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distgenius's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cameronkc's review
2.0
I read most of this book while on the stairmaster. I have to consider that my feeling on the book may be reflected in my rating. Now according to Goodreads, my rating of a 2, means it was OK, and it was. The series is a quick read. There are a few main characters, and quite honestly, I do not care about any of them. That is weird right? I mean after like 1000+ pages of writing, I should care about something, I mean my time is precious.
I felt short changed in the description/background of the aliens.
The characters reflected exactly how humans might act in a war, but maybe that is a bad thing.
I think I needed a smarter, craftier character, that was outsmarting the aliens (or the humans). No one ever rose to the challenge.
I felt short changed in the description/background of the aliens.
The characters reflected exactly how humans might act in a war, but maybe that is a bad thing.
I think I needed a smarter, craftier character, that was outsmarting the aliens (or the humans). No one ever rose to the challenge.
pjonsson's review
5.0
There is no doubt whatsoever that this is a great book and a good ending to the Ark Royal trilogy even though it is somewhat tragic.
The book takes off immediately after the events in the previous book and conditions on Earth are somewhat apocalyptic to say the least. All our familiar faces from the previous books are present and accounted for, including the ones the rest of humanity thinks are dead. Needless to say the latter place a crucial role in the story.
As usual the characters are great, the story compelling and the action good. As is usually the case when it comes to alien invasions, they in themselves are never really enough. Almost every author seems to be compelled to show off humanity’s treacherous nature and I would say downright stupidity by including some despicable saboteur or other dark plot. So also in this book. Unlike a lot of books today it is not some muslim faction or communist China that plays the bad guys but Mr. Nuttall have awoken the good old trusty Russian bear. I guess it goes together with recent times. To be honest Mr. Nuttall gives them a believable reason for their actions although I still think they are behaving like idiots.
This book exposes much more of the aliens, their reasoning and, perhaps most importantly, the actual reason for the war. Gradually the book works itself up for the grand finale which, not surprisingly, becomes a showdown between Ark Royal and the alien warmongers. The outcome? Well I do not think that I spoil too much when I say that the outcome is satisfactory…for humanity…but unfortunately not for all the people involved. I am afraid that I am a bit of a simpleton when it comes to book and movie endings. I want happy endings and this one was bit of a mixed feeling.
The book takes off immediately after the events in the previous book and conditions on Earth are somewhat apocalyptic to say the least. All our familiar faces from the previous books are present and accounted for, including the ones the rest of humanity thinks are dead. Needless to say the latter place a crucial role in the story.
As usual the characters are great, the story compelling and the action good. As is usually the case when it comes to alien invasions, they in themselves are never really enough. Almost every author seems to be compelled to show off humanity’s treacherous nature and I would say downright stupidity by including some despicable saboteur or other dark plot. So also in this book. Unlike a lot of books today it is not some muslim faction or communist China that plays the bad guys but Mr. Nuttall have awoken the good old trusty Russian bear. I guess it goes together with recent times. To be honest Mr. Nuttall gives them a believable reason for their actions although I still think they are behaving like idiots.
This book exposes much more of the aliens, their reasoning and, perhaps most importantly, the actual reason for the war. Gradually the book works itself up for the grand finale which, not surprisingly, becomes a showdown between Ark Royal and the alien warmongers. The outcome? Well I do not think that I spoil too much when I say that the outcome is satisfactory…for humanity…but unfortunately not for all the people involved. I am afraid that I am a bit of a simpleton when it comes to book and movie endings. I want happy endings and this one was bit of a mixed feeling.
leifw's review
3.0
This is by far the most interesting of the three books. The authors brought the gambit of killing off perspective characters, which if this is the end of the line isn't that bold a move.
However, it still suffers from flat stereotyping. Suppose you need a strawman nation to play the role of dehumanizing double crosser willing put its needs before those of humanity. With any sense of history lived from the West in the last half of the 20th century, you'd almost have to pick a Communist nation. And if you're going to do that, you might as well pick the Russians, right? And of course our authors took that expedient route.
Again, it can't be that bad because I read all three books in the series, but dang, this series does make me appreciate the self-criticality that more experienced authors deploy to restrain hackneyed shortcuts.
However, it still suffers from flat stereotyping. Suppose you need a strawman nation to play the role of dehumanizing double crosser willing put its needs before those of humanity. With any sense of history lived from the West in the last half of the 20th century, you'd almost have to pick a Communist nation. And if you're going to do that, you might as well pick the Russians, right? And of course our authors took that expedient route.
Again, it can't be that bad because I read all three books in the series, but dang, this series does make me appreciate the self-criticality that more experienced authors deploy to restrain hackneyed shortcuts.
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