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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
DNF at 30%.
Gary Whitta's Gundog offered a lot of promise, but failed to deliver. It revolves around an alien invasion, and in the book's opener we get a two page infodump that catches us up on future history, which - in the 85 pages I read - is about as interesting as this book gets. A machine race known as the Mek (get it? Mek because they're mechanical beings? I'm not sure if they named themselves that or if it was meant as a derogatory hardy har har name invented by the humans they subjugated.) came to Earth in peace, seeking to trade their advanced technology for our natural resources, which their dying home world was in desperate need of. But, since humanity is the shitshow that it is, we decided we could just take their technology in lieu of nothing at all, and declared war, because we're a cynical, barbaric species and such is our way. Of course, the Mek's peaceful ways hid a hugely advanced military might that they used to wipe the Earth's ass with us and claim our planet for themselves. Humanity was rounded up into labor camps, which is where Gundog actually begins and any excitement that may have existed in this story goes to die.
Mechs are a hugely important part of this book. The alien race is wholly mechanical and Gundog arrives in timely fashion given current events regarding the threats posed by artificial intelligence to humanity, employment, and the arts (see the Writer's Guild of America's strike, for instance, and their demands to regulate AI in Hollywood productions). There are giant mechanized war machines the humans piloted in the war called Gundogs, and one long lost, fabled Gundog left standing as a monument by the Meks to humanity's utter failure supposedly still standing outside Bismark, ND, or so rumor has it. Whitta's writing is mechanical, too -- stiff, dull, and completely lifeless, there's no joy, urgency, or amusement to be found in these words. The book itself may as well have been outlined by AI with the prompt "The Hunger Games meets Robot Jox" it's so trope-ridden.
If you've read virtually any post-apocalyptic dystopian book with a YA woman destined for greatness thanks to her unknown especially to her legacy on a Joseph Campbell hero's journey, aided by a boy she knowns nothing about but who knows more than her about basically everything including her familial legacy, you've read far less robotic versions of Gundog already.
Gary Whitta's Gundog offered a lot of promise, but failed to deliver. It revolves around an alien invasion, and in the book's opener we get a two page infodump that catches us up on future history, which - in the 85 pages I read - is about as interesting as this book gets. A machine race known as the Mek (get it? Mek because they're mechanical beings? I'm not sure if they named themselves that or if it was meant as a derogatory hardy har har name invented by the humans they subjugated.) came to Earth in peace, seeking to trade their advanced technology for our natural resources, which their dying home world was in desperate need of. But, since humanity is the shitshow that it is, we decided we could just take their technology in lieu of nothing at all, and declared war, because we're a cynical, barbaric species and such is our way. Of course, the Mek's peaceful ways hid a hugely advanced military might that they used to wipe the Earth's ass with us and claim our planet for themselves. Humanity was rounded up into labor camps, which is where Gundog actually begins and any excitement that may have existed in this story goes to die.
Mechs are a hugely important part of this book. The alien race is wholly mechanical and Gundog arrives in timely fashion given current events regarding the threats posed by artificial intelligence to humanity, employment, and the arts (see the Writer's Guild of America's strike, for instance, and their demands to regulate AI in Hollywood productions). There are giant mechanized war machines the humans piloted in the war called Gundogs, and one long lost, fabled Gundog left standing as a monument by the Meks to humanity's utter failure supposedly still standing outside Bismark, ND, or so rumor has it. Whitta's writing is mechanical, too -- stiff, dull, and completely lifeless, there's no joy, urgency, or amusement to be found in these words. The book itself may as well have been outlined by AI with the prompt "The Hunger Games meets Robot Jox" it's so trope-ridden.
If you've read virtually any post-apocalyptic dystopian book with a YA woman destined for greatness thanks to her unknown especially to her legacy on a Joseph Campbell hero's journey, aided by a boy she knowns nothing about but who knows more than her about basically everything including her familial legacy, you've read far less robotic versions of Gundog already.
Whitta should stick to writing screenplays. Some interesting ideas here but the prose reads as though it was written by an adolescent. The story is dialog heavy, which is not necessarily a bad thing but you never get a good feeling for what makes this world unique. Your left to fill in the gaps with your own mental visualizations derived from past post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Some of the choices made seem contrived just to fill in plot-gaps. When the story finally gets moving along if feels like we spend too short of an amount of time in that portion of the story to sprint towards the end. There are story issues that are nagging and it would have been more enjoyable if those had been addressed during editing. Overall an enjoyable, fast-paced, easy read but I can't get over the feeling that it was a screenplay that was converted to a book for the purposes of being the basis for a series of films.
Read this review and more on my blog, uncovered-books.
I received a free copy of Gundog from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
Set in the future of Earth, Gundog is a science fiction book that felt more dystopian in nature without the relevant world building that previous dystopian novels have. The only reason why this is would be considered a sci-fi book is because of aliens.
Throughout the entirety of Gundog, I never once got the feeling that I was in a science fiction time. Nothing in here was particularly described to give any sense of what the world felt like. If we are in a future where humanity has been conquered by an alien race, you need to describe how this Earth looks, how worn the survivors are. While book readers do have good imaginations, you need to give us something to work with.
My biggest gripe with Gundog is that we never seem to get to the meat of anything. The plot seems to jump along whenever it gets bored with whatever is currently happening. The characters are never given solid motives, if they are even given motives at all. At no point in the entirety of this novel were the alien Men described in any level of detail. A floating hunk of metal is the only image that I had of them in my mind for the duration of the read. Now that I think of it, none of the character were really described in anyway.
Gundog was an extreme easy read. I cannot remember the last time that I read a book of this length so quickly (it was probably when I was in high school in my devour a book in a day phase). I would classify this book to be aimed more towards the young adult reading group because of the nature of both its ease of reading as well as everything moving along so quick. No scene felt like it ended up explaining everything, like we were reading through with partially blinkered view of what was occurring. This got so frustrating since things never ended up feeling fulfilling.
While a gripping read, the more I think about the more I am annoyed with how much potential was wasted.
I received a free copy of Gundog from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
Set in the future of Earth, Gundog is a science fiction book that felt more dystopian in nature without the relevant world building that previous dystopian novels have. The only reason why this is would be considered a sci-fi book is because of aliens.
Throughout the entirety of Gundog, I never once got the feeling that I was in a science fiction time. Nothing in here was particularly described to give any sense of what the world felt like. If we are in a future where humanity has been conquered by an alien race, you need to describe how this Earth looks, how worn the survivors are. While book readers do have good imaginations, you need to give us something to work with.
My biggest gripe with Gundog is that we never seem to get to the meat of anything. The plot seems to jump along whenever it gets bored with whatever is currently happening. The characters are never given solid motives, if they are even given motives at all. At no point in the entirety of this novel were the alien Men described in any level of detail. A floating hunk of metal is the only image that I had of them in my mind for the duration of the read. Now that I think of it, none of the character were really described in anyway.
Gundog was an extreme easy read. I cannot remember the last time that I read a book of this length so quickly (it was probably when I was in high school in my devour a book in a day phase). I would classify this book to be aimed more towards the young adult reading group because of the nature of both its ease of reading as well as everything moving along so quick. No scene felt like it ended up explaining everything, like we were reading through with partially blinkered view of what was occurring. This got so frustrating since things never ended up feeling fulfilling.
While a gripping read, the more I think about the more I am annoyed with how much potential was wasted.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really really really wanted to love this book! The premise and most aspects of the story appealed to me; overlord aliens, long lost mech, a strong female lead, etc.
It felt like the bones for a movie script though. There was the potential for so much depth, description and world building and I feel the surface was barely scratched. There were also a lot of filler characters and parts of the story that had no real meaning or relevance.
Unfortunately the idea of this book was better than the reality. It would probably make a decent movie though.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Inkshares for a copy.
It felt like the bones for a movie script though. There was the potential for so much depth, description and world building and I feel the surface was barely scratched. There were also a lot of filler characters and parts of the story that had no real meaning or relevance.
Unfortunately the idea of this book was better than the reality. It would probably make a decent movie though.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Inkshares for a copy.
This book is an easy read, but full of action and suspense. I love that so many main characters are badass young women. I wish there had been books like that when I was young. This is a book that you can easily imagine as a movie. The male lead is also not what you might expect. I love the surprises. The Gundogs are reminiscent of Pacific Rim, and the alien Meks reminded me of something from a Decepton world. This is like anime for your imagination
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was like reading a Marvel movie. If that appeals to you, you might like this. It did not appeal to me.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No