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minanonim's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
While the start is a bit slow, the story picks up pace halfway in. It was definitely a good choice on my part to go with the audiobook, and turn up the speed (I did this from the beginning). However, I must say, this book has ALL OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS, like any trigger warning you can think of is probably in there somewhere. Please be careful if you, unlike me, have a heart.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Vomit
lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I think I would have enjoyed this book more if Cronin had picked one storyline and stuck to it. Is this a book about the events leading up to a bio-apocalypse or is it an aftermath/rebuilding story? The passage attempts to be both, and for me, that didn't quite work.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly was entertaining--Cronin's writing style lends itself to fast paced action scenes--but the character work just wasn't there for me. In part because the women characters suffered from an abundance of "written by a man" syndrome (women either get to be nurturing mothers or Action Gals, and all of them are pretty/sexualized by at least one man. Plus, if their suffering doesn't include at least some sexual violence, then how do you even know they're women??), but also because, to make room for so much Theme and Plot, the character work is a lot more "told" than demonstrated. The sort-of exceptions to this are Agent Wolgast and Carter/one of the Twelve, and they're gone by page 200ish/900ish.
I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of the Twelve; it made them more rounded as antagonists, and while Amy was more a plot device and a stereotype of girlhood than a character (and certainly not the protagonist Cronin has stated he wanted her to be), I still enjoyed seeing a girl be a Messianic figure of sorts, even though her Trump Card Nature made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic and abrupt.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly was entertaining--Cronin's writing style lends itself to fast paced action scenes--but the character work just wasn't there for me. In part because the women characters suffered from an abundance of "written by a man" syndrome (women either get to be nurturing mothers or Action Gals, and all of them are pretty/sexualized by at least one man. Plus, if their suffering doesn't include at least some sexual violence, then how do you even know they're women??), but also because, to make room for so much Theme and Plot, the character work is a lot more "told" than demonstrated. The sort-of exceptions to this are Agent Wolgast and Carter/one of the Twelve, and they're gone by page 200ish/900ish.
I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of the Twelve; it made them more rounded as antagonists, and while Amy was more a plot device and a stereotype of girlhood than a character (and certainly not the protagonist Cronin has stated he wanted her to be), I still enjoyed seeing a girl be a Messianic figure of sorts, even though her Trump Card Nature made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic and abrupt.
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
also TW Military Violence
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