mazza57's review against another edition
2.0
This was Ok but had the strangest and most unlikeable characters known to man
courtthebookgirl's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but some of it became tedious. It wasn't as fast-paced as I had hoped given the subject material. I did enjoy Rich's writing.
quietdomino's review against another edition
3.0
Disaster fiction! Meta-disaster fiction! Apocalypse is coming and our only preparation is to read literary thrillers that strain against the boundary dividing high and low fiction!
bookscookiescoffee's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. The book was written well enough, I just didn't care for it.
lillowo's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An interesting book about a worst case scenario and the fallout. Quite an interesting story!
ceridwyn's review against another edition
3.0
I've read a lot of dystopian fiction and this novel isn't quite sure whether its heading in that direction (with a McCarthy-esque journey through horrors and nightmares come to life) or if it wants to be a psychological examination of the anxiety involved in understanding risk. A Kafka for 'quants' as Rich calls them.
For me I wanted more of a way into the characters. Or at least into Mitchell. It felt a little like the author had decided that Mitchell was anxious and on the spectrum and that was his entire character with no way in to understanding his emotions. He changed, but he didn't develop or grow. Jane, however, definitely grew as a person, but she didn't change.
I found the ending difficult. I'm not sure whether Mitchell is creating his own hellish lonely hippie idyll, which will probably be wrecked and kill him in the next storm. Or turn into Lord of the Flies. Or if we are supposed to admire the self sufficiency and living sustainably (with help from Jane) that he's doing that is the only thing possible in the face of the future depredations to come.
This novel (written in 2013) is prescient about many things that can be predicted due to climate change, but I do not think it's going to change any minds or work to shift the system behind the climate crisis. It is does have a great post apocalyptic psychedelic canoe ride through a drowned New York though.
For me I wanted more of a way into the characters. Or at least into Mitchell. It felt a little like the author had decided that Mitchell was anxious and on the spectrum and that was his entire character with no way in to understanding his emotions. He changed, but he didn't develop or grow. Jane, however, definitely grew as a person, but she didn't change.
I found the ending difficult. I'm not sure whether Mitchell is creating his own hellish lonely hippie idyll, which will probably be wrecked and kill him in the next storm. Or turn into Lord of the Flies. Or if we are supposed to admire the self sufficiency and living sustainably (with help from Jane) that he's doing that is the only thing possible in the face of the future depredations to come.
This novel (written in 2013) is prescient about many things that can be predicted due to climate change, but I do not think it's going to change any minds or work to shift the system behind the climate crisis. It is does have a great post apocalyptic psychedelic canoe ride through a drowned New York though.
alice12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ncragoe's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable and interesting, which I definitely expected from the author of "The Mayor's Tongue." I did feel like it had some pacing problems - starting about halfway through the book, I couldn't shake the feeling that the book was going through an incredibly extended conclusion-sequence.
pukvdzanden's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
skepticalri's review against another edition
4.0
So much more than a simple disaster story, Rich paints a horrifying picture of the world in which we live. And that's before most of NYC is flooded.