cdeane61's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it. An interesting end-of-the-world scenario featuring first contact (sort of) and a disease that turns you into a sub-human if it doesn't kill you.
The only "safe" zone is around a space elevator left by extraterrestrials that anchors in their ship at one end, and in Darwin, Australia on the other.
Good pacing, good plot, plenty of innovation and intrigue. Will , at some point, pick up the other two in the series.
The only "safe" zone is around a space elevator left by extraterrestrials that anchors in their ship at one end, and in Darwin, Australia on the other.
Good pacing, good plot, plenty of innovation and intrigue. Will , at some point, pick up the other two in the series.
readingintothevoid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
4.25
Really enjoyed this and excited to start on the next in the series. This is not so much a zombie/rampant virus type book. I thought I wouldn’t like it because I’m not interested in zombie-like stories, but the SUBS—the virus infected humans, are on page for a very small percentage of the book. This is a sci fi apocalyptic mystery thriller.
diamondc's review against another edition
4.0
I was skeptical about reading this book since I felt I wouldn't enjoy it. Being a fan of zombie movies I decided to give it a chance. The Darwin Elevator was a page turner and kept me at the edge of my seat. If you like action this is a must read.
librovert's review against another edition
3.0
I can't decide entirely how I feel about this book. I loved the world building and I'm very interested to see what the Builders have in store for Earth.
I think the reason I didn't love it was the PoV swaps between chapters. This is the same reason I struggle when reading Game of Thrones - some characters/storylines are just not as engaging as others. I would be right in the middle of some page-turning action, and then land in another PoV that wasn't nearly so exciting. Not sure if I'll continue with the series.
I think the reason I didn't love it was the PoV swaps between chapters. This is the same reason I struggle when reading Game of Thrones - some characters/storylines are just not as engaging as others. I would be right in the middle of some page-turning action, and then land in another PoV that wasn't nearly so exciting. Not sure if I'll continue with the series.
csdaley's review against another edition
5.0
I am swinging into full summer reading mode now. Action packed adventure stories are my friends. The Darwin Elevator has been sitting on my Kindle for some time now. I have so many books to read that it isn't surprising that gems by authors I don't know take me awhile to get to. Let me tell you people. This one was a gem. It hits the ground running and never takes its foot off the gas pedal. It has everything a good summer read should have. Lots of action. Great characters to root for. Bad guys you want to see get theirs and an intriguing mystery wrapped around a great science fiction novel.
The first of three books in the Dire Earth series. The book is easy on the eyes. It is a fast and fun read. I loved this story in particular. An alien civilization does a fly by and drops a space elevator into the middle of Darwin, Australia and then disappears. Mankind begins to reverse engineer the technology and before you know it we are building space stations connected to the elevator. The only problem is the elevator didn't just bring technology. It brings an infection that turns anyone outside of the aura of the space elevator into a raving lunatic. Soon earth is a vast wasteland and the lone survivors are in Darwin and the space stations. Of course, there is also the looming mystery of where the hell did the aliens who dropped the elevator go and are they ever coming back.
Did I say I loved this book. I know I am getting a little redundant but really you should go read this. It reads like a cross between a space opera and a western. It has some of my favorite new characters in fiction. People you can really root for. The plot is great but Hough saves up some really nice twists. You think you know where it is going and the wham, left turn. Definitely a series I won't be waiting long to read the next book. Mr. Hough is a now on my must read list. He should be on yours also.
The first of three books in the Dire Earth series. The book is easy on the eyes. It is a fast and fun read. I loved this story in particular. An alien civilization does a fly by and drops a space elevator into the middle of Darwin, Australia and then disappears. Mankind begins to reverse engineer the technology and before you know it we are building space stations connected to the elevator. The only problem is the elevator didn't just bring technology. It brings an infection that turns anyone outside of the aura of the space elevator into a raving lunatic. Soon earth is a vast wasteland and the lone survivors are in Darwin and the space stations. Of course, there is also the looming mystery of where the hell did the aliens who dropped the elevator go and are they ever coming back.
Did I say I loved this book. I know I am getting a little redundant but really you should go read this. It reads like a cross between a space opera and a western. It has some of my favorite new characters in fiction. People you can really root for. The plot is great but Hough saves up some really nice twists. You think you know where it is going and the wham, left turn. Definitely a series I won't be waiting long to read the next book. Mr. Hough is a now on my must read list. He should be on yours also.
kurwaczytaj's review against another edition
3.0
Čekal jsem od toho mnohem více a ten otevřený konec mne také moc nepotěšil. Prostě jen průměrná sci-fi s prvky postapo a zombíkama. A přitom začátek, kdy poznáváme "reversní stalkery" nebyl vůbec špatný. Prostě kniha na jedno přečtení. nemůže být každý den osvícení.
ahammel87's review against another edition
3.0
Expected slightly campy SciFi adventure. Got sightly campy SciFi adventure.
taque's review against another edition
3.0
Meh, it was OK.
I don't really like books that are planned for sequels so don't have real endings.
I don't really like books that are planned for sequels so don't have real endings.
patremagne's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent. Could not put it down, read most of it in one neck-straining sitting.
http://abitterdraft.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-darwin-elevator-by-jason-m-hough.html
Jason M. Hough's The Darwin Elevator marks my foray back into sci-fi after six or so consecutive fantasy and historical fiction books. It's books like this that make me want to read more of the genre - pure, pulse-pounding action. I really love the recent trend in which a series is finished and is being released in consecutive months - minimal waiting and no chance of an unfinished series.
An alien force humanity dubbed as Builders sent an elevator down to Darwin to help speed up travel into orbit. Cool, right? Problem is, they forgot to mention that with the Elevator comes a plague, later called SUBS, that corrupts the human mind and essentially turns the carriers into mindless, subhuman creatures that are then called subs. The Builders weren't complete bastards though, as the Elevator also came with a sort of aura that protects the city from SUBS.
We've got Skyler Luiken (I could not stop thinking of Skyler from Breaking Bad whenever I heard his name), the new captain of the scavenging crew aboard the Melville, based in the last bastion of humanity, Australia's city of Darwin. Scavengers are the lifeline of Darwin, collecting things everyone needs to survive. Skyler's an immune - one of the incredibly rare humans that are immune to SUBS - and he has a crew composed entirely of immunes. The crew - ops specialist Samantha, pilot Angus, engineer Takai, and sniper Jake - are unique enough in personality and make for a good, crew-based adventure. Being immune makes scavenging significantly easier, as an environment suit isn't needed. Skyler spends much of the story adjusting to being a leader when he really isn't cut out for it. When the Darwin Elevator malfunctions, people - like Neil Platz - in higher places take interest in using this unique crew of immunes for their own ambitions. Neil is the most famous man on what remains of Earth, pretty much the Donald Trump of The Dire Earth Cycle, and is a man of many secrets. The Platz family essentially owns everything worth anything in the area around the Elevator.
Neil is probably the only character that isn't what he seems. There are characters like Russell Blackfield that do everything in pure self-interest, ones like Skyler and his crew who are in over their head, ones like Dr Tania Sharma who you're bound to like, and then there's Neil. Sometimes you want to smack him around and ask him what the hell he's doing and others you want to give him a fist bump. Outside of Blackfield's cookie-cutter and easy to hate characterization, the other characters were fairly well done. A word of warning though, Hough is absolutely ruthless, on par with GRRM, with the lives of his characters.
The plot was packed with suspense. There's something special about being able to create such a large amount of tension in situations where nothing actually happens. While this is frustrating to some, it didn't happen often enough to warrant frustration from me, and it was complemented by electrifying action sequences. Despite some minor choppiness transitioning from the high-octane scenes to the slower aftermath, the pacing was strong.
The cover of the US version makes The Darwin Elevator look very generic - military guy with a mean look and some sort of weapon - so if you like to ignore your mother's advice and judge books by their covers, use the UK one at the head of this review. Jason M. Hough is definitely an author to look out for if you're even mildly interested in sci-fi and look for The Darwin Elevator when it hits shelves on July 30th, 2013.
I'd like to thank Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC given to me in exchange for an honest review.
http://abitterdraft.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-darwin-elevator-by-jason-m-hough.html
Jason M. Hough's The Darwin Elevator marks my foray back into sci-fi after six or so consecutive fantasy and historical fiction books. It's books like this that make me want to read more of the genre - pure, pulse-pounding action. I really love the recent trend in which a series is finished and is being released in consecutive months - minimal waiting and no chance of an unfinished series.
An alien force humanity dubbed as Builders sent an elevator down to Darwin to help speed up travel into orbit. Cool, right? Problem is, they forgot to mention that with the Elevator comes a plague, later called SUBS, that corrupts the human mind and essentially turns the carriers into mindless, subhuman creatures that are then called subs. The Builders weren't complete bastards though, as the Elevator also came with a sort of aura that protects the city from SUBS.
We've got Skyler Luiken (I could not stop thinking of Skyler from Breaking Bad whenever I heard his name), the new captain of the scavenging crew aboard the Melville, based in the last bastion of humanity, Australia's city of Darwin. Scavengers are the lifeline of Darwin, collecting things everyone needs to survive. Skyler's an immune - one of the incredibly rare humans that are immune to SUBS - and he has a crew composed entirely of immunes. The crew - ops specialist Samantha, pilot Angus, engineer Takai, and sniper Jake - are unique enough in personality and make for a good, crew-based adventure. Being immune makes scavenging significantly easier, as an environment suit isn't needed. Skyler spends much of the story adjusting to being a leader when he really isn't cut out for it. When the Darwin Elevator malfunctions, people - like Neil Platz - in higher places take interest in using this unique crew of immunes for their own ambitions. Neil is the most famous man on what remains of Earth, pretty much the Donald Trump of The Dire Earth Cycle, and is a man of many secrets. The Platz family essentially owns everything worth anything in the area around the Elevator.
Neil is probably the only character that isn't what he seems. There are characters like Russell Blackfield that do everything in pure self-interest, ones like Skyler and his crew who are in over their head, ones like Dr Tania Sharma who you're bound to like, and then there's Neil. Sometimes you want to smack him around and ask him what the hell he's doing and others you want to give him a fist bump. Outside of Blackfield's cookie-cutter and easy to hate characterization, the other characters were fairly well done. A word of warning though, Hough is absolutely ruthless, on par with GRRM, with the lives of his characters.
The plot was packed with suspense. There's something special about being able to create such a large amount of tension in situations where nothing actually happens. While this is frustrating to some, it didn't happen often enough to warrant frustration from me, and it was complemented by electrifying action sequences. Despite some minor choppiness transitioning from the high-octane scenes to the slower aftermath, the pacing was strong.
The cover of the US version makes The Darwin Elevator look very generic - military guy with a mean look and some sort of weapon - so if you like to ignore your mother's advice and judge books by their covers, use the UK one at the head of this review. Jason M. Hough is definitely an author to look out for if you're even mildly interested in sci-fi and look for The Darwin Elevator when it hits shelves on July 30th, 2013.
I'd like to thank Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC given to me in exchange for an honest review.