A great book that trips over itself.
593446
Mankind is infiltrated by powerful, greedy aliens who are going to wipe humankind off the planet so they can use it for themselves. However, they need to do this subtlety and efficiently, so mankind doesnt find out, panic and launch nukes. No sense taking over a planet if it is spoiled. The aliens plant personalities into eight, super-strong, smart androids who can and do infiltrate the Earths countries with nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, stealthy satellites watch overhead, assisting the androids and zapping anyone who threatens their plan. It is a lucky, misanthropic astrophysicist who discovers the plot and recruits some unlikely friends to protect the Earth.

Fear the Sky starts off so well, so engaging, you just cant stop listening. Funny, quirky, likable characters that are refreshing and real, and you know you are in for a great book. About a third of the way in, they seem to lose their shine and start become two dimensional. The plot, so interesting and engaging at first begins to flatten, becoming linear and predictable. There really is no doubt during the listen who is going to prevail.

But by this time, the story has so much momentum it is easy to slide into home. The book itself is not disappointing; rather it is fun and entertaining, well worth the listen, just that it could have been so much more. It never felt all that long, even at 20 plus hours (almost double most audio books), but it might have benefited from less is more, with some thoughtful editing.

R.C. Bray is the Narrator and he is brilliant. He has a unique, deep breathy voice that just keeps you wanting more. He could narrate a cookbook and make it exciting. Bray is one of those narrators you will follow regardless of the book.

This is a flawed great book, well worth the listen. Will you want to listen to volume 2? It seems likely, if simply to find out how the completely over-matched Earth will fight the aliens.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

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532913
This is a really good, well-researched book.  My only complaint is that every time the author builds up tension, he breaks it by creating distracting situations that don't seem real; i.e., at the end when Caitlin is struggling with her journalistic conscience about whether to publish the truth, which will double cross her fiance, Penn Cage, suddenly they both are kidnapped and taken to the villain's lair for certain torture and death.  Meanwhile, a critically-injured journalist, who has eluded death numerous times, manages to escape the hospital, wearing his mother's clothes and retrieves his dad's shotgun that his mother has left for him in her car.  A mystery character alluded to throughout the book suddenly appears.  This is too much.  Get on with the story!  This is too good a book to employ cheap tricks that just muddy the water and bring the action to a screeching halt.
1777585
I gave it 4 stars because as it was a great book, and exciting, it went on in too many places where we just needed an overview.
3606682
Im working in storytelling field myself. I must admit that the big theories about storytelling are obviously there but the flow of the book might be unbearable sometimes. You get lost in the story...damn it
1275180
I loved this book--up until the last chapter. It started out a perfectly beautiful little escapist story, filled with scrumptious images and a romance with life....The problem came when the author tried--exceedingly  heavyhandedly--to turn it into a life lesson. The reader is driven up  through luscious scenery to the top of a mountain, made spectator to a  breathtaking sunset, and then dropped off a cliff. If you do insist on  reading it, go back after you've finished and write a new ending.
3392075
I'm not going to attempt to improve upon the reviews given by the other readers here.  I am writing this review simply to point out a problem that has been bugging me with the book since I first noticed it, and it has not gotten better.
Here's the problem.  The book makes up a whole bunch of words.  That in itself isn't really a problem.  I enjoy trying to figure out how to pronounce unusual words.  The problem is that Tad Williams can't figure out how to *spell* certain of them!  He keeps jumping back and forth between a couple of spellings.  And that makes reading the book a real chore for me, since I consider spelling very important.
I'll give two examples.  In Chapter 21, "Cold Comforts," he refers to "Skali of Kaldskyrke."  In the *very next sentence*, he says "Skali was gone back to Kaldskryke long ago."  He also goes back and forth between spelling the name of a region "Hernystir" and "Herynstir."
This problem could have easily have been resolved with a good spell checker, or a reasonably diligent copy-editor, but neverthess it made it into print.  Many people probably won't notice it, but it just really bugs me.
The story itself is top-notch.  I am really enjoying reading it.  I'm just having a difficult time getting past the inconsistent spelling.  I would have given the book five stars if it weren't for that problem.
2671885
OK it was a good book over all, but when i started reading the book it was a bit frustrating how it moves from scene to the next with out no warning, and i think it could be a better book with out revisiting the past so many times. and the last part of the book about the girl reunites with family was just too unreal, if you look at the odds and the moral of the book.

After i got use to it IT WAS FUN READING.
1227748
This is an excellent book that is nearly ruined at the end by a cheap self-indulgent trick by the author. I'm giving the book high ratings because of the journey, not the ending. Some may not be able to overlook this, however.

The book would have been much better served had he allowed the mystery of the force behind the cards to remain a mystery. Let the sender appear, but do not say who he is. Let the question of "who" remain unanswered, so that the important question - why - can take center stage. For Zusak to turn the novel into a meta-narrative by writing himself into the story Deus ex machina, is nearly unforgivable. As it is, an otherwise most excellent novel is nearly turned into a morality play. This story deserves more than that.
2760834
First off, I really enjoyed the book. The characters were funny, but also dealing with their own turmoil. The last section really threw me for a loop. Instead of humorous turmoil, it turned into one character absolutely devastating the rest, which didn't fit into the pace of the book. And most of the lose ends at the end were left dangling. That said, I would recommend it, but if you're one that likes closure in a book, might not be for you.
3259299
This is PKD at the height of his powers, circa 1964, spinning out wild books full of great ideas that careen around and take the reader for a ride.  As always, a lot of the book is driven by characters' internal thoughts, which are frequently base and ignoble; there's a psychological depth in this that usually outweighs the sordid character of it.

However, the central protagonist here spends a lot of time thinking about how to kill his wife.  It's an unbalanced choice.  It's hard to rise above or past.  It keeps the book from working on the level of Dick's best work, I think.
2371555
I really enjoyed listening to this book, the narrator did a fantastic job. The book itself painted a very vivid world and left me wanting to know more of its history and people. However, be warned.. At times the book can repeat itself and go in circles, leaving you frustrated and confused when it begins dialogue between the two main protagonist.
1404899
Good book overall, except it's too caught up in its own context. Also, one or two designated chapters on UI would be nice.
2642529
The book started out great, and remained so for over 2/3rds: the story of Henry Whittaker and his rise to riches was fun to read. With Alma Whittaker's birth (Henry's daughter), Gilbert really takes off into a fine entertainment. Alma's development from precocious child to young scientist, to awkward womanhood, to late bride, to traveler, and finally to genuine scientist, is wonderfully recounted.

But...the major mis-step for me came with the appearance of Tomorrow Morning. From the moment he enters the scene to the wacky embarrassing mystical exchange on the mountain, I felt that Gilbert was throwing away a solid story and resorting to some kind chick-lit sexual/spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

When that portion of the novel is over and we rejoin Alma in the Netherlands, the book becomes fun again, and very much worth reading. But I suspect many readers consider the Tahiti section a high point in the book, a place where "truths" are uncovered and satisfaction attained. To me, that's scary.
2046198
At first, I picked up this novel because i was curious as to what it was about.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance practices the zen it professes.  It was reading for one of my classes, but the professor decided to teach another book instead.  For this I am highly grateful.  It definately wouldn't have had the impact it has had on me if I were required to read it.  I wouldn't have paid as much attention to what it had to say.  It is a book that must read itself.  You can't pick it up and force yourself to read it.  It should be savored like a moist piece of tiramisu.  I found that at some points I had a hard time reading some of the philosophy, and that was when i needed to put the book down and get a fresh start on it the next day.  Pirsig does a fantastic job at building up the plot and the theory until it all finally lets loose on the second to last page (before the afterward).  I say that if you begin reading it and don't like it, put it down, give it some time, pick up where you left off, and you might get something out of it.
128714
A great plot, lots of interesting places and characters, but my what a mess it creates.  It pushes the limits of credibility pretty hard.  But I had a lot of fun reading it.  To read in time order, read after Relic, but before Mount Dragon.
4592824
The book is engaging, funny, and, at times, informative; but the attentive reader will quickly notice that Bryson's tale is impossibly fantastic and, in all probability, not one that is typical of the realities of a march across the Appalachian Trail. Most of the characters are so overwrought in their actions and mannerisms that they mirror cartoon entities.

It is a fun book to read, but don't take it too seriously.
1921921
Really fun read. The pages almost turn themselves.