Scan barcode
taphophile's review
4.0
I really need a different rating system. It's well written and paced so it gets 4 stars. I can see the appeal but it's just so blokey and Dave our anti-hero is such a wanker (which is the point and I get the irony) that it would not be a book I would read if left to my own devices. It's a compromise book for listening to in the car with my spouse on a long car trip. We listened to the first one together and we will listen to the last one together and I'm really glad this is only a trilogy.
debbiesilkserif's review
3.0
Following the same satirical path as Emergence, we return to Dave and the end of the world via Orc-creatures. We return to find Dave, drunk on his new found hero status, in Los Vegas and making a complete fool of himself. He can have all the women he wants, VIP perks he can handle and there's even live television interviews! Of course, Dave's sweet ride in life gets more complicated when dragons appear and the Orcs return demanding to see The Champion Dave. for a chat. Unfortunately, things get even worse when a shadow government operation recruits Dave, a super spy kicks his ass and the creditors want their dues. All in the life of Super Dave, America's only hope against Orcs and Super Humans.
Dave returns to the written word as an even bigger douche than book one. He has complete disregard for private property, no shame and even less of a soul through completely abandoning his family financially. I assume it' s Birmingham's plan to make Dave look even more despicable and disgusting than the first book and he succeeds. I hated Dave by the end of the book. Dave goes from being a complete screw up to a jack ass in the first three chapters and continues to hit new lows through out the book. I'm entirely certain if you look up Anti-hero in the dictionary you'd see Dave's face leering back at you. What a beautiful disaster.
Captain Heath and his crew continue to try to clean up and deal with the vortex of shameful behaviour that is Dave. They mop up all his screw ups, continue to feed his voracious appetites and attempt to steer him towards proper behaviours. Heath's crew just wants Dave to provide the intel necessary in defeating mankind's biggest threat, but is babysitting Dave worth the risks he poses? It's not until Dave goes completely off the reservation and straight into self-righteousness that the team realizes that Dave is too big of a security risk. It was fantastic to experience Dave hitting rock bottom and continuing to consistently stick his foot in his mouth even when he should be shutting up.
The best aspects of this book is undoubtedly the UnderRealms where the Grymm and the Thresh continue to work towards their goal of defeating humanity. The Thresh is able to reveal the source of humanity's magic and the Grymm learns important information about Dave's role in The Battle of New Orleans. I'm a little sad to see my favourite underling transforming into something completely unlike the creature I'd enjoyed - nevertheless, I can't wait to see where he ends up in book three.
On the whole, Resistance is a novel about a man without hope for redemption who is better suited to the under dregs of society rather than in a position of heroism. Dave vs The Monsters is a completely violent, shocking novel based on mockery and continues to delivery a story that is both otherworldly and deeply disturbing in a delightful way. Although not as enjoyable as Emergence, the world of Dave continues to deliver thrilling action, frightening monsters and humour.
This book would appeal to readers who enjoy the satirical, fantasy, military fiction, action, adventure and lots of adult content. Emergence is not for the feint of heart.
Dave returns to the written word as an even bigger douche than book one. He has complete disregard for private property, no shame and even less of a soul through completely abandoning his family financially. I assume it' s Birmingham's plan to make Dave look even more despicable and disgusting than the first book and he succeeds. I hated Dave by the end of the book. Dave goes from being a complete screw up to a jack ass in the first three chapters and continues to hit new lows through out the book. I'm entirely certain if you look up Anti-hero in the dictionary you'd see Dave's face leering back at you. What a beautiful disaster.
Captain Heath and his crew continue to try to clean up and deal with the vortex of shameful behaviour that is Dave. They mop up all his screw ups, continue to feed his voracious appetites and attempt to steer him towards proper behaviours. Heath's crew just wants Dave to provide the intel necessary in defeating mankind's biggest threat, but is babysitting Dave worth the risks he poses? It's not until Dave goes completely off the reservation and straight into self-righteousness that the team realizes that Dave is too big of a security risk. It was fantastic to experience Dave hitting rock bottom and continuing to consistently stick his foot in his mouth even when he should be shutting up.
The best aspects of this book is undoubtedly the UnderRealms where the Grymm and the Thresh continue to work towards their goal of defeating humanity. The Thresh is able to reveal the source of humanity's magic and the Grymm learns important information about Dave's role in The Battle of New Orleans. I'm a little sad to see my favourite underling transforming into something completely unlike the creature I'd enjoyed - nevertheless, I can't wait to see where he ends up in book three.
On the whole, Resistance is a novel about a man without hope for redemption who is better suited to the under dregs of society rather than in a position of heroism. Dave vs The Monsters is a completely violent, shocking novel based on mockery and continues to delivery a story that is both otherworldly and deeply disturbing in a delightful way. Although not as enjoyable as Emergence, the world of Dave continues to deliver thrilling action, frightening monsters and humour.
This book would appeal to readers who enjoy the satirical, fantasy, military fiction, action, adventure and lots of adult content. Emergence is not for the feint of heart.
gilmae's review
3.0
Look, it was all right. I mean, I inhaled it, so it was clearly a book I could tolerate....
Shit, way to not damn with faint praise.
If you can read garbage like Jim Butcher or any of the urban fantasy books with edgy, tattooed women with mystical powers and an unlikely melee weapon on the cover, you will probably be into this. I'd like to think Birmingham is taking the piss a little out of those books.
What I really want is a sequel to Stalin's Hammer. Turns out I like genre books that suddenly become 70s era paranoid american spy thriller movies. Cf The Last Ringbearer.
But did you totally see how I ripped on an entire market of long running genre series like a snob while reviewing this kind of lightweight, tawdry trash. S'ok, Birmingham is not exactly about the litz, he'll forgive me and probably discard me from the 10,000.
Shit, way to not damn with faint praise.
If you can read garbage like Jim Butcher or any of the urban fantasy books with edgy, tattooed women with mystical powers and an unlikely melee weapon on the cover, you will probably be into this. I'd like to think Birmingham is taking the piss a little out of those books.
What I really want is a sequel to Stalin's Hammer. Turns out I like genre books that suddenly become 70s era paranoid american spy thriller movies. Cf The Last Ringbearer.
But did you totally see how I ripped on an entire market of long running genre series like a snob while reviewing this kind of lightweight, tawdry trash. S'ok, Birmingham is not exactly about the litz, he'll forgive me and probably discard me from the 10,000.
vinayvasan's review
4.0
World building and character development usually make up middle books in a lot of series and the challenge that middle books usually face is to make it compelling enough without compromising on the pace of the story and letting the book bog down. Given that, it is indeed awesome that in Resistance, John Birmingham achieves both with aplomb
New enemies are introduced and the world of the invaders is built up to showcase them as canny operators even if they are technologically behind humans. As far as character development goes, Dave Hopper uses his power like an ordinary human being would do which is to make the best of his abilities to benefit himself without a care for the rest until events conspire to make him use his abilities to help the world or as much as he can. The secondary characters are also given ample room to grow and most of them are actually incorporated organically. A new character having the same power as Dave is introduced as well which seems to come a bit abruptly and the central conflict is pushed aside to an extent because of that. But it definitely does broaden the horizons of the story and makes one excited for book 3
New enemies are introduced and the world of the invaders is built up to showcase them as canny operators even if they are technologically behind humans. As far as character development goes, Dave Hopper uses his power like an ordinary human being would do which is to make the best of his abilities to benefit himself without a care for the rest until events conspire to make him use his abilities to help the world or as much as he can. The secondary characters are also given ample room to grow and most of them are actually incorporated organically. A new character having the same power as Dave is introduced as well which seems to come a bit abruptly and the central conflict is pushed aside to an extent because of that. But it definitely does broaden the horizons of the story and makes one excited for book 3
More...