Helpful Score: 1
SPOILERS AHEAD!! SPOILERS AHEAD!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
Okay, even if I don't really think this is a spoiler, you've been warned. On your head be it if you read farther.
I've never read Robert Harris before, and I'm not sure where I got the recommendation for this one. It is a murder mystery of sorts, because the priest Fairfax quickly decides that his predecessor had to have been murdered, and he is determined to find out what happened. It's also a post-apocalyptic novel. IMHO, I don't consider this a spoiler; anyone who's paying attention will figure it out within 5 pages, and within a few more Harris will flat-out tell you the situation. But the librarian I checked it out from told me it was a shock to her, and I've read some reviews that make a big thing of it. The book was a definite page-turner for me, with a steady fast pace, interesting characters, and some definitely thought-provoking passages. The end, however...well it's not what I was expecting, and I felt a bit cheated. I think the theme here is the whole bite out of the apple thing - don't go seeking after knowledge, because it will destroy you. Glad I read it even if I thought it ended strangely.
Okay, even if I don't really think this is a spoiler, you've been warned. On your head be it if you read farther.
I've never read Robert Harris before, and I'm not sure where I got the recommendation for this one. It is a murder mystery of sorts, because the priest Fairfax quickly decides that his predecessor had to have been murdered, and he is determined to find out what happened. It's also a post-apocalyptic novel. IMHO, I don't consider this a spoiler; anyone who's paying attention will figure it out within 5 pages, and within a few more Harris will flat-out tell you the situation. But the librarian I checked it out from told me it was a shock to her, and I've read some reviews that make a big thing of it. The book was a definite page-turner for me, with a steady fast pace, interesting characters, and some definitely thought-provoking passages. The end, however...well it's not what I was expecting, and I felt a bit cheated. I think the theme here is the whole bite out of the apple thing - don't go seeking after knowledge, because it will destroy you. Glad I read it even if I thought it ended strangely.
"The Name of the Rose" meets "Riddley Walker." My advice to you, sadly, is to read either one -- or both -- of those books instead.
I say "sadly" because I like and admire Robert Harris. The novels by him that I have read seemed both readable and thoughtful, cleverly bolting a sub-text worth thinking about to a page-turner thriller. "Admire" because I really like authors who are willing to mix it up a bit -- trying different genres, springing surprises and otherwise ensuring that they don't write the same book over and over again (however much their publisher might wish that they did ...).
Trying to avoid spoilers, here. (The two books I compare this to are a hint about Harris' "Big Reveal" ...) It wasn't terrible -- hence 2-stars -- but by page 150, I was just ground down by how lack-lustre and unimaginative it was. Harris seems to be relying on the "shock and surprise" of his premise, over and over again. And no, that just isn't enough.
Sad mis-fire by an otherwise good author.
I say "sadly" because I like and admire Robert Harris. The novels by him that I have read seemed both readable and thoughtful, cleverly bolting a sub-text worth thinking about to a page-turner thriller. "Admire" because I really like authors who are willing to mix it up a bit -- trying different genres, springing surprises and otherwise ensuring that they don't write the same book over and over again (however much their publisher might wish that they did ...).
Trying to avoid spoilers, here. (The two books I compare this to are a hint about Harris' "Big Reveal" ...) It wasn't terrible -- hence 2-stars -- but by page 150, I was just ground down by how lack-lustre and unimaginative it was. Harris seems to be relying on the "shock and surprise" of his premise, over and over again. And no, that just isn't enough.
Sad mis-fire by an otherwise good author.
