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zachnachazel's review against another edition
5.0
Well that was intense to say the least. Recommended on an outdoors blog I read I wasn’t expecting this outdoor adventure novel to turn into a crime thriller. I just couldn’t put this one down and basically read it from cover to cover in a day.
zeotoy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
angus_mckeogh's review
2.0
An anemic carbon copy of Dickey’s Deliverance. Not terrible but if you’re wanting something in this vein Dickey’s book is the much superior of the two.
pinkalpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bookph1le's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this book. On the one hand, I found the central thriller elements compelling and page-turning. On the other, the technical details of fishing and canoeing were just too much for me. There were sentences where the author was describing things in such technical terms that I had no idea what was happening. I imagine those passages would appeal to those who know a lot more about canoeing than I do, but if you're a layman like me, I think you'd feel as bored and lost as I did.
I also wasn't entirely into the author's writing style. He uses a lot of sentence fragments, and I found the disjointedness jarring. In other places, there are long, run-on sentences that made me lose track of what was happening. I'm not sure if I'd call the style entirely stream of consciousness, but it was somewhere on the scale, and that's a style that generally doesn't work for me.
Lastly, I was not a fan of the ending. Just as things were really picking up and getting tense, we ended up with a summary where the author told instead of showed. I also wasn't happy about one of the major plot choices.
This wasn't a bad book, per se, but on the whole it just didn't work all that well for me, which is a shame. I really, really enjoy a good man vs. nature tale, especially when there's an element of man vs. man worked in there, so this book should really have been right up my alley.
I also wasn't entirely into the author's writing style. He uses a lot of sentence fragments, and I found the disjointedness jarring. In other places, there are long, run-on sentences that made me lose track of what was happening. I'm not sure if I'd call the style entirely stream of consciousness, but it was somewhere on the scale, and that's a style that generally doesn't work for me.
Lastly, I was not a fan of the ending. Just as things were really picking up and getting tense, we ended up with a summary where the author told instead of showed. I also wasn't happy about one of the major plot choices.
This wasn't a bad book, per se, but on the whole it just didn't work all that well for me, which is a shame. I really, really enjoy a good man vs. nature tale, especially when there's an element of man vs. man worked in there, so this book should really have been right up my alley.
lindsayst's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
chelsl's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I read this in two days!. I love the author's nature writing. I am an outdoorsy person and so if you aren't, I guess this could go either way (it could be interesting because it's not your own experience, or you could be bored by it) - but for me it's so lovely. The character development of the two main characters is also great, and the plot had me tense and I couldn't put it down. It is so gripping but then there are these scenes of paddling, or fishing, that are a balm. I can't convey how much I loved this book. It feels real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
irisdagmar's review
5.0
Some of the most evocative nature writing I’ve read by a fiction writer. The author tore my heart out and I couldn’t put this book down for a moment. How often do you get a survival/thriller that could also qualify as literary?!