Mer Barr
I'd stopped reading the series because the previous two books were pretty depressing and I assumed the rest of the series would continue the downward spiral. However, that's not the case with this book.
Story 5 of 5 - the story is well written, suspenseful, the pace is quick without any slowdown due to rabbit holes.
Character 5 of 5 - many of the characters from the previous books are here, the new characters are well fleshed out and although there are alot of characters in this book, their names and characters are distinct enough that you don't confuse one for another.
Setting 5 of 5 - the story's world is based on real world events, giving the story additional topics and themes to contemplate.
Language 3 of 5 - although the story is well written without excess word baggage or words that require a masters degree to understand, the emphasis is clearly the other doors.
I'm not sure what I expected, but there was something about the book that did not end up peaking my interest, I was not sad to return the book unfinished when the loan period was up.
The title captures your interest, the summary as well because it's a topic and presentation that I've never seen before, the tone is light-hearted, and the level of information provided is exceptional considering the author has neatly bundled complex topics into one or two pages to give a reader unfamiliar with the topic, enough information to distinguish this topic from other, simiilar topics.
Maybe it was the attempt at presenting the various topics as part of a travel guidebook fell short of the mark. But given the topics presented, I don't see how it could be presented in any way closer to a guidebook than it is already.
Wow! This one gave me nightmares because I've heard of this thing in ants and after hearing about so many viruses jumping from animal to man, it seems so plausible.
The author has done a great job of making this world real in my mind. The plot moves along and the beginning is especially great in how the world building is slowly introduced, leaving you with some questions about what this is all about yet not pausing too long to stall out the interest. You're caught up not long into the storyline and able to focus on the action... and horror.
I'm always hesitant when I start the second book in a series because they either aren't about the characters I came to love in book one or it may be the same characters but the storyline is lacking in some quality that the first book had. This book is neither.
The references to the nursery rhymes of the 50 to 70s remind me alot of Ready Player One where you have to have lived in the era to understand the references. Here you have that requirement but this is not really about homage but about creatively tweaking those childhood stories.
It has plenty of complexity to keep the murder mystery good to the very end AND you have many of the same characters from book one.
I thought the storyline sounded interesting but not sure what the 5 or 6 chapters at the start are all about. They're all just quotes from books that usually would be at the start of a chapter only, but in here they're the entire chapter. I eventually found some chapters that seemed to be about Willie Lincoln but I couldn't get interested by that point.
Maybe this makes sense in textual format?
This is a 3-strikes book for me.
It's hard for me to become interested in a book that doesn't continue the story of the characters from the prior book in a series. This book starts out confusing because the main character's name sounds similar to a character introduced towards the end of the first book, but there are no references I recognized to that prior character. And the story just wasn't capturing my imagination as a stand-alone or new storyline in the same universe.
Sorry Anne and Jody Lynn.
Story 2 of 5 - this book is not a page-turner and it's not exactly action packed but it's also not cerebrally slow either.
Character 5 of 5 - the unique characters and species in this universe are definitely a focal point. The coming together of a group of individuals that normally would not have met, and the creation of a group that has each others' backs is a story I like to read.
Setting 2 of 5 - there is some world-building related to the different species of the universe and their planets but it's not where the emphasis is.
Language 2 of 5 - the choice of words and writing style is not an emphasis of this book.
It's been a very long time since I read a book with a unique perspective. Who's ever heard of a murder mystery crossed with nursery rhymes from the 1950s? And on top of this, the author has done a great job of humor, complexity, and characters you love getting to know.
Definitely moving on to the next book.
Unique characters and their world that are well thought out and believable. With an interesting human parallel. I found myself becoming anxious, not because of the spiders but because the author gives you no clue as to the amount of time that passing. Very disorienting, I've never experienced this in a book. And the sciences involved are just as robust as my very first science fiction reads by Isaac Asimov.
I'm not sure if I want to read the next story. I was unable to complete the book before I had to return it to the library, but I was already struggling with where this story and universe could go?
An incredible amount of science is shared related to the subject of PTSD; so many different situations presented where this disorder can arise. I think this is a book I could trust, seeing as the author is someone in the field of helping people become aware of the root cause of their pain and learning how to reconcile with their trauma in a way that they can acknowledge and move into the present moment with. The author says he was one of the champions for getting the disorder described and acknowledged in legal and practice fields.
The history, science, and understanding of the disorder takes up about 60% of the book with the remainder being the methods used to help with recovery.
Story 4 of 5 - the storyline and the underlying messages / ideas this story has in it, are well-written, abundent and timely.
Character 5 of 5 - the emphasis of this story is on the uniqueness and depth of the characters, especially how the recent war impacted each.
Setting 3 of 5 - the world of this story does have some depth as it relates to the history of the characters and it is unique compared to other worlds I've read about, but worldbuilding is not the focus of this story.
Language 2 of 5 - the emphasis of this story is not on the beauty of or feeling you get from the words, but the author does have great skill in storytelling.
I only had access to this book for about two weeks with no renewal option. I didn't get very far because the first couple chapters covering sometime in the 1940s to 1951 where just a blur of political maneuverings between the US, China, India and Tibet by those who sit in high offices in these national governments and make these decisions. This is the type of information I wasn't interest in so the book sat on my shelf for days.
I was wanting a memoir, which this may have been; I didn't reach the point where the author might have come into the picture. I was also wanting that first-hand perspective on the Dalai Lama's actual exodus, which I also did not get to.
Since I had to go outside my own, rather extensive, library system to gain access to this book, I suspect I won't ever circle back to this and continue to have my questions unanswered.
Story 2 of 5 - The story does alot of jumping about, not only back and forth across time but from location to location. There are alot of gaps which, if this were a movie, would be due to cutting out sections of a movies to fit the ideal length. Unfortuntely, they've either left in pieces related to the cut topics, leaving the watcher confused by this odd bit of info, OR the editors cut out too much; removing important continuity pieces to explain other parts of the film, again leaving the watcher with something they don't understand.
Character 5 of 5 - emphasis is definitely on characters. Told from the view point of and within the mind of the heroine. A mysterious and slowly fleshed out "handler" and a child with a mysterious and slowly fleshed out history.
Setting 4 of 5 - the world building is focused on, you can feel the heat and the sun, the grit of the sand, and the sound of ?Frank Herbert's? worms moving about. Thank goodness not the stench of the train car.
Language 4 of 5 - many of you may not recognize my reference but the author writes like the writers of the old Los Angeles cop of the 50's known as Joe Friday. Very distinctive pacing and as Mr. Friday would say to a witness, "Just the facts, Mam." Mr. Friday's speech didn't get on my nerves but for reasons I can't put my finger on, I did not have the same experience with this character's.
Strangely, I couldn't get attached to any of the 3 main characters. That on top of the issues i had with the story and language leave me with a Meh rating.
Story 3 of 5 - There wasn't much movement to the plot by the time I stopped reading and returned the book to the library. I prefer stories that don't hang out in the same place overly long and that move at a bit faster pace. I think I stopped at about the 3rd or 4th physical place and definitely not much going on.
Character 4 of 5 - The story is told from the perspective and in the mind of the main character. I find I much prefer to be in the know on at least some of the character of the stories. I'm not a fan of having an unusual story and having no clue what any of the characters are thinking, feeling or planning. The main character and his father are relatively fleshed out and many of the characters they interact with have some depth.
Setting 5 of 5 - emphasis is on world building. Cudos to the author for coming up with a unique idea and the humorous twists on known quips and book / movie references. However, this is such a unique perspective that I wish there'd been a bit more time spent on explaining the relationship of the world and the impact to the culture and classification. I may have been driving through city traffic and missed that part.
Language 4 of 5 - although the base language used is not unknown to me, many parts are strings of number, like an IP address. Strings of numbers are definitely a foreign language to me.
Well written, not loaded with technical jargon, so informative for a layperson. A nice mix of the sciences involved plus the author's own experiences in researching and visiting the sites.
It cover 4 "cities"; I was aware of 3 of them and the last is one (east of St. Louis, Missouri, US) I've actually visited. Because the part of Cahokia I visited, is not very restored, it's hard to imagine the city described in the book.
This book put words to the frustrations I'd been feeling but unable to define. The first 65% of the book is full of new-to-me terms and shady dealings and alot of venting of frustrations. Several times I almost quit reading, because I couldn't handle all the venting. The remaining 35% is about things that can be done to move things in a different direction. I'm not sure thiese are things I can do myself, but maybe being persistent in communicating with my legislative representatives...
The author does a great job of detailing the work each woman did, how they all worked within the restrictions of their time, and their different routes to escape the Nazis. I was surprised to see that they knew each other, but I really shouldn't considering how small the group of women in the sciences were at the time.
I couldn't get interested in this book for some reason. Maybe it was because it hinted at some interesting beings and then for chapters spent time with other characters in the book, doing ?world building? I'm not sure.
I read this as a book club read not as a series or author I love or as a recommend from a friend, which might also explain why I wasn't enthusiastic at the start. It may also be that I'm diving into the 5th book of a series and some of the bits I need to picque my interest were taken care of in earlier books.
I may give this world another try by starting in book 1.
Decades ago I read a great book on sleep and I've been wanting to read more on the subject, which is why I picked up this recently released book.
I couldn't finish the book only because the author spends quite a bit of time in the depths of the science (I was wanting something more for a lay person), not because the writing or topic is of poor quality. Maybe she has a lighter read on her work?
Thanks to Tamahøme for the recommend!
Definitely an interesting read. I'm always happy to read a unique twist to a well-worn topic and always happy to get a different perspective than the one I inhabit, so this is a double happiness for me.
Four Doors
Story 5 of 5 - Story is an emphasis to this book. The three narrators are separated nicely by chapters so there's no confusion about who's speaking. The storyline is always moving. It's never bogged down with tangents onto topics that don't move the story forward. Nor does the author pause so long to provide detail or perspective that the story comes to halt.
Character 5 - Characters are an emphasis. The two main characters become 3-dimensional with visual descriptions, personalities, struggles, etc. They're characters I got invested in. In the audio edition, each of the three story narrators have a different vocal narrator.
Setting 2 - Wolrdbuilding is not the emphasis in this story. There's no world outside the places and people the two main characters interact with, which is pretty small because neither character really travels far from their opening location.
Language 4 - Language is an emphasis in this story. The author has picked characters that I've not seen before. He uses a language I'm unfamiliar with and doesn't stop often to clarify what a term means which leaves me a bit frustrated. But that doesn't detract from the over all enjoyment of getting to look at the world from another culture's perspective. And the author chooses words that provide vivid imagery and mood, which I love.