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samanthashelby's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't like the cardboard characters anyway, but the ending was an enormously boring cliché. Infuriating. Why do I look for brilliance in modern fiction only to turn, disappointed, back to the classics? When will I learn my lesson?
fodder's review against another edition
2.0
No. I do not buy it. The characters are wooden, the social comportment is not plausible. This is the script to a catastrophy happening inside a computer simulation - maybe SimCity?
imbookingit's review against another edition
4.0
A strong look at our country dealing with major disaster-- in this case, ongoing widespread drought.
The characters were strong, and the way they dealt with the issues was believable. I had a few issues with the worldbuilding, but not enough to significantly get in the way of the story.
The characters were strong, and the way they dealt with the issues was believable. I had a few issues with the worldbuilding, but not enough to significantly get in the way of the story.
em_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think I've ever come across an apocalypse story quite like this, that focuses on politics and logistics, or is as much about how people help as hurt one another when things collapse.
This is sort of the opposite of the more common loner survivalist or oppressive regime apocalypse narratives. Instead you get the collective working together story, and all the individual weirdos with their own obsessive projects involved in building a new society (apocalypse for nerds, maybe). Not to mention the main character who's been thrust into leadership and out of her element, and learns fast how far brains and idealism get her - I loved seeing how she reacted to her instant fame and every new thing that came up as a result. There were plenty of moments in reading this when I thought "oh dang, this is just so cool." And it was meaty, too - I could see getting into hours of discussion in a book club or, even, a poli-sci class.
On the other hand I never really *enjoyed* reading it. It always felt more like "ok, gotta keep reading to see what happens," as opposed to "can't wait to get back to my book!" There's really nothing bad or dry about the prose, so maybe that's just me? Just moved slow instead of flowing naturally and pulling me along with it.
This is sort of the opposite of the more common loner survivalist or oppressive regime apocalypse narratives. Instead you get the collective working together story, and all the individual weirdos with their own obsessive projects involved in building a new society (apocalypse for nerds, maybe). Not to mention the main character who's been thrust into leadership and out of her element, and learns fast how far brains and idealism get her - I loved seeing how she reacted to her instant fame and every new thing that came up as a result. There were plenty of moments in reading this when I thought "oh dang, this is just so cool." And it was meaty, too - I could see getting into hours of discussion in a book club or, even, a poli-sci class.
On the other hand I never really *enjoyed* reading it. It always felt more like "ok, gotta keep reading to see what happens," as opposed to "can't wait to get back to my book!" There's really nothing bad or dry about the prose, so maybe that's just me? Just moved slow instead of flowing naturally and pulling me along with it.
ranaelizabeth's review
3.0
+5 stars for being set in Portland, I always get a kick out of reading things when I can visualize the scenes. "I know where that is!" "I know what that park looks like!"
-5 stars for having Portland seceding from the city but drawing the border at Ainsworth and 15th, effectively cutting me (er, I mean, my old apartment) out.
+5 stars for having an extremely diverse set of characters.
-5 stars for ending too soon, I mean, I had like a half-hour left to go on my bus ride and I was done with the book. That's rude.
+3 stars for general writing, character development, and all that regular nonsense that books should be rated on.
-5 stars for having Portland seceding from the city but drawing the border at Ainsworth and 15th, effectively cutting me (er, I mean, my old apartment) out.
+5 stars for having an extremely diverse set of characters.
-5 stars for ending too soon, I mean, I had like a half-hour left to go on my bus ride and I was done with the book. That's rude.
+3 stars for general writing, character development, and all that regular nonsense that books should be rated on.
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