I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am Pilgrim is the best fiction book I have read in years! Terry Hayes is a master storyteller. He weaves an alluring, investigative thriller surrounding a plot to unleash hell on earth. The book has another crime storyline that just barely kisses up to the main story but adds to the overall excitement. It follows a member of the intelligence community and one of the most calculating & devious villains I have ever seen. He is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. The planning and execution is unbelievably detailed. I love how we find out little bits at a time. I found myself getting frustrated and agitated with the antagonist (but I loved it!) which drew me in deeper. It was the mark of a well written character. The story integrates multiple characters, timelines, and plots but it is done seamlessly. There is murder, secrets, high stakes, and great locations. It has a great balance of good and evil as well as successes and failures. The see-saw of it all was amazing. I love how in the first chapter or so the reader is thrown for a loop and I was made to check my assumptions. There was a part where I felt physically nauseous due to what was happening and the description. A book that can elicit physical reactions also rates high for me. I cannot identify one detracting factor, so I am going to go out on a limb and say this novel is perfection! The main character comes alive and it is like you are along for the ride. He is portrayed so well, and he has faults too, so it makes it more realistic and engaging. He makes mistakes which heightens the pressure and stakes. The scenarios are full of energy and tension. The little hints and foreshadows at the end of chapters just basically forced me to keep going. Terry Hayes is funny and clever writer. The way he phrases things is great. “A rope of gold chains around his neck big enough to anchor a cruise line.” I did not want to put it down. I didn’t want to go to sleep. I toyed with calling in sick to work (I didn’t but I wanted to) just so I can read some more. If I could give it 6 stars I would. This should move to the top of everyone’s TBR pile immediately.
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Tag: long
The Charred Corpse Of An Overwritten Novel
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I found this book to be overwritten, long, and convoluted. It was over complicated for no reason and it could be about 200 pages shorter. The writing should be more concise as the subject of a sentence was hard to identify in places. There were many connections made throughout the novel, harkening back to earlier moments but a majority didn’t have the impact that maybe the author thought they would. It was an ok cool reveal but many times I did not really care. There were several nods and winks to real world things which was cute as well as some phrases that struck me as thought provoking. I did take note of several while I was reading including “an ocean of knowledge is apt to drown you long before it educates you. The art of learning was in selection.” Many caused me to smile while reading. I also think there was too much left open and unresolved. There were too many things that didn’t have clear explanation, and it left me unsatisfied while reading. I like world building books but if they are drastically different than ours then some things need to pointed out directly. There was just too much that was invented that was left unsaid. I did like many of the characters and there were well developed as the main ones each felt distinct. I did like the little quotes before each chapter as well. There was a light pull to see what would happen next but I think it was more to do with searching for a reason why I was reading this tome versus dying to know what happened. Yes, this novel was about books and a library (which drew me to it) but I don’t think I would call it literary. The overall theme and concept was not clear and I don’t think I could really explain the point of the book. It wasn’t that big words were used but that the sentences were, at times, needlessly unclear. The Book That Wouldn’t Burn was a monumental undertaking that collapsed under its own weight. There was like this cloud was hanging around in my brain the entire time I was reading and I couldn’t get into it. While reading, I was not hit by any strong emotions including any reaction to what was pushed as a love story. It was almost like reading a textbook.
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