Reviews

Directive 51 by John Barnes

dlemos0313's review

Even thought this book is a little to patriotic for my taste, I liked the story. I think the author should had spent a little more time describing the world after destruction, but that is just my opinion.

jaffo's review

After getting almost two-thirds of the way through, I had to return this digital purchase to Amazon and delete the book.
I tried, I really did. I think John Barnes is an acceptable writer (my first with him, so I can't really say more) and his story worked on some levels.
I think, maybe, it was too busy on too many levels.
It is a combination of political intrigue, techno-dystopia, prepper porn, police state thriller... it's just too damned much for one book.
And maybe the current political state of the US is making me extra sensitive as well... I just couldn't enjoy the story anymore, once the acting President's private police started trying to arrest journalists and mass looting was becoming a real concern in the outskirts of major cities.
I will make an attempt to try this book again in the future when my head is in a better place. I do not want to discourage anyone, but be warned that if you are weary of the topics I mentioned above.

jebersviller's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting look at the possible political shifts/governmental changes post apocalypse. not as much action as some others but with a unique antagonist causing the downfall of society.

darcijo's review against another edition

2.0

This book to forever to get into. It spent to much time at the beginning describing all the ways it was being sabotaged. It introduced several characters that I don't think were even mentioned again in the book. I almost gave up on it several times, but kept on plugging. It did get a bit better, but I don't know that I'll waste my time with the others in the series.

jeremyhornik's review against another edition

3.0

Apocalyptic end-of-civilization book. The villain: a wiki-style headless movement of hackers, creating nanobots that eat live circuitry and bacteria that eat plastics. I liked this a lot at first, as civilization was crumbling. Then it had basically crumbled, and I got a little less interested. Still, if you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you will like.

chukg's review against another edition

3.0

Very interesting apocalypse and shortly after novel, with a neat new end of the world.

thogek's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cjmichel's review against another edition

2.0

Directive 51 by John Barnes could have been a really good story but I got lost in the abundance of unnecessary foul language and overly lengthy and wordy descriptive non-action events that could have been improved by the "less is more" concept. Such a disappointment for a storyline that promised to be so much.

bnsfly's review against another edition

3.0

A lot of interesting ideas that then sort of wander and fizzle. I enjoyed it, but as a piece of fiction the structure and resolution (or even lack thereof) falls short.

kevinhendricks's review against another edition

3.0

An apocalypse spawned by luddites armed with technology-killing nanobots who are co-opted by terrorists in a thrilling novel that's really about presidential succession during unprecedented disaster. The post apocalypse gets a lot less interesting when you realize that's what it's about. Plus, I started to lose interest when at one point a nuclear bomb is detonated that was constructed entirely by robots on the moon. No explanation is ever given as to whether these are NASA robots gone amok or what. We never even hear about anything in space, like stranded astronauts aboard the International Space Station or whatnot. If you're going to pull out robots on the moon dropping H-bombs on us, you need a little more explanation.