Not the kind od book I enjoy reading.
927626
I didn't like the book at all.  It had too much profanity, too much drug use and was way, way too long.
1205782
I didn't enjoy this book, mostly I was reading just to finish it. it didn't keep my attention very well at all. I'm very disappointed. kind of a boring journey over the same things the entire 400+ pages. wouldn't read it again. and hopefully, nothing like it. it was well written and I can see why some people would enjoy it. I just like more excitement in my reading.
861945
I wasn't a fan of the writing. It just didn't feel mature. I have to admit that I couldn't get through the entire book; a very rare feat for me even with a bad book. Malmborg resorts to gore to achieve the horror effect, and it just sounds forced.
1166402
I didn't like this book and didn't finish it.  It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it.  It just didn't appeal to me.  Simply put - this book is more of a dark story and I'm not keen on those.
70880
When I first agreed to read this book I was thinking it was going to be enjoyable. Though it was based off of biblical truth, this book was much to gory  and bloody for my liking. I did not enjoy reading this book at all. I found it to be confusing at times and very hard to follow. It did not hold my attention like I hoped it would either. I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and sadly I have to say it did not meet my expectations.
72400
The main character was not someone I cared about, nor was the book written in a manner that made me want to continue reading it.  I seldom fail to finish reading a book I start, but I quickly decided that this one was not worth my time and the effort it took to continue reading it.
2834830
I'm not fond of reading books about total control  an sexual abuse

it was totally  disgusting  story and not one I enjoyed.
3519630
This is my first James Rollins book and I did not enjoy it.  It was not a particularly easy read, especially because of starting then twisting a scene as well as the overly technical detail, much of it not making much sense.  I did not like the torture stuff but, I guess, thats personal.  I thought there were also too much detailed about struggle, hand to hand combat and wounds but again that may be personal.  The ending was goofy but I don't want to spoil it.
4203629
The story line in these books is just not my cup of tea to me it was like reading a cheesy soap opra. It took me forever to read these books as they did not suck me i to the story. I had downloaded them all together as I thought the story line sounded interesting but I was left feeling disappointed with each book. If cheesy soap oprah type books are your thing then you will probably enjoy.
2450147
I ordered this book because I read something else by this author and really enjoyed the story. This is not the case with this book. There is so much reiteration and the character is boring.

This also has what I like to call GDT syndrome or girl with the dragon tattoo. Instead of good dialogue I am forced to read cursing and cliche's interspersed between a myriad of unnecessary details that do not move the story along. I do not care whether or not she decides to vacuum. I do not care if she is putting the groceries away or how many people tell her she has OCD and I do not care if wearing a pink, blue, and yellow outfit is called color blocking.

I want good characters with an interesting story. What I got was a boring woman with a blah life and some serious man issues. Am I supposed to sympathize with a woman who sleeps with a man on the first date? Hours after being dumped by another man? Um, no.

Overall
434697
I don't want to read about pedophilia, alcoholism, and misery with characters that have no redeeming qualities. Critics say this is about marriage, but it isn't about any marriage that I know. This book just wasn't entertaining and there was not much more to the characters than wasted lives. I can read about these things anywhere.
4699599
I don't care for books that overly heavy on meaningless sex.  I finally gave up and for me that is saying something.  I had bought Book 2 at the same time, but I'll not even open that one.
4691709
After reading "The Rover," I was somewhat disappointed with the ending, but I liked the story enough to press on and find out how things continued in the series.

|== Gripes ==|

Having now finished "The Destruction of the Books," I am disappointed to report that, while Odom managed to write lots and lots of words in this book, he failed to make me care about anything in the story until I was well past the halfway mark. The characters didn't pull me into their lives, the plot didn't convince me of its significance, and Odom's world of books, librarians, and threats from the outside left me yawning, for the most part. This is a slow-motion story.

I'm not usually this critical of a fantasy book. As a fan of Feist, Salvatore, and Brooks, I am typically satisfied with simple, straightforward fantasy. But when reading this particular book, I only kept turning pages by sheer willpower. Odom wasn't doing it for me. Having already purchased the rest of the books in this series, I felt compelled to finish the story, and so I kept going.

|== Positives ==|

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll be general. In the last quarter of the book, things finally get moving. At this point, I started caring about the story and the characters, even if I still didn't identify with any of them deeply. But I did want to find out what was going to happen.

Shortly after the excitement kicks in, it fizzles out again, but this part of the story didn't get boring. Before too long, the action picks up again and you can ride it out until it the end.

So, I do admit that I liked the last quarter or so of the book, even if it wasn't entirely compelling.

Let me also say that, in an era where many authors are resorting to disturbing imagery and dark content to sell books, I appreciate that Odom never crosses that boundary. I didn't find myself grossed out or wanting to wash my mind with soap.

A big problem with this book is that there is an overabundance of dialogue that could easily have been wrapped up with far fewer words. And, try as he might, Odom fails to make the characters personal to the reader. His language doesn't flow or inspire. The whole work feels mediocre, as if Odom really wanted to write, but didn't have any good ideas at the time.

I'm hoping that the next two books will rescue the story for me. I want to care about these dwellers, pirates, and others, but I don't yet.
4104122
The Shore was a very dark book. Telling the history of a shore and it's inhabitants, it covered many things that were saddening and confusing and disappointing. I hate to give books bad reviews, especially ones that I receive as ARC copies, but this book spun me and circles and confused beyond redemption. There were many time periods represented in the book and they weren't in any order and I felt some of them weren't necessary to the story or plot line. This really disappointed me because I was really looking forward to reading this. It was not what I thought it was going to be. I read some of the other reviews and I didn't appreciate the style as much as others did. It was very gothic and dark and I prefer books which aren't. This book is not for the faint of heart or those who can't handle sex, drugs, and insanity. If you're a fan of those things, this book is great, but if not I warn against it! Again, I'm sorry to write such a negative review and I hope you see where I'm coming from.
1233628
This was a hard book for me to get into. The writing was not what I expected for a published author. Characters were not fully developed. The action was slow, most importantly the characters weren't really all that likeable. I didn't feel the intensity that I know the author was striving for, but ultimately failed to find.
All in all if you have a couple hours to kill you could read this book or you could go have root canal.
2079645
I don't enjoy nor appreciate the tone of this book. It also goes too slow I think. A drag to read.
3018619
I prefer to read a novel where I actually like one or more of the main characters.  I did not like, nor feel any sympathy for, either of the main characters in this book.  It was an interesting writing style, but not one that I found that captured my interest.