It’s very rare for me to give up on a book (especially an audiobook) and I did manage to get through two thirds of this one, and wondered if I shouldn’t just stick it out until the end, but then I thought about all the unread books out there, and the limited amount of time left in my life and decided it was dumb to continue a book that I wasn’t enjoying.
So, why didn’t I like it?
The book begins with a man being constantly respawned in a terrifying life threatening situation with no memory of who he is and what is going on and having to fight for his life over and over again (like in a video game, when he is killed, he just comes back to the last ‘save point’). It’s hard to describe what happens next without giving spoilers, but I just found the violence to be too relentless and gory and over the top, with unnecessary puerile toilet or sexual humour thrown in. I thought it could have been written by an exceptionally talented teenaged boy (talented because the writing isn’t bad just full of the sort of thing that teenaged boys are famous for enjoying).
There are a lot of positive reviews out there for this book and the author, so obviously there is a fan base for it, but this author’s work is definitely not for me.
Sarah Wray Writer 