Reviews

Listen, I’m an AVID, RABID Stephen King fan. So of course I had to read Chuck Wendig. This was my second read of his, having read Wanderers first, fitting since it’s about a pandemic, much like King’s The Stand. And I liked this book! I really did. In hindsight, I did. During, it was a tough read. I felt like I read this book for 40 days and 40 nights. I enjoyed it. I ADORED one scene in particular, where Chuck paints a VIVID portrait of a diner that I absolutely LOVED. Best part of the book, in my opinion. Pete Corley has my heart and soul, of course. And if you know anything about how Stephen treats the “favorite character” in his books, you should prepare yourself for how Chuck handles it in his own work. There’s good stuff in here, for sure. But I had to look back on it fondly rather than enjoy it while I was there.

nameredacted's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

lwisney4's review against another edition

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5.0

35 hours is a seriously long audiobook but thankfully it was excellent. As creepy as it is reading a book about a near-present day pandemic these days I enjoyed the creativity making this story eerily realistic while still fictional and imaginative. Love the writing style and hearing POV from dozens of characters ( even Gumball the golden retriever

jerseytodd's review against another edition

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3.0

So long....I probably need to come back again at it

bsmith27's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a sequel and I didn't read the first one. I wish I had. A plague called White Mask decimated humanity, with a relative handful saved by a powerful AI called Black Swan that herded this hypnotized flock to Ouray, Colorado. Among the survivors are Benji Ray, a scientist formerly with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Then there is Shana Stewart, who is pregnant and has the baby early in the book. She also has black swan in her. Sheriff Marcy Reyes had something wrong with her brain and black swan has fixed it and pastor Matthew Bird who no one seems to like. In Middle America, President Ed Creel, a murdering, bigoted, bullying Trump clone, raises his own army of scumbags to fight what remains of the culture wars. He is controlled by a woman named Anna because he drank something that has given his hand the power to turn into a drill but he has to stay near anna. He then drugs her and kidnaps her When Black Swan kidnaps Shana’s child, charlie, she and Benji set off on another cross-country quest to find a way to save him. On their way to CDC headquarters, they pick up hilariously foulmouthed rock god Pete Corley, back from delivering Willie Nelson’s guitar to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When they get to the CDC there is a war between them and creel. Shana is hurt but because she showed kindness to Anna she gives her the ai and fixes her. They then see that Anna's mother created black swan and tested it on Shana's mom as one of the twelve. They realize that Anna has a different version of black swan and that is the way to kill black swan. Meanwhile black swan has sped up the growth of Charlie and all hell has broke lose in Colorado. Marcys headache is back, Matthew was attacked by a cyborg wolf and is quickly becoming part ai. Nessi is barely holding on against black swan. Shana and then you come back and she knows able to trick Black swan into thinking that the whole program is inside Matthew. That part of the little confusing for me. But in the end Nessie Charlie and Shana live happily in a small town. Benji goes back to a woman he met on the road. Really good novel that was slightly long. I really wish I had read the first one because I think this would have been one of those books you could talk to your friends about.

trashroyal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

captainhotbun's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense

3.75

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