Dave

Loved it. Just finished the book and couldn't be happier. I didn't know it was going to be a “documentary” style, but I really enjoyed the format. I had previously been a little worried that I'd be scared to read it but the format made it nearly impossible to be shocked by anything. Great story mostly about the human elements and how people interacted with each other in the face of a horrific tragedy than about the zombies themselves. Of course, the geek in me loved reading about the zombies as well. Definitely would recommend it to a wide variety of folks, not just those interested in zombies.

Very easy read and made me chuckle out loud on multiple occasions. The only other book I've ever read by a comedian is SeinLanguage by Jerry Seinfeld, which was mostly just a collection of thoughts he's had that I could see would eventually become his standup and TV show. This book is a little different as it reads a bit like an autobiography but it's mostly Jim's observations on being a dad, and in specific on being a dad in NYC. I'm not even a parent, but this book made me want to run out and buy copies for all the parents I know.

The writing was good, the book was ok. I can appreciate Santiago's persistence and the stoic attitude he took towards his plight and persistence to make it back home with his prized catch. Still, the book was a bit hard to get motivated to read- not much happens the whole time. Not a page turner but not a bad book.

This is a really hard book for me to rate.

One one hand it was a real page turner once it got going, and I was excited to see what would happen next. I also enjoy the two storyline format (one in 2016 and one in 2060). The characters were well developed and the world was well built.

On the other hand, I felt that the end of the book was rushed. The first 80% of the book was great and I would have rated it 5 stars. The final 20% felt like the author went “I've got to wrap up all these story lines and I'm already up over 400 pages”.

I've marked this review as SPOILERS but just in case SPOILERS AHEAD

The final 20% was cringey to read and hits suddenly and without warning. Many things are not fully explained. I understand Supaari's motivations for selling Emilio, so he can become a Founder of a lineage, but I don't understand the hand mutilation, especially when none of the other slaves had their hands mutilated. And the character he was sold to was basically not described at all before he's literally forced into the story, he's just a horny alien ready to cause havoc. And then Askama coming to open the door to Emilio's cell? It just doesn't make sense - why wouldn't there be a guard escorting them down? It was just another way for the author to shoehorn in some more tragedy. It all felt really forced in order to get us to a final moral quandary about God.

Even with the massive tragedy this book became, had the author chosen to split it up over two books and really flesh out some more of the final 20% I probably would have given it 4 or 5 stars, but as it stands the best I can do is 3 stars, and I would not recommend it to a friend. I had planned to read the second book (Children of God, which has Emilio returning to Rakhat) but at this point I don't think it will be worth it - I don't want to be betrayed again by the author.