Couldn't/Can't Finish
936576
I've had this book for ages!  Ever so often I pick it up and try to finish it.  I just can't do it.  This bothers me greatly because I pride myself in finishing books I've begun.  This is the second time in recent memory that this has happened to me.

I always try to read books without reading reviews.  I read the brief synopses on the backs of them and if it sounds interesting I buy/borrow/rent it.  Reviews often contain spoilers and (in spite of best efforts) colour opinions.  In this case, I read the blurb offered by amazon for the vine programme and ordered the book.

Owing to this idiosyncrasy, I did not realise that this book had a variety of authors.  It was on my fifth or sixth (ninth?) attempt at reading it that I finally gave in and came back to amazon to read what others were saying about it.  It was then that I finally understood why it felt like a different book every chapter that I read.  Why the characters weren't staying with me.  Why I felt so un-invested in the created world and anything they were doing.  Why I was bored and why it was/is so painful to read.

Not that I am saying that *all* collaborative works share these characteristics.  They don't.  Stephen King/Peter Straub come to mind as a good collaborators.  But this one is not successful.  It feels disjointed.  I don't care about or care to know any character past the first three chapters.

I cannot recommend this book.
223765
Just can't get through it.  I'm trying.  I've tried.  It's an odd read.  I just read The Nightingale which was beyond GREAT to this.  So many rants and so boring.  All over with an odd form of writing.  All over the place living both in first person and third person.  I hate not finishing a book but I don't think I can do it.
4660412
I couldn't finish this book. The author jumping from first person to third person with no warning made it very confusing.  I want to relax when reading, and find myself in the world created in the book, but this was just too frustrating and jarring.
4924098
One of those rare books I could not finish.
3321737
I really wanted to like this book. I tried very hard to continue to want to pick it up. I'm now on the last chapter and have absolutely no desire to finish it; it will be an effort to do so.  I simply do not enjoy books that are so contrived merely to get the author's point across - yes, mentally challenged people have had their rights violated and been treated poorly especially in the past (I know, I used to volunteer at cottages for the mentally disabled), there have been significant advances in their care and treatment. But the ways in which the lead characters surmounted their obstacles and then led to "climaxes" so contrived and predictable as to strain credibility to the point I've lost all interest in finishing this book. It honestly reminded me of stories shared in Jr. high school creative writing classes. This could have been a poigniant book given more depth. I was disappointed and sadly agree with the other 1 star reviewers.
1329185
I have over 700 books in my kindle library and this is my first book review.  Try as I might I just couldn't finish the book.  I was listening to the audio book and had to quit with 7 hours remaining of the 21 hour book.  The audio book was well produced with three readers handling all the characters quite well.  But the writing was inaccessible.  I just couldn't pay attention to the characters droning on about obscure religious questions.
2634933
I really wanted to like this book.  Truly.  I am fascinated with Russian and Ukrainian culture.  I wanted to learn more about Chernobyl.  But I just couldn't do it.  It wants to be a mystery-thriller, but the author's insistence in breaking up the chapters into bite-sized chunks (never more than 5 pages probably to make it an easy bathroom or "waiting for airplane" reader) makes it impossible to get into a scene, get to know a characters, or become intrigued by a mystery before you're onto the next thing.  Half the time, the sudden changes in perspective left me thinking I had missed whole chapters.

I simply can't recommend this book to anyone.  The concept is great and the outline is good.  But the actual execution is too flawed.
690812
I want to start out by saying that I nearly always finish a book, regardless of whether I like or dislike it. I could not finish this book. Before I get into it, I will say there were TWO things I did like in the book: the author does a great job of portraying Han's struggles to have a normal life and be a father to Ben and husband to Leia. Second, I like that he introduced a non-binary character into the book (a Star Wars first, I think). I thought the character was OBNOXIOUS, but I am glad that the character was introduced with subtlety and accepted without mention (the only reason you know as the reader is the pronouns used to describe them).

To the problems: the book doesn't FEEL like Star Wars at all - it is full of modern slang and phrases that make it impossible to get immersed in a fantasy/sci-fi setting (bust his ass up. bro, ass, ass, ass, daaaaayuuum, etc). The author has written in a undertone of Han being a ignorant racist for some reason (I don't remember seeing anything to suggest that in the films, barring his dislike of droids), and everything from Lando's perspective makes him seem like a creepy sexual predator rather than a suave con man. There are also a slew of gimmicky characters like a "slicing prodigy Ewok" and "woke Gungan" that add little and distract tremendously. They are both there to challenge stereotypes, but it is handled with no subtlety and in a way that just seems more 4th wall breaking joke than political statement.  He could have just had the Gungan defy expectations rather then have him also go on a five minute diatribe about how Han is a racist and the dangers of stereotypes, all the while winking at fans about Jar-Jar hate.

However, I don't want this to sound like a fandom rage rant: There are some serious pacing and writing issues beyond its genre problems. There are 3-4 separate timelines going on in the story and they switch back and forth so often that the actual story progresses at a snail's pace. I've read other books that take a similar approach and feel like many threads being woven together throughout the book. In this novel, you have to get about a third of the way through for the actual plot to really start. The character's motivations for involvement in the plot are very shallow and contrived and they take actions very out of proportion with the threat (firing on New Republic ships and seemingly being prepared to shoot it out with New Republic officers?!) The villain is also completely uninteresting and unthreatening - I got no real sense of menace or threat from him. Overall, between the cringy new characters and poor plot, I returned the book while about 2/3 of the way through. I've read a few of the author's other books and had a similar experience - I figured I'd give him one more shot in a different franchise. Basically, he has some good ideas and can get into characters heads, but tends to craft a pretty flimsy story. I have to say I was pretty disappointed, as I am always on the lookout for a new author to follow, and Older gets a lot of hype. I might try him again in a few years and see if he progresses as a writer.
2656866
I always finish a book when I start it because I feel like I cannot judge it without going cover to cover.  This book was an exception to my standing rule.  It was difficult to get into and I am not sure if there was a plot. I kept hoping to get involved with this book, but that was impossible.  Out of frustration I decided not to complete it. I hope that this work is not representative of the author.
278412
I make it my personal goal to always finish a book but this one I just couldn't. I'm not a fan of the writing or the story at all. It just wasn't believable....I've tried picking the book back up to read it but I just couldn't get past my issues with the things I dislike. I really hate that I couldn't finish reading this book.
3605422
I love reading, and I'm one of those people that has to finish a book even if I am not loving it.

I didn't finish this book.
4698357
This is one of the few books I could not finish. I tried but the book rambled on and on. I finally decided to give it up and move on. Very disappointed
1632371
Couldn't get past first few chapters.  I almost always finish anything I get more than a few pages into, but this was one of the exceptions.
1819744
HUGE book I didn't get through, not engaging enough to finish.
215382
I couldn't finish it, it frustrated me too much. The plot had a LOT of potential, but the story line itself just didn't 'flow'. My first suggestion would be to expand the vocabulary and use it. Flesh out the characters more if you're going to put this out for adults, otherwise, list it in children's books.
300405
Could not finish this book. Tried any number of times. Wanted to like it. Finally just said "eh." Too annoying.
958780
I just could not finish it.  The plot was not fleshed out.  The development of the motivation of the characters was lacking.  The conflict between the main characters was lacking and seemed a little trite.  There was an attempt at trying to make a cliff-hanger type of plot but at 70% of the book, I was tired of trying to make a mental stretch of the plot and I had to give up.  I told myself at about a third of the way through that I would not try to read any more.  Then out of boredom and not being able to fall asleep, I tried to read get into it and that proved hopeless.  This book could be good if it had a complete re-write.  This is the first book that I have purchased by this author and will probably be the last.