mckenna_elese's review
1.0
This book was slowwwww. The first 70 pages or so are really gripping, all the stuff in the middle is lethargic and left me not really caring, and then the ending was absolutely dull. DULL! How can a story about the aftermath of a plane crash in the ocean and a man swimming himself and a little kid to safety be dull?! I have no clue! But this story was. After the first 70 pages it lacked any real suspense or excitement. It seemed mildly existential and the protagonist was very melancholy and lethargic.
Not worth your time.
Not worth your time.
kimdanya's review
2.0
I listened to the audio book for free, and I am so glad I did not purchase the book.
Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed the style of writing. The beginning was probably the best part of the book. Then we learn more about characters throughout the remaining of the novel, which is very slow paced. After that the story line continues with the remaining survivors in present time. I was expecting so much for this novel, overall it was a huge letdown as a thriller. The ending was horrible. After learning about all the characters' pasts and viewpoints on what happened before the plane went down- I was so excited to finally uncover the truth. Big letdown- I can't believe I listened to this 13 hour audiobook.
Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed the style of writing. The beginning was probably the best part of the book. Then we learn more about characters throughout the remaining of the novel, which is very slow paced. After that the story line continues with the remaining survivors in present time. I was expecting so much for this novel, overall it was a huge letdown as a thriller. The ending was horrible. After learning about all the characters' pasts and viewpoints on what happened before the plane went down- I was so excited to finally uncover the truth. Big letdown- I can't believe I listened to this 13 hour audiobook.
tfelmey's review against another edition
3.0
Feels like a movie
Kept me interested, moved pretty quickly. Good summer read. I can see this getting made into a movie.
This book takes place after a pane crash, but dives into the stories and lives of the people in the plane prior to the crash.
Kept me interested, moved pretty quickly. Good summer read. I can see this getting made into a movie.
This book takes place after a pane crash, but dives into the stories and lives of the people in the plane prior to the crash.
steve_sanders's review
3.0
Hawley occasionally allows his philosophical impulses to get the best of his storytelling (the last time an omniscient could get away with openly pontificating in the middle of a story might have been Middlemarch), but the novel’s clever plotting and well-rendered characters produce a tight, effective story and an occasionally-insightful meditation on the nature of loss.
pcdbigfoot's review
3.25
Serviceable plot, decent resolution, okay characters, other than the villain (who was a bit cartoonish). Reliable, if formulaic thriller.
bookchew's review
4.0
Gripping and topical. A mystery but also a look at human nature and modern society--the vulture-like media, corruption, our relationship to truth and to tragedy. Read it sooner than later.
jackobotts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jollymo9's review
4.0
I like this book. I truly do. I listened to it on audible, which at some points was hard because it has mystery thriller aspects and I know that if I was reading it hard copy I would have finished it much quicker, and honestly I just wanted to speed through it so I could find out what happened! Another thing that made it slow going was that there were so many men in this novel that I disliked with the whole of my being. So many people with so many agendas and so many prejudices. It made it hard to read at points. I really did like Scott the main character, and the way that he was written seemed very real. I think that the author got the way a situation like this would play out very well. In the sense that the media and the investigation really intruded on the healing process of the victims. It was realistic. This is a good read. I throughly recommend it. And even though it was slow going on audible I think that listening to the audio book had its perks as I feel connected to the characters and I understand the whole novel. Overall a good read!
ndenitto's review
5.0
A scathing attack on modern news outlets and a tight mystery make this an essential read. When a media billionaires private jet crashes under mysterious circumstances, questions arise as to what caused the crash and how the only adult survivor was a penniless artist that was invited on the flight last minute. In one of the most thrilling openings to a book I've ever read, Scott Burroughs survives a plane crashing into the middle of the ocean, finds the moguls four-year-old son alive in the wreckage, and swims for miles to shore with only one good arm. As numerous agencies try to uncover the truth behind the crash with evidence, author Noah Hawley intersplices chapters dedicated to each passenger on the plane. These chapters provide important backstory that only we get access to, and assist in illuminating the full portrait of the crash. Scott is without a doubt a hero, but antagonizing him is the face of the moguls' news network, Bill Cunningham. Cunningham is a slimy asshole that wire taps peoples phones and invades their emails to find information to back up his sensational opinions. Naturally, he has a massive viewership. He brands the crash a terrorist attack and sets out to place blame on Scott by discrediting him with the most unreliable "evidence" he can find, but saying it confidently so it sounds like it's fact.
This is a remarkable book that is very difficult to put down, especially in the first and final thirds. Because the first third is so intense, you might get a little burned out by the time you hit the middle. It's well worth pushing through that, as Hawley is a master storyteller. Each chapter is it's own story, and it's clear Hawley knows the value of set-ups and pay-offs.
This is a remarkable book that is very difficult to put down, especially in the first and final thirds. Because the first third is so intense, you might get a little burned out by the time you hit the middle. It's well worth pushing through that, as Hawley is a master storyteller. Each chapter is it's own story, and it's clear Hawley knows the value of set-ups and pay-offs.
mlsteven426's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to this as an audio book. The narrator did a great job and the story was interesting.