A review by hilaryistired
Citizen Kill by Stephen Clark
3.0
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I will admit that I am going into this review with a bit of hesitance. With what has been going on in the USA (and the world, to be honest) lately, there's a fine line between commenting on a book and commenting politically, and as someone who is neither Muslim or American, I would prefer to stay away from the latter. So for purpose of this review, I won't be commenting on the racial and religious aspects of the book, because it is not as though I can give an accurate interpretation or own voices opinion on any side of the matter.
Citizen Kill is a fast paced, action packed adventure of a book that takes you through some of the craziest political drama I've seen in a book to date. It dives into a modern, relevant issue that we're hearing about in the news constantly today and plays off of that, taking you inside the CIA, the American government, and the more general population to see where all this chaos is going. It's one of those books that you'll fly through, if only because you're curious who is going to make it out alive in the end.
I should also throw out there that if this is how the CIA in America actually is, I am terrified, despite not being American. Holy macaroni, what a mess.
The Good Points of Citizen Kill:
The pacing is perfect for this sort of novel. You'll fly through this book no problem, because every time you turn around, something else is exploding, literally or figuratively. It's one of those books that almost feels too short, if only because you flew through it so fast.
The characters are developed well for this type of book. We never get great character development in thrillers, but this one gives you enough that you feel like you actually know the characters enough to feel at least a little invested in their well being. Early on, I worried that there wouldn't be enough character development to actually keep track of who was who in the story, but this was definitely not an issue later on.
I enjoyed the writing in this book. It was that perfect balance of being good enough that you don't get caught up in the writing, but not so much that you get overly focused on the way the words were put together or how fancy it sounds. Which is perfect for this type of book, because it's not in the way of you getting the story.
The Downsides of Citizen Kill:
The title. It's kind of cheesy, and I'm not sure whether it was an intentional play on 'Citizen Kane' or not, but as the book is not based on the film (to my knowledge, anyway. It didn't seem similar if it was), it just made for a strange reference.
It was predictable. Don't get me wrong, the twists and turns were fun and exciting to read, but it was pretty easy to see what was coming and where things were going. It didn't really bring anything new to the table.
Can we please stop with the instalove now? In this particular book, I get that it was a traumatic event that bonded the two lovebirds in the story, but really? One date and they're so in love, which just served to make me sick to my stomach.
All in all, Citizen Kill was a fun, fast paced read. I can definitely see it being a hit for people who are usually into FBI/CIA sorts of stories, and it is nice to read something that is in line with what's going on in the world these days. If you enjoy political thrillers, books with assassins, and fast paced adventures, you'll likely enjoy Citizen Kill.
I will admit that I am going into this review with a bit of hesitance. With what has been going on in the USA (and the world, to be honest) lately, there's a fine line between commenting on a book and commenting politically, and as someone who is neither Muslim or American, I would prefer to stay away from the latter. So for purpose of this review, I won't be commenting on the racial and religious aspects of the book, because it is not as though I can give an accurate interpretation or own voices opinion on any side of the matter.
Citizen Kill is a fast paced, action packed adventure of a book that takes you through some of the craziest political drama I've seen in a book to date. It dives into a modern, relevant issue that we're hearing about in the news constantly today and plays off of that, taking you inside the CIA, the American government, and the more general population to see where all this chaos is going. It's one of those books that you'll fly through, if only because you're curious who is going to make it out alive in the end.
I should also throw out there that if this is how the CIA in America actually is, I am terrified, despite not being American. Holy macaroni, what a mess.
The Good Points of Citizen Kill:
The pacing is perfect for this sort of novel. You'll fly through this book no problem, because every time you turn around, something else is exploding, literally or figuratively. It's one of those books that almost feels too short, if only because you flew through it so fast.
The characters are developed well for this type of book. We never get great character development in thrillers, but this one gives you enough that you feel like you actually know the characters enough to feel at least a little invested in their well being. Early on, I worried that there wouldn't be enough character development to actually keep track of who was who in the story, but this was definitely not an issue later on.
I enjoyed the writing in this book. It was that perfect balance of being good enough that you don't get caught up in the writing, but not so much that you get overly focused on the way the words were put together or how fancy it sounds. Which is perfect for this type of book, because it's not in the way of you getting the story.
The Downsides of Citizen Kill:
The title. It's kind of cheesy, and I'm not sure whether it was an intentional play on 'Citizen Kane' or not, but as the book is not based on the film (to my knowledge, anyway. It didn't seem similar if it was), it just made for a strange reference.
It was predictable. Don't get me wrong, the twists and turns were fun and exciting to read, but it was pretty easy to see what was coming and where things were going. It didn't really bring anything new to the table.
Can we please stop with the instalove now? In this particular book, I get that it was a traumatic event that bonded the two lovebirds in the story, but really? One date and they're so in love, which just served to make me sick to my stomach.
All in all, Citizen Kill was a fun, fast paced read. I can definitely see it being a hit for people who are usually into FBI/CIA sorts of stories, and it is nice to read something that is in line with what's going on in the world these days. If you enjoy political thrillers, books with assassins, and fast paced adventures, you'll likely enjoy Citizen Kill.