Got maybe 1/4 through this one before giving up on it. Original world-building in a fantasy setting, compelling characters, interesting plot, all of wGot maybe 1/4 through this one before giving up on it. Original world-building in a fantasy setting, compelling characters, interesting plot, all of which were almost completely buried by an author preoccupied with virtue signaling to every racial, economic, and LGBT victim class ever imagined. It was distracting, to put it mildly, to have the story regularly derailed by the introduction of a character who turns out to be a transvestite #NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat (But why? How does this move the story forward?) or a description of some dude sticking his fingers in another dude's holiest of holies #NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat. When the author started moving towards a three-way between two bisexual dudes and a straight woman #NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat, I gave up. But otherwise I'd say it's not badly written. If you're that target audience, and don't mind authors who are flexing their wokeness, and don't mind a story arc that appeared to be following the standard harlequin format, and the smut that goes along with it #NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat, then this may be a 5-star read for you....more
A bit shocked at the number of reviewers who don't realize they're not meant to like the protagonist for much of the novel. #CharacterDevelopmentA bit shocked at the number of reviewers who don't realize they're not meant to like the protagonist for much of the novel. #CharacterDevelopment...more
Fantastic, solid, pretty original post-apocalypse fare. Definitely recommend if you like that genre. Minus one star for the reasons listed below, whicFantastic, solid, pretty original post-apocalypse fare. Definitely recommend if you like that genre. Minus one star for the reasons listed below, which I'm mainly listing so I remember when the book comes up for discussion in my club.
(view spoiler)[All of the male characters are flawed, weak, or ineffective in some way, and the female characters are strong and well-directed. I get that there's an audience for this kind of thing, but it annoys me to read it; I don't understand the need for that kind of polarization. The male news reporter is the first to crack, while his female counterpart holds it together and remains professional. The "proper bloke" best friend beats a man unconscious in front of his children for revenge. Hugh fails spectacularly at protecting his family on multiple occasions. The car thief manages to shoot his own wife. The vicar is a psychopath. I don't have a problem with any of these characters on their own but it's conspicuous that there's not a single male character who is as strong as the old lady dying of cancer or the deaf girl.
I was sympathetic to the family right up until they met The Hushed. The family immediately identified the vicar as a madman. They've already accepted there are no authorities, no laws, and "the rules have changed". So why the hell do they give the guy like three chances at kidnapping their daughter??? They neglect to set a watch at night after they know he's stalking them, and then after the attack they still hesitate to kill The Hushed. Made it pretty difficult for me to care what happened to the family by that point. Difficult to believe, too - and I was willing to accept flying tentacled lizard bats. I get that it's a huge thing to kill another person but I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of parents are 100%, no-holds-barred, choke-you-to-death-with-my-bare-hands if some lunatic is trying to kidnap their kid.
I thought for sure that the rain would confuse the vesps' echolocation and make it safe to travel outdoors, but I suppose Lebbon had to nix that because making rain a safety net would kill the suspense in Britain, haha.
Lebbon massively understates the difficulty with walking silently in the woods. I don't get it, because anyone who has taken ONE walk in the woods knows a squirrel in underbrush sounds like a 400-pound boar.
Glenn is pinned in the car and dying. The vesps are coming but Hugh can't flee to safety with his family because he can't abandon Glenn. But it's somehow preferable to just hang out and wait for Glenn to get eaten instead of giving him a shotgun and a path to martyrdom like grandma? (hide spoiler)]...more
Gotta be the best post-apocalypse series out there right now. Although it's really more post-collapse because the destruction of some of the larger ciGotta be the best post-apocalypse series out there right now. Although it's really more post-collapse because the destruction of some of the larger cities plays such a small part. Notable for being distinctly un-pulpy for PAW fare, and skillful in every aspect of novel writing that I can identify. I think he risked being a little too on-the-nose about the socialist sect in this book, but I wouldn't say that group was treated unfairly....more
Suffered through this all the way to the last story before giving up. The stories are overflowing with Leftist political lecturing, I-told-you-so fantSuffered through this all the way to the last story before giving up. The stories are overflowing with Leftist political lecturing, I-told-you-so fantasies about the failure of capitalism and collapse of America, lame stereotypes, and even what I think were some attempts at trolling (post-apocalypse Jesus is a gay black man who has 3-ways with boys in the woods). Concepts of communism, socialism, and anarchism are handled with such dewy-eyed idealism that for the first story I was telling myself it must be satire. Remember that hippy who stuck some tomoato plants in the ground at the Portland Exclusion Zone as a "community garden" in an effort to feed the hundreds of protestors there? Imagine a series of PAW stories written by that guy.
I didn't like the political proselytizing in One Second After for many of the same reasons. Biased, myopic opinions are cringey from both points of view and I'd prefer them to be absent when I'm looking to escape in some fiction....more
Initially thought I was going to be giving this book 4 or 5 stars - the setting was original, characters were interesting and well illustrated, plot wInitially thought I was going to be giving this book 4 or 5 stars - the setting was original, characters were interesting and well illustrated, plot was exciting. By the halfway mark, though, I was seriously considering not finishing the novel. Usually I don't mind the judicious or incidental use of an offensive cultural stereotype because most of them are earned, and I could easily ignore a little, but he just piled it on too much. Before long I felt like I could pretty well imagine who he follows on Twitter, and I really don't like hearing an author's political opinions come through in a story.
Then the movement of the plot got completely derailed by an inexplicably long section of existentialist dialogue. I had this as an audiobook and I'd guess there was about an hour of talking about the purpose of life and the source of their motivation. All of the action and momentum of the story came to a halt for this navel gazing. I don't know how something like that makes it past an editor.
Eventually the novel struggled back onto it's track and came to a satisfying conclusion, but that wasn't nearly enough redemption for me to recommend it to anyone....more
I think this is the first kaiju novel I've read and I really enjoyed it. Robinson has got a unique take on the post-apocalypse novel here.I think this is the first kaiju novel I've read and I really enjoyed it. Robinson has got a unique take on the post-apocalypse novel here....more
This author's politics are absolutely oozing out of every page right from the start. Stereotypes abound. I made it a few chapters in before I googled This author's politics are absolutely oozing out of every page right from the start. Stereotypes abound. I made it a few chapters in before I googled Chuck Wendig and, wow, dude is carrying around a lot of hate. There's always gonna be an audience for that kind of vitriol and opinion lecturing, (same as in One Second After) but it's not my bag....more
Plague virus post-apocalypse take that focuses on the minutia of surviving immediately after the collapse of the power grid and food supply chain. No Plague virus post-apocalypse take that focuses on the minutia of surviving immediately after the collapse of the power grid and food supply chain. No demons vs. angels, zombies, or war for the soul of humanity. The only reason I subtracted one star was some failures on details; seriously understating the challenges of managing livestock, no consideration given to disease or the need for meds, deciding that guns were obsolete because they couldn't make their own ammo, etc. There also wasn't much struggle. Nearly everything they tried worked with no difficulty. The conflict in the novel is primarily the distance between the survivors and little more. It's an interesting problem solving and exploration PAW novel, though, and I'd certainly like to read a sequel some day....more
I probably would have enjoyed this more as print rather than audiobook. The copy I listened to had a female narrator since the main character is femalI probably would have enjoyed this more as print rather than audiobook. The copy I listened to had a female narrator since the main character is female. She had a fantastic range of voices for female and child characters but her her voices for men were awful, particularly the villain. Imagine a 10 year old girl trying to do an impression of Sam Elliot - it was jarring and sounded so ridiculous that it shook me out of the setting. Strictly in terms of the content, though, Wool is an excellent addition to a post-apocalypse book shelf. It could easily be a Vault-Tec story....more
The setting for this novel is both before the pandemic apocalypse and several decades after. Much of the story revolves around the life of a pre-apocaThe setting for this novel is both before the pandemic apocalypse and several decades after. Much of the story revolves around the life of a pre-apocalypse celebrity actor and his relationships with his ex wives and girlfriends. I'd have been able to give a more favorable rating to the book if there weren't so *much* material focused on celebrity life and tribulations. I had this as an audiobook and there's hours and hours of complaining about relationship expectations, worrying about paparazzi, navigating dinner parties...it was an absolutely insufferable bore and I didn't have a hope of identifying with or sympathizing for the characters. I can admit that it's technically an excellent character study, but it totally lost my interest. And it's an even bigger shame because the material that occurs during and after the fall is fantastic - it's just like somebody took a perfectly good PAW novel and jammed a People magazine in the middle of it....more
Compelling plot, amazing artwork, and a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting that I especially enjoyed. The story was unfortunately marred by the authCompelling plot, amazing artwork, and a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting that I especially enjoyed. The story was unfortunately marred by the author shoehorning in several pages about the main character's sexuality, and a few other moments of perplexing misandry. It didn't have anything to do with the plot line and was a big, unexplained distraction....more
Started off really liking this novel, easily a 4-star rating. Then the errors from lazy editing started piling up, then came the teen angst and sexualStarted off really liking this novel, easily a 4-star rating. Then the errors from lazy editing started piling up, then came the teen angst and sexual discovery sections that follow the Harlequin romance formula, and finally he started borrowing so heavily from the movie Full Metal Jacket that I actually looked up the guidelines of what constituted plaigarism....more
This book is about 70% tangent, but the parts that actually move the plot forward are good. All of the philosophical meanderings might have been okay This book is about 70% tangent, but the parts that actually move the plot forward are good. All of the philosophical meanderings might have been okay if they were shown or demonstrated instead of lectured....more
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