Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Drift

This was an impulse buy - I went to order a new book from my local, and saw The Drift. Really loved The Chalk Man and I do love me some apocalypse stuff.

This was a very fun read. Tudor is so good at keeping you on your toes by pulling you in and out of different plot points by switching point of view or time period. I read it in a day on my train ride, and I'm glad I did!

I think it was, at times, a bit overwhelming how many characters were packed into the scenarios, and how similar a lot of their modes of speaking were. This improved with time but, overall, a bit more diversity could have made things more interesting. Having read two of her books, I'm noticing Tudor definitely has a preference for sort of moody, emotionally dysfunctional, often analytical, traumatised characters who don't have much time or sympathy for others around them. They're flawed characters and purposefully so, but it would be good to see a bit more range in personality. Meg and Hannah's characters did develop and become more well rounded as things unfolded.

I really did not buy Carter as his age. Sean behaved much younger, more controlled, more thoughtful and brave, while Carter came off like a disgruntled and awkward teenager most of the time. It was just a bit jarring, and I couldn't help but picture Carter as an early twenty year old

Overall - fucking fun and a good bit of horror sci-fi. It's fucked up, action-packed and very tense.

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mariaramses's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this is my first cj tudor and i'm just so happy i loved this book. I tend to not always grab post apocalyptic books but when I do, I end up enjoying them so much. this filled an Emily st John Mandel void in my heart but it was even more brutal.
the story is set 10 years after a deadly virus was unleashed on the earth and we follow 3 storylines of people trapped in situations, while examining their survival tactics and how far they are willing to go/do to make it out alive.
I love how fast paced the book is, I flew through it without feeling like I skimmed, on the contrary it felt like every word affected me deeply and I took my time with the quotes I loved. I loved that it wasn't aiming to give a "light at the end of the tunnel" vibe that most apocalyptic books do, but it was more character focused and doesn't leave any loose ends. every character gets the ending/closure they've been walking towards the whole book.
there was a scene that took me by surprise towards the end and made my stomach turn so check trigger warnings.

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