Crystal

You Know What You're Getting

Reviewed: 08-26-22

This is a highly conceited story - a formally tight knit group of friends suffer essentially mass amnesia regarding a summer a teacher when missing.

I feel like this is a micro-genre at this point - a heroine with memory loss after a traumatic incident trying to uncover the truth about a murder. Here, it's stretched - paper thin - to a group in order to tell the same old story in a new way.

If you think the mystery is going to be anything less than average, then you're kidding yourself. Just be on your way if you want to pick apart how believable, conceivable or realistic the plot or amnesia device is.

You know what your getting yourself into if you pick up this book and you know what? The group amnesia device works at making this a creative new way to walk an otherwise well-tread path.

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Hook, Line and Sinker

Reviewed: 08-26-22

Heat is my favourite film of all time, so the prospect of a sequel was enticing. Did it really need a prequel or even a sequel though? And in a literary format no less? I actually didn't think so.

To my pleasant surprise, Heat 2 absolutely captivated me. It starts, lives and ends so far from the world of the original film, it could be almost be an unrelated property. It was a bit of a rocky start - the question of why does this book exist still holding me back for the first quarter or so, despite how well written and researched the crime thriller was.

If you are looking solely for a fulfilling and relevant sequel/prequel to Heat, I think you'll be disappointed. While it was great to experience more of the core heist team in action, the fledged-out backstory ultimately let many formally compelling characters down. And as a devoted fan of the original, I was especially annoyed at mistakes in references to events/timelines of the film!

But the interwoven stories and timelines caught in the expertly crafted web of international crime before I knew what was happening. I couldn't put the book down, the ending riveting as it intersected exactly how I knew it would while still turning out completely unexpectedly.

I'd recommend to anyone who loved the original film, loves crimes thrillers or is curious to see how a master visual filmmaker translates to the page because Manns’ narrative style was unique and had me hooked.

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Dissapointing Ending

Reviewed: 01-28-18

Relatively pointless wrap-up to a long series I wouldn't have stuck with if I'd know. The final solution was so simple it literally just required the main characters waiting until it was ready. This means the final book is literally a time killer, jumping about and spending far to much time with non-essential POVs to pad the run time. Disappointing.

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1 person found this helpful

Unfortunately Absurdist

Reviewed: 08-08-17

This was a novel premise and I was instantly intrigued.

Unfortunately, the book focused on absurdist and nonsense humor instead of character or plot development.

This book could have benefited from some genuine sincerity and investment in the stage magic premise that made it so appealing.

I was left annoyed and very disappointed.

I can’t really recommend Stranger Things Have Happened because I can’t imagine who the audience for it could be.

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3 people found this helpful

Cliffhanger Book, Not Worth Finishing

Reviewed: 08-08-17

This book ends about halfway through a thin story - it’s not worth starting and definitely not worth finishing.

As the blurb clearly explains, teenagers in a sleep experiment end up in a nightmare world.
The characters do not remember this though and they spend the poorly plotted book slowly remembering what was explained to us in chapter one.

I guess I’m supposed to buy the sequel to actually get the plot I was promised? Pass.

Sure I think the inept author was attempting a twist or two but if you can’t immediately pick them from the clunky sign posting and convenient delay devices….well maybe you’re young enough to be even moderately impressed by the juvenile ‘horror’ she attempts.

Strongly do not recommend.

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Devastatingly Disappointing.

Reviewed: 12-01-14

To say I was highly anticipating the series finale of Timeriders would be an understatement.

I haven’t been as invested in a lengthy series since Harry Potter. I’ve been glowingly positive about every entry, even those a little lighter on the action and heavier on the overall story arc which comes to its conclusion here.

To say I am disappointed with the series finale of Timeriders would also be an understatement.

I am nothing short of devastated by this limp, uneventful and ultimately pointless wrap-up to a series I’ve repeatedly praised for being fresh, exciting, clever and unique.

I’m so let down, not only by where the author took the series but how weakly the Infinity Cage was executed it has tainted the whole series for me.

Given that the first 4-7 books focus more on standalone adventures (which were simply excellent) I would honestly recommend people only read those.

If your curiosity is genuinely piqued by the hints and clues dropped about the Timeriders’ origins throughout the series…still don’t bother finishing the series because this wrap-up is ultimately unsatisfying.

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1 person found this helpful

Great Story, Shame About Glory

Reviewed: 11-20-14

I never fully warmed to Glory O’Brian. I found her heartless and I don’t give characters with a ‘tragic’ past a pass on being unpleasant, especially when they go out of their way to be so.

Perhaps I came to understand her or at least sympathise a little but I failed to connect with Glory.

As a result the framing story – newly graduated Glory O’Brien facing an uncertain future - failed to grip me.

What did get me hook, line and sinker though was Glory’s own story – "The History of the Future". Apparently stricken with sudden physic abilities Glory begin to document the horrific future she sees for her, her friends and her country.

It is this ‘plot’, unravelled from her snatches of physic vision,that had me fascinated and captivated. This is a unique take on how the United States could crumble – one I haven’t read before in the myriad of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction currently clogging the shelves.

The book raised terrifying and thought provoking ideas that I wanted to immediately discuss with friends and that hands down makes the book worth recommending for me.

As a woman, I enjoyed the feminist themes and ideas but I don’t think you have to be female to enjoy this. The issues raised can be appreciated by anyone who wants something more than a hot guy/hot girl romance from their YA literature.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future is expertly crafted so I think you'll have a hard time not being drawn if you give it a try!

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Promising but failed to engage.

Reviewed: 11-10-14

I mistakenly expected a story about superpowers and I liked the idea of blending that with more mythical quest sort of story.

Chasing Power was actually based around magic and magical abilities and while I enjoyed the Deep South voodoo elements, I generally don’t enjoy books about witchcraft.

The premise was still interesting though and the characters had lots of potential.

Unfortunately, Kayla and the rest of the cast ultimately failed to engage me enough to get through the messy third act.

Chasing Power descended into anti-climactic melodrama with inconsequential villains that left me checking the time remaining.

Chasing Power wasn’t terrible but it will be forgettable.

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Disappointing ending to a squandered premise

Reviewed: 09-14-14

I honestly don’t know why I persisted with this series.

After a great debut, the second entry in the trilogy was lacklustre but I’m nothing if not loyal to a series that I start.

Unfortunately my devotion wasn’t rewarded with a stellar wrap up to the trilogy.

Don’t Let Go continued with a ho-hum fugitive tale that had the characters constantly moving but the plot left standing still. This entry managed to be even less dynamic though, because the POV characters were together for most of the story this time.

Most disappointing is the utterly anti-climactic ending. The villains, new and old, ultimately present no real challenge for the protagonists. Honestly, the story could have been resolved in a similar fashion back in book one, so fruitless were the efforts of ‘heroes’ in books two and three.

This review feels very harsh but as I’ve paid for and sat through three books in nearly as many years, I think my scorn is justified.

I don’t recommend Don’t Let Go, nor the Don’t Turn Around series to anyone.

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Interesting take on a tough topic.

Reviewed: 09-14-14

Tom Leveen doesn't shy away from serious and modern teen issues in his books which is one of the reasons I both enjoy and respect his work.

Random pulled out the big guns - online bullying and teenage suicide - and as always, Leevan took a unique and thoughtful approach the serious material.

I recommend his work to anyone wanting to look at great modern teen literature grounded in the real world.

Unfortunately, though, Random wasn't a particularly great read on its own merits. Don't get me wrong, it's better than 90% of the post-apocalyptic- vampire-love-triangle stories currently packing out the YA genre but felt incomplete.

I have to mark Random down more for what wasn't on the page than what was. Frankly, I wish it could have been longer, fuller, more detailed and with more resolution.

No, there would have been no easy answers but I think the poignancy was undercut by having to keep the main character on a narrow arc and having the climax hinge on a punchy ‘twist’.

Anyone wanting a YA read on real-world social issues should definitely check out Random but this isn’t a life changing read (and keep an eye on Tom Leveen because his breakout novel has to be just around the corner!)

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