I guess the best thing about a novel is how it grips your attention and you simply have the feeling of not being able to put down the book at all. For two nights I had to tear myself away from the book at 4 am at night. The key to that, I think, are the little cliff hangers at the end of every section of the story, and the protagonist is just an every day young guy down on his luck then show some real character development towards the end. "Nat, you rock"
There are some part that shown some real writing skill. At one point of the story the characters have to make a short trip over an unknown distance. Instead of just writing 'they walked for 2 hours and still walking' they were chatting about their background, so it felt like really being there making the trip as well, while worrying why they haven't reached the end yet.
so those are the good bits.
(spoiler below!!)
the not so good bits, is that there are A LOT of loose ends left untied. those are some of the cliff hangers that kept me reading it and yet they kinda ruined the book a little bit. If one applies a lot of logic and sense to the story there are things that don't add up and certain action doesn't make a lot of sense.
Right up to 60% of the book everything ties with reality, up until they pop open that door and references were made to HP Lovecraft... things start to get messy. I can totally follow a sci fi horror, but pulling the out 70% or 80% into the book seems rushed and out of hand. It is very well written aside from the feeling of running off track, I felt intimidated by the ALL CAPS MENTAL IMAGERY SCREAMS FROM THE MONSTERS.
Having said all that, definitely a good read.
and yea this big guy made an appearance
some of the interesting lines I liked from the books:
Tim nodded. “It’s a lot better to deal with stress a little at a time than let it build up and go on a bender that’d need serious clean up and recovery time. Took me ten years to figure that out.”
Nate recognized the man who answered the door. He had LEGO-perfect hair, wide eyes, and was wearing a tie and sweater vest with a short-sleeve shirt. Clive
“Sometimes everyone just understands who’s in charge. Not often, but it happens. In business, in the military, in politics, all the people involved just get it. This is the person we all listen to. And that’s you.”
“That’s one way of looking at it, yeah. Somehow, solving the riddles of this place became important to you. And that importance—that enthusiasm—spilled over to the rest of us.”
He found religion and began praying he could get out of the conversation without creating any more details of his imaginary sex life.
She laughed and it turned into a snort. “No,” she said. “You just seem like you finally found your purpose, y’know?” He locked eyes with Anne, halfway in her own cubicle. Her mouth moved silently. You rock.
In all truth, she knew she hadn't created anything worthwhile in months. Nothing that felt good enough, anyway. One of her teachers had told her being able to accept your work was no good was a vital step, a sign of growth and maturity in an artist.
