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vesvius's review
3.0
I want to preface this review by saying that 'Rise' is not a bad book. It's got a good flow to it, some interesting characters, and a few novel ideas for super powers and heroes in general that I haven't seen before. It was a quick read; I got through it in about a day, and not because it was short. Breezy is probably the right word.
But while Rise is not a bad book, it's not a good book either. At best I can call it ok. Some of the problems are with Jim's writing style- specifically, the dialogue. I can't quite put my finger on what about the dialogue specifically turned me off but it really did. It could be that every character felt like they were trying to out do each other in the most clever quips contest, or maybe it's that the characters- when they were talking- were just talking at each other. No actions or anything broke up a conversation once it got started. It felt a little more robotic then then Andydroid.
Another problem I had with the book is that there was no real recap. I don't expect my hand to be held when I'm reading anything, but most series have a bit of a refresher at the start. A 'I'm Harry Dresden, Wizard PI, and this is my talking skull' kind of thing where the protagonist reflects on the various characters they meet. There was none of that in Rise. As such, I didn't remember who anyone was but Cal, Stacey, and Wendy without going back and double-checking one of the other books. (Full Disclosure: I did not go back and check the other books to refresh my memory. As such, remembering who was who and what they've done before was rough)
My last real criticism is something I've given to one of Jim's books before: mainly, Rise feels incomplete. It felt like the first act of a bigger book that was cut off because the author needed to publish something and his real last volume in the series wasn't ready yet. That impression wasn't helped by the big 'TO BE CONTINUED' at the end. Also, I was a touch miffed that when I thought I had another 10% of the book left to go, a 10% I thought was going to give some closure on at least a few things, it was a preview for another book by another author that I'm not going to read. That's just me though. Maybe that preview is the best thing since sliced bread.
If you enjoyed the first few D-List books, you'll enjoy this one. But if you didn't, this will not change your mind. And if you haven't read the first three at all, this is not a good jumping on point.
But while Rise is not a bad book, it's not a good book either. At best I can call it ok. Some of the problems are with Jim's writing style- specifically, the dialogue. I can't quite put my finger on what about the dialogue specifically turned me off but it really did. It could be that every character felt like they were trying to out do each other in the most clever quips contest, or maybe it's that the characters- when they were talking- were just talking at each other. No actions or anything broke up a conversation once it got started. It felt a little more robotic then then Andydroid.
Another problem I had with the book is that there was no real recap. I don't expect my hand to be held when I'm reading anything, but most series have a bit of a refresher at the start. A 'I'm Harry Dresden, Wizard PI, and this is my talking skull' kind of thing where the protagonist reflects on the various characters they meet. There was none of that in Rise. As such, I didn't remember who anyone was but Cal, Stacey, and Wendy without going back and double-checking one of the other books. (Full Disclosure: I did not go back and check the other books to refresh my memory. As such, remembering who was who and what they've done before was rough)
My last real criticism is something I've given to one of Jim's books before: mainly, Rise feels incomplete. It felt like the first act of a bigger book that was cut off because the author needed to publish something and his real last volume in the series wasn't ready yet. That impression wasn't helped by the big 'TO BE CONTINUED' at the end. Also, I was a touch miffed that when I thought I had another 10% of the book left to go, a 10% I thought was going to give some closure on at least a few things, it was a preview for another book by another author that I'm not going to read. That's just me though. Maybe that preview is the best thing since sliced bread.
If you enjoyed the first few D-List books, you'll enjoy this one. But if you didn't, this will not change your mind. And if you haven't read the first three at all, this is not a good jumping on point.
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