Andy
Yet another masterful read from Stephen King. Whilst it was an enjoyable read, the antagonists felt a little one dimensional and there didn't feel like there was much risk or danger to the main characters.
The ending, and where Holly, Jerome and Barbara's endings also felt a bit too happy for a King book. I think Stephen's love for the characters won out there, though I'm pleased to see them happy also.
All in all, well worth a read.
The synopsis sums up the story very well, and to be frank there aren't too many further layers to discover beyond this initial paragraph. I don't know Tana French, the author, well enough to question the statement that she is the 'greatest living mystery writer' but it doesn't appear evident from reading this novel.
The story rolls along at a decent pace, but is definitely lacking any real thrills or the aforementioned suspense. It's hard to go into much detail here without spoiling anything, but the mystery is solved very suddenly and without much fanfare or follow up.
This was a very relaxing read (or listen in my case) and was very well written from a realism standpoint. Nothing in the story felt contrived and it flowed along wonderfully. The book certainly has heart, but the stakes felt very low and the conclusion and resolution come out of nowhere.
I had fun listening to this book, but it really could have done with less world building that didn't really go anywhere and more actual mystery to be investigated. All in all, you could do a lot worse if you're after a relaxing read. If you're actually after a mystery novel, however, you may need to look elsewhere.
This was an interesting read (or listen, in my case) and I found it very engrossing. I was left a little bit disappointed and ‘lead on' by the mystery involving the main character that, whilst dragged out for the whole book, never actually went anywhere. It felt like filler content. I've obviously missed a point on this along the way somewhere ...
I picked his book up after Stephen King recommended it on Twitter. How on Earth he could find this book good I have no idea.
The story just goes nowhere. I kept listening, and waiting, but it ended and I felt pretty unfulfilled.
Andrew Scott is a very good narrator, but it's let down by Asa Butterfield who reads a little like a child doing a school play. And his ‘old guy' voice is pretty terrible.
All in all I feel like I wasted the 8ish hours spent on it.
Well, what an anti-climax that was ...
This has got to be one of the dullest books I've read in a long time. I know Dan Brown's books aren't usually anything to write home about, really, but this story had none of the excitement or intelligence of previous books.
The whole ‘point' of the hero, Robert Langdon, is that he's an intelligent, iconologist and symbologist and this has been central to each story. In this one, however, this came into the story about 1-2 times at most.
Really dull premise, which builds to a really half-hearted anti-climatic ending. Your 10-15 hours of life are better spent elsewhere, ANYWHERE else, in my opinion.
Merged review:
Well, what an anti-climax that was ...
This has got to be one of the dullest books I've read in a long time. I know Dan Brown's books aren't usually anything to write home about, really, but this story had none of the excitement or intelligence of previous books.
The whole ‘point' of the hero, Robert Langdon, is that he's an intelligent, iconologist and symbologist and this has been central to each story. In this one, however, this came into the story about 1-2 times at most.
Really dull premise, which builds to a really half-hearted anti-climatic ending. Your 10-15 hours of life are better spent elsewhere, ANYWHERE else, in my opinion.
I'm currently reading this to my 2 year old daughter every night. She can't get enough of it. She's even started reading some of the words herself, so it's a winner in my book.