brendamn's Reviews (370)

I had picked this up and started reading having forgotten it was intended for a younger audience, and throughout the start felt like I was probably way past the point of being able to appreciate the novel. Though with time I found it surprisingly engaging. I feel a lot of the impact of this book was lost on me that would have landed had I read this way back, but the story it told is still an enjoyable one and it does well with the simple concepts it portrays. Had I picked this up at the appropriate time I would have undoubtedly been much more into sci-fi than I ended up being. Still fascinated by sci-fi, but I feel this would have sowed a deeper appreciation for me if I'd gotten to it earlier.

My interest in Pines stems from how enraptured I was reading Dark Matter. If measured against Dark Matter this book is decent, but honestly drawing a comparison to begin with feels unfair. When you divorce your interpretation of Pines completely from Dark Matter it proves to still be quite an exceptional read.

The book is non-stop, the narration and the action carry you from start to finish. And his gradual revealing of all the weird details which bring sense to the plot is incredibly well timed. So even though the book clocks in at over 300 pages, it feels more like 150.

Up until the end the book really just hinges on fast paced action, without really providing anything with insight or concepts to reflect on. Nothing wrong with a book that is purely entertaining/suspenseful as this book had begun to feel like, but was very glad to find that the final chapters was where the core message of Pines was concentrated. I don't want to go into it here just for the sole reason that it would practically be giving away the ending in a review, but I was very glad it had finally delivered.

An equally enlightening and enraging book.