1 to 7 of 7
Review Date: 8/18/2010
There are really only two things I can say of this book: fascinating and funny!
Review Date: 8/2/2018
As a person who barely liked Ready Player One, I fell into this book thinking it was a sequel. I'm not sure why I thought that but it is not. It is also not even as goodâreally not good. The story takes much to long to get the heart of it and I always had a sneaking suspicion that the facts told weren't the whole truth. I was right and we are left with an unsatisfying end that tries everything it has to be Ender's Game. This book also clearly needed an editor as there are continuity issues and very poor character development of the periphery characters, but RPO suffered from the latter as well. I won't be reading any more Ernest Cline books. Ender's game is a great book; go read that instead.
Review Date: 9/14/2016
I'm disappointed in this series. I was expecting something a bit more mysterious and creepy. I like fantasy, but this is as run-of-the-mill, "kids with powers" book as one can get. Despite being peculiar, there isn't much extraordinary in these stories. The first book was okay, but the sequel is one note. The whole book is traveling to help Miss Peregrine and just near misses and catch/release type stuff. The new characters seem like pointless encounters ( talking animals, traveling gypsies, Brits during the Blitz ) because they don't make any difference to the story (maybe the animals do a bit) and they live in times passed so nothing for them can change, as the peculiar children point out several times. Also, the love story between Jacob and Emma has annoyed me since the beginning, but in this book, it takes focus away from the story and is totally unconvincing.
My perception of the first book was that the author found interesting pictures that he felt held a story--a picture's worth a thousand word. However, in Hollow City, my perception is the author was trying to fit as many pictures into the story as possible to keep up with this running gimmick. Instead of the pictures feeling natural, it felt as if much of the story was added so a picture could get added as well. I would rather have had a flowing, cohesive story with fewer photos, than this forced "point A to point B to point C" storytelling.
My perception of the first book was that the author found interesting pictures that he felt held a story--a picture's worth a thousand word. However, in Hollow City, my perception is the author was trying to fit as many pictures into the story as possible to keep up with this running gimmick. Instead of the pictures feeling natural, it felt as if much of the story was added so a picture could get added as well. I would rather have had a flowing, cohesive story with fewer photos, than this forced "point A to point B to point C" storytelling.
Review Date: 8/2/2018
This story is not boring. I always felt some interest in the characters and whatever task they were about, be it Robert Louis Stevenson attending the opening of his play or environmental scientist Rafael Salazar tracking coyotes in a California desert. However, the two storylines of past and present always seem distinct, not interwoven much at all until the end, and by then it was too little too late. Both storylines were well written, but I felt like I was reading two different books. I also dislike when so much of a tale is connected by mistakes. People make mistakes and often stories hinge on that, but Stevenson makes mistake after mistake that which to worse and worse consequences, and yet still continues to fail to do what's right. It causes one to believe he was either weak or stupid. At the end, we are supposed to be left with a sense of dread, but the way it plays out there isn't much that has happened present-day to merit that. Overall, the story just doesn't deliver.
Review Date: 7/5/2016
From the summary and from reading reviews, I was expecting this to be (what I'd call) fantasy-lite, by which I mean placed in our world but with dashes of fantasy, like a much lighter Harry Potter or an Off to Be the Wizard. It's not. It's fiction firmly set in modern America--San Francisco to be exact. The "magic" I wanted quickly became less HP and more Freemason (huge disappointment) and then morphed into little more than a morality tale or parable, if you will.
The set-up was intriguing. I mean a mystery about a bookstore and loving books: that's right up my alley! But most of the characters are average, and there never seemed to be anything on the line--no real sacrifice or looming danger. I didn't really love any of them, I felt just along for the ride. Penumbra was the most likable character but his constant, "My boy," started off endearing but soon grated on my nerves.
I liked the narrator; he's easy to listen to and sounds natural. He only gets 3 stars because I found times when I didn't know if Clay (protagonist) was speaking out loud or was in his own head. Not a problem I've had with other audiobooks.
It lacked something, maybe grandeur, but I kept thinking I wanted more.
The set-up was intriguing. I mean a mystery about a bookstore and loving books: that's right up my alley! But most of the characters are average, and there never seemed to be anything on the line--no real sacrifice or looming danger. I didn't really love any of them, I felt just along for the ride. Penumbra was the most likable character but his constant, "My boy," started off endearing but soon grated on my nerves.
I liked the narrator; he's easy to listen to and sounds natural. He only gets 3 stars because I found times when I didn't know if Clay (protagonist) was speaking out loud or was in his own head. Not a problem I've had with other audiobooks.
It lacked something, maybe grandeur, but I kept thinking I wanted more.
Review Date: 4/25/2012
It's been a while since I read this, but the very fact that I still think of it often is exactly why I felt the need to write this review.
I watched the movie several years ago, when it was in theaters, and was spellbound, if you will excuse the pun. Over the years I had thought occasionally of it. When I realized that it was based on a novel, I was interested, but unsure if it was worth reading since I had seen the movie. From many of the reviews I determined that it was different in many aspects, so I gave it a try.
The tone of the book is immediately different from the movie. Even though I thought I knew the story, I was thrust into a web of intrigue and revenge, gothic themes and slight of hand. From the moment I picked it up until I put it down I was captivated and, to be completely honest, found it eerie and was slightly disturbed by it.
I actually suggest both the book and the movie to people, but don't be deceived, they are different stories, both of which will haunt your thoughts for a long time to come.
I watched the movie several years ago, when it was in theaters, and was spellbound, if you will excuse the pun. Over the years I had thought occasionally of it. When I realized that it was based on a novel, I was interested, but unsure if it was worth reading since I had seen the movie. From many of the reviews I determined that it was different in many aspects, so I gave it a try.
The tone of the book is immediately different from the movie. Even though I thought I knew the story, I was thrust into a web of intrigue and revenge, gothic themes and slight of hand. From the moment I picked it up until I put it down I was captivated and, to be completely honest, found it eerie and was slightly disturbed by it.
I actually suggest both the book and the movie to people, but don't be deceived, they are different stories, both of which will haunt your thoughts for a long time to come.
Review Date: 8/2/2018
This book has a compelling idea but turns it into a story so unbelievable that it ends up being completely ludicrous. Nigel is the only person who seems to have "unhappenings" but as the story progresses the reason behind these ends up being the most narcissistic answer. I could almost forgive it if the characters were somewhat likable. As the plot hinges on Nigel and his actions, it hit me that, even well into the story, the Nigel we know isn't smart enough or qualified to do anything remotely what the story expects of him. He admits multiple times that he has no idea what he's doing and the main project at his lab basically works by accident. But all the tech and science in the novel seems the same. A character spews some science that sounds like the be-all-end-all, but you realize it mostly skirts around the intricacies like the author didn't really know what he was talking about.
The character Penelope was likable for about a second and then she is turned into a time-travel cliche. And Helen: no matter how many times Nigel says she is strong, all she does is cry or run away from problems. Nigel and Helen's relationship makes no sense, but then again it's not her only ridiculous relationship.
Unfortunately, there is another problem with this story: the narration. At first, I didn't think it was too bad, even Penelope sounded rather good. That is until I realized that all the female characters sound exactly the same. Exactly. And his two male characters sound like Nigel & French Nigel. (There are a couple other characters, but they show up for only a few lines.)
Bottom line: I just wanted it to end. If you are looking for a good sci-fi, time-travel story you will be disappointed that this is a love story, and if you want a love story you will be disappointed in this sub-par one.
The character Penelope was likable for about a second and then she is turned into a time-travel cliche. And Helen: no matter how many times Nigel says she is strong, all she does is cry or run away from problems. Nigel and Helen's relationship makes no sense, but then again it's not her only ridiculous relationship.
Unfortunately, there is another problem with this story: the narration. At first, I didn't think it was too bad, even Penelope sounded rather good. That is until I realized that all the female characters sound exactly the same. Exactly. And his two male characters sound like Nigel & French Nigel. (There are a couple other characters, but they show up for only a few lines.)
Bottom line: I just wanted it to end. If you are looking for a good sci-fi, time-travel story you will be disappointed that this is a love story, and if you want a love story you will be disappointed in this sub-par one.
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