Search - Passage

HELLOOOOOO, EDITORS?
This is still another book read recently that sorely needed editing. Does a reader really need repeated tedious references to the intricacies of the hospital's corridors? I got the idea after the initial explanation.
Whenever I'm hit over the head with repeated narrative, I always feel as though this is done simply to pad the text. Are they paid by the word?
I have almost always enjoyed Connie Willis' work. She has interesting concepts and fleshed-out characters. This, unfortunately, cannot be on my recommended list.

I am someone who loves books and reading. I forced myself to read this one all the way to the end, only because I am determined to give a book a chance. This book was one of the most tedious books I've read in I don't know how long, and that includes my postgrad textbooks! Ms. Willis could easily have tossed about half of this book out and still had a decent plot; how do you spell VERBOSE? Several of the "conversations" were just little rabbit trails that led nowhere plot-wise and could so easily have been eliminated. Another thing that began to get on my last nerve was her constant use of the word "confabulate". If I never hear that word again in this lifetime, it will not be soon enough! My advice: don't waste your valuable point on this book. If you think you must read it, check it out of the library.

I wish that I had read more of these book reviews before starting Passage! To describe this novel as tedious is generous. It was probably 300 pages longer than necessary. The characters were not well developed, particularly the male lead, Richard. I think that pretty much the only thing that he contributed to the novel was staring at brain scans. My brain started to flatline the further I kept reading. The idea of a novel based around near death experiences is fascinating; unfortunately, Passage does not deliver.

A fairly interesting but tedious exploration of near-death experiences and what they mean. It has some original ideas but is too long and has characters that are too often annoying. Unlike some of Connie Willis' books, the ending didn't make up for the overly detailed and lengthy rest of the book. To put it bluntly, I was thinking, "That's it? Thhhhppppp. :P" I can't recommend it.

This was interesting and even riveting in spots, up to a point. After too many words about the convolutions of the hospital's layout, and rambling from a nice old WWII vet, it began to lose my interest. Editors, anywhere? But it's worth reading; don't beat yourself up if you skip a lot toward the end.

This book scared the pants off me. I admit to skimming over a lot of the medical/technical background info on the research, that might have been a little over done. It seemed like the hospital/maze bit and the constant avoidance of certain characters was a little much, but when the "trips" started it got pretty intense and I didn't want to stop reading. I am still puzzling over the ending. If that is any idea of what it is actually like, and if I understood what Willis was trying to say - I'm not going!