gossamer_lens's Reviews (1.48k)

Having bought this for my bio class, I was a little wary of reading the whole thing. I make it a goal to read my textbooks (since they do cost so much). Often times that leads to being drug through some strange, and occasionally dull pages.
However, I was thoroughly pleased with how this textbook turned out!
It reads very similarly to a magazine. Each chapter has a story which it follows, in order to give you the scientific information it needs to convey. Thus, it kept your mind from feeling like you were reading "another textbook" and like you were gaining new and interesting information.
The 5th star was really gained because besides being an interesting text, it has great photos, graphs, and charts to illustrate what it is talking about.

This is the most 3-star book I've ever read. Most books there is something that draws me a bit to leaning one way or another, even if it rounds to 3 stars. But for everything that was done well in this book there was something perfectly counterbalancing it for me. A fun read, but I don't think I'll be coming back for more of this series. It read very much like a first draft... so I hope Wilker continues to hone his craft and perhaps I'll come back for other books!

*Mild Spoilers* I enjoyed the characters well enough, but they all were essentially the same personality. I just happened to enjoy that personality. The heist was interesting enough, but the way the POVs were handled made it drag. I thought the backstory was intriguing. But it was presented in a very odd and disconnected way that didn't add anything to the rest of the story. The character's feelings were relatable, but often told in the most "telling not showing" way... so it was hard to actually relate.

I just really couldn't get into this one. Did not like the main characters particularly. I just could have used more options in how to address and deal with things... then I wasn't given them and felt disengaged. I guess it would be solid if I had read the main story a certain way... but for me it just didn't jive.