Joanna
đ§ Audiobook
The concept of this story was great. Unfortunately, the execution wasnât.
First, the good:
The best parts were about where people go when they disappear, why and how; it was enjoyable and imaginative, and the mystery surrounding those who return kept my interest.
The author did also ponder many consequences of the sudden absence of large portions of the planetâs human population. Such as the effect on climate change and its knock on effects in human behaviour - not necessarily what we might expect.
But mostly, the bad:
The characters were surface level, the plot kept wandering around to uninteresting side characters and stories, the writing was flat, and I struggled to care what happened. If the MMC was a side character, I wouldnât miss them if they were killed off.
There was also an undertone to this book that just kept me continually annoyed. I canât decide if it was the tone the audiobook narrator set, or if it was the writing. It was kind of⌠smug, I guess. The MMC tells the story in first person and comes off as a young smart arse guy who thinks heâs the main character in everyoneâs story. I do not want to be plunged into the mind of such an asshat.
And one more general annoyance - WHY do so many people/authors only think humans important. There was barely a mention here about the impact on ecology, fauna and flora after the disappearance of human populations. I donât get how this human-only thinking works, but Iâm pretty tired of it.
ââ
3/5 for narration by Dan John Miller.
ââ
Thank you to the publisher, RBMedia, and NetGalley for the advance audio review copy. All opinions are my own.
đ§ Audiobook
The concept of this story was great. Unfortunately, the execution wasnât.
First, the good:
The best parts were about where people go when they disappear, why and how; it was enjoyable and imaginative, and the mystery surrounding those who return kept my interest.
The author did also ponder many consequences of the sudden absence of large portions of the planetâs human population. Such as the effect on climate change and its knock on effects in human behaviour - not necessarily what we might expect.
But mostly, the bad:
The characters were surface level, the plot kept wandering around to uninteresting side characters and stories, the writing was flat, and I struggled to care what happened. If the MMC was a side character, I wouldnât miss them if they were killed off.
There was also an undertone to this book that just kept me continually annoyed. I canât decide if it was the tone the audiobook narrator set, or if it was the writing. It was kind of⌠smug, I guess. The MMC tells the story in first person and comes off as a young smart arse guy who thinks heâs the main character in everyoneâs story. I do not want to be plunged into the mind of such an asshat.
And one more general annoyance - WHY do so many people/authors only think humans important. There was barely a mention here about the impact on ecology, fauna and flora after the disappearance of human populations. I donât get how this human-only thinking works, but Iâm pretty tired of it.
ââ
3/5 for narration by Dan John Miller.
ââ
Thank you to the publisher, RBMedia, and NetGalley for the advance audio review copy. All opinions are my own.