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jefffrane's review against another edition
5.0
Particularly these days, a post-apocalyptic future that isn't dystopian is unusual, and Vanishing Point is nothing if not unusual. Thirty years after 90% of the human race simply disappeared, people are still struggling as much with "what happened?" as "why?" and each community finds different answers. Vanishing Point is set in the remains of San Jose, California, in and around the Winchester Mystery House (which is a real thing).
Some people refuse to leave their crumbling homes, convinced the Vanished will return, and others start life anew, still others find answers (if not solace) in spirituality. The novel would have been satisfying enough is Roessner had created an adventure story about this new world, but then she subtly introduces more mysterious elements and changes, along with physics that, frankly, flew right over my head.
Her characters are fascinating and well-drawn, but I found it impossible to linger much with them as the WTF? factor accelerated and I could only take brief breaks from the book. I finished a lot more quickly than I intended, but I'm sure I'll revisit, especially the really baffling bits.
Admission: I know Ms Roessner but honestly would not have written this review if it wasn't as terrific as it is. I believe Vanishing Point has recently been released as an e-book.
Some people refuse to leave their crumbling homes, convinced the Vanished will return, and others start life anew, still others find answers (if not solace) in spirituality. The novel would have been satisfying enough is Roessner had created an adventure story about this new world, but then she subtly introduces more mysterious elements and changes, along with physics that, frankly, flew right over my head.
Her characters are fascinating and well-drawn, but I found it impossible to linger much with them as the WTF? factor accelerated and I could only take brief breaks from the book. I finished a lot more quickly than I intended, but I'm sure I'll revisit, especially the really baffling bits.
Admission: I know Ms Roessner but honestly would not have written this review if it wasn't as terrific as it is. I believe Vanishing Point has recently been released as an e-book.
kaboomcju's review
2.0
Meh. It's a neat concept, but the characters are so under-developed that I cared little as to what happened to them. Roessner has multiple character relationships going on, but the characters are one-dimensional so one never really knows them. Also, the dialogue felt very unrealistic. People just don't talk like this.
ofearna's review
5.0
Such a good book; every few years, when the details get hazy, I re'read the book.
abibliophagist's review
4.0
I received a copy of the from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book took me by surprise. I wanted to read it because the idea of it taking place 30 years after 90% of the population disappeared sounded extremely interesting. But it didn't prepare me for one of the most real most apocalyptic worlds I've read. The characters were real and well developed, the society and the different groups that have developed were logical and believable. The story is, on the whole, simple with some concepts that might be too scientific for some. It feels natural and well developed, it isn't overly exciting but is interesting. I truly loved this book.
The story takes place 30 years after a world shaking event, one day people woke up and 90% of the population was just gone. In those 30 years the world broke down, slowly divided into factions and cults and religions. In the early day there were raiders and other negative groups but, for the most part, those died out and the remaining humans have banded together to help live. The three primary groups we follow are the Homers, people who are dedicated to up keeping there homes int he hope that one day the vanished people will return, the Housers, a large community that has taken up living in the Winchester house and around it, and the Heaven Bounders, one of the only negative groups left, one that believes the vanished have been taken to heaven and those remaining must repent (all of the them, or no one can go) and they physically get rid of those who won't convert. The story jumps between perspectives but primarily follows Renzie, a girl who was born shortly after the vanishing, she and the others of the first generation after the vanishing are able to see an aurora in the sky no one else can see. We also follow Nesta, an older woman who survived the vanishing and has traveled from Pennsylvania to join the resources already established in San Jose researching what caused the vanishing. However, she's not interested in what caused the vanishment, she's more interested in what is happening after the vanishment. She's interested in how the first generation can see this aurora, and how the second seems the see even more. She's interested in anomalies that have popped up, times when colors change, or there is a patch of daylight in the night. She hopes this will help show them with their future, and maybe, help them understand the vanishing itself.
It isn't an exciting book, if anything it read to me like a mystery. Following Nesta's research and watching in unfold was thoroughly intriquing and captured by attention. I wanted to know what was happening, I wanted to understand it, I felt like a character in the book looking over Nesta's shoulder with as much anticipation of anyone in the room at what was being discovered. The rest was more of a character study. We followed the characters day to day in the House, we followed the thought processes behind different groups, over how each person was handling or damaged by the Vanishing. It was a very real experience, no-one was difficult for the sake of progressing the story, everyone was logical. While this makes for a less exciting story, it made it one I connected to and I felt a part of. When twists happened they took me off guard and surprised me. It was very well written.
The characters were beyond believable, they felt real. They were rational, they were archetypal to the smallest extent. They were developed just enough, without too many bells and whistles, and every time I returned to the book it felt like starting a new episode of a show I had become attached to. I was returning somewhere familiar, I wanted to know what my characters were doing, what they've been up to. I wanted to know. The interactions, the love, the anger, the emotions in general were well placed and accurate. I loved learning the backstories of the characters and watching their lives develop. I worried for them. Even the house, and the way the characters interacted with the house made the House itself a character.
The primary concern I've read in reviews and the downfall of this book for many, is in the nature of the story. 90% of the population vanished, and we're trying to figure out why. So of course there is science. But for me it wasn't too much, it was a few paragraphs here or there where I reread to make sure I understood the theory they were discussing, but I never had to look anything up, it was pretty simple stuff. Many say it was textbook like, but man do I wish I had textbooks that were that simple and short. More times than not there was character dialogue that simplified the overly complex parts. But I don't know, for me it was so interesting I loved it. I almost wanted more of it. But I can see how this might not be to everyone's tastes.
I don't know how to put it. This was a great book, it was simple and complex, it was intriguing and real. It felt familiar and believable. The author managed to take a big idea, a daunting, broad idea for an apocalypse, and created such a real and believable aftermath. One I haven't seen since I read [b:Alas, Babylon|38169|Alas, Babylon|Pat Frank|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440605255s/38169.jpg|37962]. There is something refreshing about a character based story, not much drama, romance, or action, but instead a natural human desire for why. I was a mystery and it wasn't. I don't know quite what it was. But I loved it.
This book took me by surprise. I wanted to read it because the idea of it taking place 30 years after 90% of the population disappeared sounded extremely interesting. But it didn't prepare me for one of the most real most apocalyptic worlds I've read. The characters were real and well developed, the society and the different groups that have developed were logical and believable. The story is, on the whole, simple with some concepts that might be too scientific for some. It feels natural and well developed, it isn't overly exciting but is interesting. I truly loved this book.
The story takes place 30 years after a world shaking event, one day people woke up and 90% of the population was just gone. In those 30 years the world broke down, slowly divided into factions and cults and religions. In the early day there were raiders and other negative groups but, for the most part, those died out and the remaining humans have banded together to help live. The three primary groups we follow are the Homers, people who are dedicated to up keeping there homes int he hope that one day the vanished people will return, the Housers, a large community that has taken up living in the Winchester house and around it, and the Heaven Bounders, one of the only negative groups left, one that believes the vanished have been taken to heaven and those remaining must repent (all of the them, or no one can go) and they physically get rid of those who won't convert. The story jumps between perspectives but primarily follows Renzie, a girl who was born shortly after the vanishing, she and the others of the first generation after the vanishing are able to see an aurora in the sky no one else can see. We also follow Nesta, an older woman who survived the vanishing and has traveled from Pennsylvania to join the resources already established in San Jose researching what caused the vanishing. However, she's not interested in what caused the vanishment, she's more interested in what is happening after the vanishment. She's interested in how the first generation can see this aurora, and how the second seems the see even more. She's interested in anomalies that have popped up, times when colors change, or there is a patch of daylight in the night. She hopes this will help show them with their future, and maybe, help them understand the vanishing itself.
It isn't an exciting book, if anything it read to me like a mystery. Following Nesta's research and watching in unfold was thoroughly intriquing and captured by attention. I wanted to know what was happening, I wanted to understand it, I felt like a character in the book looking over Nesta's shoulder with as much anticipation of anyone in the room at what was being discovered. The rest was more of a character study. We followed the characters day to day in the House, we followed the thought processes behind different groups, over how each person was handling or damaged by the Vanishing. It was a very real experience, no-one was difficult for the sake of progressing the story, everyone was logical. While this makes for a less exciting story, it made it one I connected to and I felt a part of. When twists happened they took me off guard and surprised me. It was very well written.
The characters were beyond believable, they felt real. They were rational, they were archetypal to the smallest extent. They were developed just enough, without too many bells and whistles, and every time I returned to the book it felt like starting a new episode of a show I had become attached to. I was returning somewhere familiar, I wanted to know what my characters were doing, what they've been up to. I wanted to know. The interactions, the love, the anger, the emotions in general were well placed and accurate. I loved learning the backstories of the characters and watching their lives develop. I worried for them. Even the house, and the way the characters interacted with the house made the House itself a character.
The primary concern I've read in reviews and the downfall of this book for many, is in the nature of the story. 90% of the population vanished, and we're trying to figure out why. So of course there is science. But for me it wasn't too much, it was a few paragraphs here or there where I reread to make sure I understood the theory they were discussing, but I never had to look anything up, it was pretty simple stuff. Many say it was textbook like, but man do I wish I had textbooks that were that simple and short. More times than not there was character dialogue that simplified the overly complex parts. But I don't know, for me it was so interesting I loved it. I almost wanted more of it. But I can see how this might not be to everyone's tastes.
I don't know how to put it. This was a great book, it was simple and complex, it was intriguing and real. It felt familiar and believable. The author managed to take a big idea, a daunting, broad idea for an apocalypse, and created such a real and believable aftermath. One I haven't seen since I read [b:Alas, Babylon|38169|Alas, Babylon|Pat Frank|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440605255s/38169.jpg|37962]. There is something refreshing about a character based story, not much drama, romance, or action, but instead a natural human desire for why. I was a mystery and it wasn't. I don't know quite what it was. But I loved it.
" Can you really show me a single person, including yourself, including me, who, since the Vanishing, can't be said to belong to a cult? Even if it's a cult of one?"
jefffrane's review
5.0
Particularly these days, a post-apocalyptic future that isn't dystopian is unusual, and Vanishing Point is nothing if not unusual. Thirty years after 90% of the human race simply disappeared, people are still struggling as much with "what happened?" as "why?" and each community finds different answers. Vanishing Point is set in the remains of San Jose, California, in and around the Winchester Mystery House (which is a real thing).
Some people refuse to leave their crumbling homes, convinced the Vanished will return, and others start life anew, still others find answers (if not solace) in spirituality. The novel would have been satisfying enough is Roessner had created an adventure story about this new world, but then she subtly introduces more mysterious elements and changes, along with physics that, frankly, flew right over my head.
Her characters are fascinating and well-drawn, but I found it impossible to linger much with them as the WTF? factor accelerated and I could only take brief breaks from the book. I finished a lot more quickly than I intended, but I'm sure I'll revisit, especially the really baffling bits.
Admission: I know Ms Roessner but honestly would not have written this review if it wasn't as terrific as it is. I believe Vanishing Point has recently been released as an e-book.
Some people refuse to leave their crumbling homes, convinced the Vanished will return, and others start life anew, still others find answers (if not solace) in spirituality. The novel would have been satisfying enough is Roessner had created an adventure story about this new world, but then she subtly introduces more mysterious elements and changes, along with physics that, frankly, flew right over my head.
Her characters are fascinating and well-drawn, but I found it impossible to linger much with them as the WTF? factor accelerated and I could only take brief breaks from the book. I finished a lot more quickly than I intended, but I'm sure I'll revisit, especially the really baffling bits.
Admission: I know Ms Roessner but honestly would not have written this review if it wasn't as terrific as it is. I believe Vanishing Point has recently been released as an e-book.
iguana_mama's review
4.0
A very absorbing, thoughtful story set 30 years after the mysterious vanishing of 90% of the population. Centered around two main characters, Nesta is the scientist looking for the cause of the Vanishing and Renzie, fearless and confident leader, cope with loss, loneliness and survival in an uncertain world. Recommended.
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