't get fully invested in them, it's not even that they are paper thin cardboard cutouts. The first half of the novel is slow with the build up, and we get some definite character development for our main character, but I just couldn't get too enthusiastic about him. I was never really convinced to root or care for him.
Overall, this is an interesting debut novel, and in all likeliness, the issues I had with this entry could even be improved upon come the next entry in this series. I can say that I probably would read the sequel, if just to see how the religious aspects at the end of this entry developed after the end of this one.
karenavila85's review against another edition
2.0
Spoilers ahead...
The subject of reviving was very interesting to me. The ability to revive a person for a few minutes after death to close a murder case or to help find the perpetrator intrigued me. But that subject wasn't enough to save this book. I liked Jonah Miller and I liked Never. They were great characters and you could tell that they cared about each other. Jonah is a nice, caring person whom works as a reviver to bring closure to families wanting to say goodbye. Never is a technician who helps record the session during revival but he also goes above and beyond to ensure Johan does not go crazy. How can you not like them?
I'm not going to lie I was quickly engaged since the first chapter but after a few chapters I couldn't understand what the major plot line was. I felt like the book went off on the tangent without really hinting on what we should focus on until a hundred pages in. But even when you get that far in you just lose interest (at least for me). I didn't care for Daniel Harker and to focus the big mystery around his death was a big led down because his death was left to chance. But I guess if it wasn't for Harki we wouldn't know that the bigger picture was using revival to bring an ancient demon back to life and it was Jonah's job to stop this from happening. I would have liked the story if the mystery was played out more. I just needed more excitement. I also didn't like Daniel's daughter, Annabel, she's such a manipulated, push-over, over-achiever journalist. I pray in the book world Jonah will break free from her. He deserves someone better. I wanted to love this book but just couldn't but I do give the author credit for experimenting with a new subject. I know this can be expanded more but it just needs some more magic to make it enjoyable.
The subject of reviving was very interesting to me. The ability to revive a person for a few minutes after death to close a murder case or to help find the perpetrator intrigued me. But that subject wasn't enough to save this book. I liked Jonah Miller and I liked Never. They were great characters and you could tell that they cared about each other. Jonah is a nice, caring person whom works as a reviver to bring closure to families wanting to say goodbye. Never is a technician who helps record the session during revival but he also goes above and beyond to ensure Johan does not go crazy. How can you not like them?
I'm not going to lie I was quickly engaged since the first chapter but after a few chapters I couldn't understand what the major plot line was. I felt like the book went off on the tangent without really hinting on what we should focus on until a hundred pages in. But even when you get that far in you just lose interest (at least for me). I didn't care for Daniel Harker and to focus the big mystery around his death was a big led down because his death was left to chance. But I guess if it wasn't for Harki we wouldn't know that the bigger picture was using revival to bring an ancient demon back to life and it was Jonah's job to stop this from happening. I would have liked the story if the mystery was played out more. I just needed more excitement. I also didn't like Daniel's daughter, Annabel, she's such a manipulated, push-over, over-achiever journalist. I pray in the book world Jonah will break free from her. He deserves someone better. I wanted to love this book but just couldn't but I do give the author credit for experimenting with a new subject. I know this can be expanded more but it just needs some more magic to make it enjoyable.
shaxx's review against another edition
4.0
Moje recenze na Fantasyi: http://fantasya.cz/clanek/ozivovatel-probudi-ze-spanku-i-mrtve
justgina93's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't like the direction, to much back history for the frs didn't really keep me entertained.
metricks's review against another edition
2.0
Started off good, interesting! But died in the last half, and never was revived. Pun intended
quakinginmybooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
misshappyreading's review against another edition
3.0
A really great and interesting story, definitely makes a change to the otherwise already-seen stories. Toward the end, I would, however, have liked a little less pace. The speaker of the audio version gets a perfect score.
nickelwolken's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0