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A review by katyanaish
Alien Research by Gini Koch
5.0
Well. Wow.
Okay, so, I've been blitzing through this series... and I do mean blitzing. Anyone who follows my reviews will notice that I have read these first 8 books in probably the last 10 days. And so you'll know that I liked the first 3 or so VERY much. Disliked the next 3 VERY much. Was hopeful after the last book. And now we're here.
Guys, I loved everything about this book. And I bawled my eyeballs out through most of it. I mean, at a couple points, huge sobs meant I had to get it together to continue onward.
The two threads I've hated most in earlier books - "Jeff the jealous douche" and "let's keep Kitty in the dark on what's going on, to "protect" her, even though it backfired on us the last 234987 times but maybe it will really work this time" - seem to be officially dead, as neither was a real presence in this book. And hallelujah for that. Additionally, we have less of Reader swinging the big dick (and being a big dick) about "YOU WILL ALL RESPECT MY AUTHORI-TAY" (yes, Cartman-style), which was the thing seriously getting on my nerves since the DipCorps transition. So hooray for that.
I don't want to talk about a whole lot, because I feel like almost anything will be a spoiler. So incredibly much goes on in this book, and all of it is just captivating. It's an emotional rollercoaster. I just want to say one thing, to folks who were perhaps as unhappy with the earlier books as I was: this book is well-worth holding out for. I'm so happy I did.
One other thing I want to talk about that I haven't mentioned in other reviews of this series. I know the pacing of this series is break-neck, and sometimes it feels exhausting. But I also think that's why I've been so captivated by the series. It's a fascinating and unusual way to move through a plot. In most other books - including my favorites - the heroes unfold / unravel the evil plot piece by piece... like building a puzzle that you patiently assemble as you get each new piece and figure out where it goes, slowly revealing the picture.
In this series, every time the heroes get a new piece, they make plans, form theories, and re-assess what they think the picture is. They're not always right, or not entirely right, and so through the book there's a constant narrative of refining the plan and re-assessing the picture as they move forward and we find a new piece. That means we get false starts, like "OMG THIS is where they are going!" We also get plans they are put into motion and are later discarded -. It makes the pacing very fast and sometimes confusing. But it also makes it ... very real. And I think that's why I am so sucked into the series. Because in reality, there would be no calm, patient puzzle solving. You'd have a theory, an alternate theory (probably several)... and plans and contingencies for handling them. All that you'd be constantly reshaping on the fly as you move forward and learn more. I honestly don't know that I've ever read another book written that conveys that kind of ... erratic, reactive scramble to put things together on the fly better than the books in this series.
And that's why even the books that seriously pissed me off a few books ago didn't end up being deal-breakers, because the fascination on the threads finally pulling together was enough to keep me invested. I'm not saying I wouldn't have thrown in the towel if that continued on - I would have, because I was hitting a place where I seriously disliked several major characters - but it's why I held out longer than I think I usually would.
I just wanted to touch on that, because it's so different from anything I can recall reading before. I love it, and I'm excited to see where it goes next. But I need a pause. Like, for a day or two. Because I'm all cried out, and I can't imagine things will get easier from here.
*****5 stars*****
Okay, so, I've been blitzing through this series... and I do mean blitzing. Anyone who follows my reviews will notice that I have read these first 8 books in probably the last 10 days. And so you'll know that I liked the first 3 or so VERY much. Disliked the next 3 VERY much. Was hopeful after the last book. And now we're here.
Guys, I loved everything about this book. And I bawled my eyeballs out through most of it. I mean, at a couple points, huge sobs meant I had to get it together to continue onward.
The two threads I've hated most in earlier books - "Jeff the jealous douche" and "let's keep Kitty in the dark on what's going on, to "protect" her, even though it backfired on us the last 234987 times but maybe it will really work this time" - seem to be officially dead, as neither was a real presence in this book. And hallelujah for that. Additionally, we have less of Reader swinging the big dick (and being a big dick) about "YOU WILL ALL RESPECT MY AUTHORI-TAY" (yes, Cartman-style), which was the thing seriously getting on my nerves since the DipCorps transition. So hooray for that.
I don't want to talk about a whole lot, because I feel like almost anything will be a spoiler. So incredibly much goes on in this book, and all of it is just captivating. It's an emotional rollercoaster. I just want to say one thing, to folks who were perhaps as unhappy with the earlier books as I was: this book is well-worth holding out for. I'm so happy I did.
One other thing I want to talk about that I haven't mentioned in other reviews of this series. I know the pacing of this series is break-neck, and sometimes it feels exhausting. But I also think that's why I've been so captivated by the series. It's a fascinating and unusual way to move through a plot. In most other books - including my favorites - the heroes unfold / unravel the evil plot piece by piece... like building a puzzle that you patiently assemble as you get each new piece and figure out where it goes, slowly revealing the picture.
In this series, every time the heroes get a new piece, they make plans, form theories, and re-assess what they think the picture is. They're not always right, or not entirely right, and so through the book there's a constant narrative of refining the plan and re-assessing the picture as they move forward and we find a new piece. That means we get false starts, like "OMG THIS is where they are going!" We also get plans they are put into motion and are later discarded -
Spoiler
the elaborate funeral ruse in this book, for exampleAnd that's why even the books that seriously pissed me off a few books ago didn't end up being deal-breakers, because the fascination on the threads finally pulling together was enough to keep me invested. I'm not saying I wouldn't have thrown in the towel if that continued on - I would have, because I was hitting a place where I seriously disliked several major characters - but it's why I held out longer than I think I usually would.
I just wanted to touch on that, because it's so different from anything I can recall reading before. I love it, and I'm excited to see where it goes next. But I need a pause. Like, for a day or two. Because I'm all cried out, and I can't imagine things will get easier from here.
*****5 stars*****