very good, but further into the book Jones seemed to ...
358194
There were parts of this book that were very, very good, but further into the book Jones seemed to ramble--maybe for the sake of length.  I was a bit disappointed.
4374184
This is an uneven book written by a woman who was in Jim Jones's inner circle--and escaped to tell the world about it. The sections about her escape are absolutely gripping and the sections on life in the compound are quite sad.

She "recreates" the dialogue of conversations that happened more than a decade before she wrote the book. At times, this is effective in giving readers a sense of Jones's manipulations. At other times, it seems like an unnecessary artifice--that the story could be told without all this recreated dialogue.

The book starts slowly, recounting the author and her mother's early lives. But then it really picks up once she finds her way to the People's Temple and especially once she gets to their "paradise" in Guyana. It becomes easy to understand why Layton would be seduced into this destructive community and why she and a thousand others were trapped there.

Jones's sexual abuse and assault of young women--including the author--are a part of the story that I had not previously known.
3969826
Overall, this was a good read. The characters are likable and it's it's easy to immerse yourself into Jones' world. Especially if you're a fantasy fan. There were times where I seriously went "what the frak?" though.
1469814
Ask me at any point leading up to perhaps the last quarter of this book and I would have given it a resounding five stars. There are many things about this book that I really, really loved, but unfortunately it was a bit front-loaded in that regard. For me, the surreal, unexplained nature of the clearly fantasy subplot weaving its way into what was otherwise a novel about one woman's lives and the others that touched hers, was very compelling. Once it was no longer unexplained, I found it less so.

That said, I still loved this book. Perhaps not quite as much as Cloud Atlas, aside from the beginning.  Recommended to fans of Cloud Atlas and, interesting, I found the beginning reminiscent of, say, Neil Gaiman's American Gods as well.
3858902
Was slow and in places, but overall, was a very good book.
189609
Ever read a book and, even as you're reading it, you feel like you need to know more?  That's the frustrating part of Ms. Smith's book.  There's a lot here, but not enough.  She indicates that she reviewed a lot - maybe even all - of the documents in the Eisenhower Library.  But she doesn't seem to include much of that info in the book.  Without saying it directly, I feel as though she's tellling me, "If you want to know more, go look it up."

That said, the book is a very good look at those early influences in Eisenhower's life that appear to have impacted the subsequent choices, policies and passions over the course of his very interesting life.
3400210
I guess it is only because it is a book by Philip that we get these not-so-raving reviews, his standards are set high,yet it is a book to rave about. The story of Jones has made a profound impression on me. Just imagine seeing the future as your past.
1838172
I thought it was a very good book, the plot went along at a steady enough pace. It felt like it needed a prequel, however, as much of the backstory kept getting brought up and referenced but not thoroughly explained. How magic works here is interesting, and it almost appears to be more of a mystery series rather than just fantasy. I look forward to what comes next in this series!
4114775
I was turned onto this book after listening to a podcast from the MacArthur foundation by one of the writers of this book. The podcast is available here [...]. The podcast was absolutely fascinating and I really appreciated the description of what amounts to the last chapter in this book. The book would be a good companion to the podcast because it contains the photos. However, I found that the audio description was MUCH more engrossing than the book.

My main complaint with the book is that there is an enormous amount of background detail that goes into setting up the archaeology side of the story and that the archaeology ends up being a little bit short. Without trying to spoil too many details there is a very brief description in the book at one point about how they suspected that a skeleton had been hit by artillery due to the positioning of the bones of the femurs and a violent break. That is an interesting concept that I would have never thought of. But its a sentence or two. In the under 40 minute podcast there were several situations that were described.

With that being said I've rated this book a 4 star largely by the absolutely excellent podcast that one of the authors put out. It set the bar incredibly high for me and this otherwise may have been a 5 star.

As far as the book itself is concerned the quality of it is incredible. Its on heavy glossy paper and feels very solid.
2703079
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I feel this series has had it's ups and downs, I think it's lying to say anything otherwise.

This book continues the story of what happened to Rachel in the previous book, namely, that she's a demon. The story itself has good dialogue, pacing and plot. If you're a previous fan, this book will be a good read. I found the outcomes and consequences of this book to be quite interesting, and eagerly look forward to the next sequel.

At the same time, this book really didn't have a "Wow" factor for me either, simply the logical (though not completely predictable) continuation of the existing plot-line. So 4 stars for me.

I think if you've been really unhappy with the storyline for sometime, then this book may not really impress you much, unfortunately.
2575193
I love Robin Jones Gunn's books. I actually didn't start reading about Christy until I was an adult and found the Katie Weldon series, which was phenomenal. If you've been a follower of the Christy series, this book is definitely worth reading to be kept in the loop of what's going on. However, this second book didn't amaze me as first as the first book in the Married Years series. Perhaps it's because I'm much more like Katie than Christy, but I wasn't a fan of how Christy's internal struggles and worries seemed to dominate most of the book and overshadow the rest of the story.  This book actually felt like two different stories.... what was going on (the weddings and travel) and constant sidebars of Christy's internal musings. It seemed like Robin was dispensing marriage advice through Christy's thoughts. Don't get me wrong, Robin Jones Gunn is an amazing writer and I recommend any of her books, but for new Gunn readers, this book isn't the place to start.
4486036
This book started out really, really well, with a beginning that hooked me right off.  I felt like it left out some crucial character development toward the middle, however.  After that point, it went from action to action at a very rapid pace.  I felt like the action should have unfolded a bit more slowly and that the character of the wizard should have been more fully developed, with more information given as to why he behaved the way he did. I also wanted to see more of the love story between the two major characters.  It was still a very, very good book, but it could have been an unforgettable book. Still, I don't regret buying it and would suggest it as a worthwhile read.
3998204
It has to be said that though Jones takes her sweet time in getting a new book off to print, she manages to reward her readers by providing a story that, well, you wouldn't mind reading more than once. Quite a few times in fact. It ticks all the proper story boxes, tension, conflict, peril, intrigue and so forth, but Jones takes this to another level..

So how does she do this?

It's called immersion, which isn't a type of paint by the way, no, what it means is that when you're reading this story, you may suddenly find that you're in a forest somewhere, cold from the snow maybe (she loves snow), or perhaps you twitch involuntarily because you're sure someone shot an arrow at you. Mmm, yes, thanks for the frayed nerves.

And yes, her style often leans towards the verbose, but she manages to do it in a way that you look at those lengthy paragraphs with a smile rather than a frown. Any writer that manages to make the bits-that-readers-skip interesting deserves a round of applause in my...um, book.

On a more serious note, this story does suffer in one notable way: It's incomplete. There are story threads missing. Yep, trust me. Not sure if her cat's eaten them, thinking they were crunchies, or whether the publisher was bemoaning the size of the manuscript...but there is confusion in dem dar hills, so unless you are blithely ignorant of plot, or are a master of the meaning-of-the-matrix-trilogy - and as such - prepared for the mindbending - you are going to be bothered.

Until the next book anyway...

Which is when exactly?

*sigh*
3198817
This was a great and interesting book.  I wondered how much of it was similar to day time talk show hosts such as those on The View. I am now looking for other Star Jones books to read.
2584451
This book was very good, I read it compulsively from cover to cover.  Unfortunately it's not the best of the series or the best of Sanderson's work.

Throughout the book I found annoying coherency problems.  From what I have read the final trilogy was originally meant to be one book, then two, then finally split in three.  I think this book as the middle book got roughly split, and the timeline and sequence of the book were muddled as a result.  People seemed to move between locations and their movement was not mentioned in conversation with other characters who would have noticed and more than likely brought it up.

Really not major problems, but frustrating from an Author as talented as Sanderson and in a series as complex as the wheel of time.

A good read overall though, if you have read the rest of the series, the above problems are no reason to stop.
692816
While I enjoyed this book and appreciated an insiders account of the events in Jonestown, I couldn't help but be disappointed in the lack of depth the author went into.  This book just skims the surface and is very safe.  I would have liked more details involving her work in the medical clinic at Jonestown, her experiences with Jim Jones inner circle, the trip to Jonestown, the plan to escape, way more details about Congressman Ryan's visit.  And definately more details about the aftermath.  Especially disappointing is her unwillingness to go into detail about the interrogations by the FBI etc...  She mentions the CIA in passing a few times but does not elaborate.

For those interested in the truth (how and why Jonestown went down the way it did) this book does not satisfy - but the book is worth reading if not for the dream recounted in the prologue.  This I found to be quite compelling.

I too also found many inconsistencies in the book and must say that it would have benefited from a better editor.  However it is a easy read because it is an interesting story - and would have been even better with more details.  I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to come out of this whole thing alive with several members of your family gone forever but one thing I have always found shocking is the unwillingness on behalf of many of the survivors to confront the government about the disposition of their loved ones remains.  Again this is not mentioned in the book.  All we are told is that she eventually started receiving a social security check for her deceased husband at some point.  If she did inquire about her family's remains and what exactly happened to them she does not elaborate.  Furthermore I found it disappointing that she does not share with us her thoughts on the infamous film clip of the gunsman who shot down congressman Ryan (and others on the airstrip in Port Kaituma) since her husband was alleged to be one of them (which she mentions but again does not elaborate on).

I am not judging Ms. Wilson, truly I have nothing but respect for her and what she went through, but I find it hard to believe there isn't more to her story.  Anyone who worked in the medical clinic in Jonestown and whose husband was an integral part of Jim Jones security force had more knowledge about what was going on.  I anticipated that this would lead up to why she was able to escape while many others did not.  But again she does not provide details.  Everything just happens.  Maybe she doesn't have anything more to say.  I got the feeling that she wrote this book as a form of therapy which is interesting and definately warrants compassion but left me a little disappointed.  I was expecting to get more insight from this book.
2593441
Good, but slightly less than the usual effort to keep the reader fully engaged and vested in the story