occlude's review against another edition
4.0
Two halves
Very much a book of two very different parts. The final third is decidedly disjointed and very different tonally to the first two thirds. An interesting read nonetheless.
Very much a book of two very different parts. The final third is decidedly disjointed and very different tonally to the first two thirds. An interesting read nonetheless.
bl0ndekitten's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
I really enjoyed the book but found the title and blurb to be misleading. It would be more accurate to describe this book as the history of a science experiment gone wrong.
brompton_sawdon's review
4.0
he Return of the Incredible Exploding Man. I thought was a sequel but it appears to be the first one, although the author has a short story about the Incredible Exploding Man. I only mention this as it may be off putting to a reader. I was excited to read this book however, it’s blurb and cover being very appealing.
The story starts with a failing scientific journalist being poached by a multi-billionaire to write a book about a supercollider he is funding. It’s a slow burner of a book that suited me. I enjoyed reading of the struggles he goes through deciding whether to take the assignment and his gradual integration into the local area. It allowed you to see what sort of character Alex really was. The residents of Sioux Crossing are a weird bunch of individuals. From the editor of the local paper to the police chief, there is a feeling of mystique around the place. Strange events add to the feeling that all is not what it seems.
This is the first book by Dave Hutchinson I’ve read and I was impressed by his writing style. His use of vocabulary keeps you reading and he lays traps in the plot that you want to solve. About two thirds of the way through the plot takes off with a bang, literally. Then you’re plunged into a must faster pace, explosive even.
The end niggles me slightly that it appears to be over so soon. I guess it allows a sequel, but in a way it leaves you cheated. In spite of these flaws I really enjoyed the book. The story is interesting, even in the getting to know you stage.
All in all, I can recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good classic science fiction read. Very suitable as well to anyone over the age of eleven, indeed the cover is very Young Adult in style.
The story starts with a failing scientific journalist being poached by a multi-billionaire to write a book about a supercollider he is funding. It’s a slow burner of a book that suited me. I enjoyed reading of the struggles he goes through deciding whether to take the assignment and his gradual integration into the local area. It allowed you to see what sort of character Alex really was. The residents of Sioux Crossing are a weird bunch of individuals. From the editor of the local paper to the police chief, there is a feeling of mystique around the place. Strange events add to the feeling that all is not what it seems.
This is the first book by Dave Hutchinson I’ve read and I was impressed by his writing style. His use of vocabulary keeps you reading and he lays traps in the plot that you want to solve. About two thirds of the way through the plot takes off with a bang, literally. Then you’re plunged into a must faster pace, explosive even.
The end niggles me slightly that it appears to be over so soon. I guess it allows a sequel, but in a way it leaves you cheated. In spite of these flaws I really enjoyed the book. The story is interesting, even in the getting to know you stage.
All in all, I can recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good classic science fiction read. Very suitable as well to anyone over the age of eleven, indeed the cover is very Young Adult in style.
pctek's review
5.0
This was originally a short story and was very funny.
The novel starts off further back in The Exploding Mans life,how he came to be where he was, how he got his "superpowers". Still funny and one of my favorite books.
The novel starts off further back in The Exploding Mans life,how he came to be where he was, how he got his "superpowers". Still funny and one of my favorite books.
bhsafran's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
littlelynn's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
riverwise's review
3.0
Dave Hutchinson's Fractured Europe books are one of the highlights of SF in the last decade, and so I had high hopes for this. It's told with his usual sardonic wit, and easy to read, but never facile, prose. Line by line, and chapter by chapter it's a great read, but somehow I found it a little unsatisfying. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the structure - difficult to elucidate without spoilers, but we spend 75% of the book getting to a thing which it's clear is going to happen from very early on, and then the last section feels rushed, with no real resolution. It's quite possible this is the start of a series, in which case I'd be inclined a bit more generous to this issue, but even so, it's not a long book and a bit more fleshing out of the ending wouldn't have hurt. It's also possible, perhaps likely, that Hutchinson isn't interested in the mechanics of his plot so much as he is in examining what happens to a middle aged bloke who's stuck in a rut when he suddenly receives [SPOILER], and how that changes his life and relationship with humanity. That's fertile ground, but again there's not really time to get stuck into it.
All in all, a solid enjoyable read, but also a frustrating one.
All in all, a solid enjoyable read, but also a frustrating one.
ashlislibrary's review
4.0
It’s really weird, because this book has nothing that I usually like in it- yet I still really loved it?
It was a super slow burner of a book, I mean not much really happened in the first half but I couldn’t put it down for some strange reason. I was just really intrigued about the whole thing, the main character: alex, was super relatable and likeable in the way he just kept everything real. there was just such a super creepy vibe about the entire thing, i had no idea what was going on but I literally went to sleep thinking about this book and what was happening.
A HUGE CRITICISM THOUGH: you didn’t hear anything about the superpowers in this book until we’ll past page 200, so the main part of the plot just wasn’t even mentioned really, and even then it was just ind of all over the place??? luckily enough for me, the characters and the sub-plot were interesting enough to keep me going, but for other people I can imagine it would just bore them really.
It was a super slow burner of a book, I mean not much really happened in the first half but I couldn’t put it down for some strange reason. I was just really intrigued about the whole thing, the main character: alex, was super relatable and likeable in the way he just kept everything real. there was just such a super creepy vibe about the entire thing, i had no idea what was going on but I literally went to sleep thinking about this book and what was happening.
A HUGE CRITICISM THOUGH: you didn’t hear anything about the superpowers in this book until we’ll past page 200, so the main part of the plot just wasn’t even mentioned really, and even then it was just ind of all over the place??? luckily enough for me, the characters and the sub-plot were interesting enough to keep me going, but for other people I can imagine it would just bore them really.