Hey
guys, Joe here!
Today
I’m going to be reviewing Christopher Reardon’s book ‘Obstacles’.
Here’s
a little bit of the blurb to get you interested:
Blurb add in:
A child will die. You're afraid to live. Would you go to all lengths to save him? Darkness knows no bounds, as Alcott, an African American doctor sees all too well. The man is petrified by death. His fragile existence rests at the mercy of the universe. This fact is far too much for him to handle. From unyielding nightmares to elevator terrors, he's lost in paranoia.
-
The
author sent me this e-book for an honest review.
This
book was a really nice refresher from what I’ve been reading recently!
I
generally did enjoy reading this book, even though it is definitely recommended
for people of a younger audience.
It
had quite a good story, which was very linear making it easy to follow, which
helps for any age of reader and was very fast-paced so the intensity followed
quite smoothly.
The
characters were also very distinct and memorable, which made it easier to
remember the premise of the story.
Though
the story was good, it was very simple and a good portion of it was very
predictable. Though, a few bits did take me by surprise and made me smile at
the writing used which was refreshing.
Again,
the writing was pretty awesome for the age intended; the world building was
quite enjoyable aswell, I was able to picture quite intricately and in quite
deep detail certain parts of this book from scenes such as the first obstacle
where Alcott has to fight the giant shark to bits like when Alcott summons the
Jauntla on the cliff edge.
Overall
I really did like the story side of this book, the writing was refreshing and
enjoyable, the world building was pleasing to read and how it was pretty linear
for the most part without convoluted story-plots soaking ninety-nine percent of
the story up, which allows anyone from basic reading skills to a higher
advanced level able to read and enjoy this book.
I
could see this book being turned into a Teen Fantasy-Action movie such as Maze
Runner or The Hunger Games.
The
only thing I thought badly about the story was that the start was a little all
over the place.
There was one mishap during the book though, during the obstacles were Vitaly (one of the contestants) was taken from the group as part of the obstacle. This left only Alcott, Gretchen, Travis and Marya to search the area for clues to where Vitaly is… BUUUUUT at one point the author starts using Vitaly’s name instead of Marya’s when the group is talking amongst each other, which was highly confusing and distracting from the immersion to the story.
There was one mishap during the book though, during the obstacles were Vitaly (one of the contestants) was taken from the group as part of the obstacle. This left only Alcott, Gretchen, Travis and Marya to search the area for clues to where Vitaly is… BUUUUUT at one point the author starts using Vitaly’s name instead of Marya’s when the group is talking amongst each other, which was highly confusing and distracting from the immersion to the story.
The
characters in this story were actually really – really cool!
I liked the diversity when it came to the description of the characters and that allowed me to feel as if the author had taken all aspects of this book into consideration while writing it! I especially liked how he included other worldly characters. :)
I liked the diversity when it came to the description of the characters and that allowed me to feel as if the author had taken all aspects of this book into consideration while writing it! I especially liked how he included other worldly characters. :)
Alcott is quite a
good character, but I didn’t like how he kept changing his personality; I mean
when he changed his personality to favour someone else (e.g. Gari, Gretchen)
that was awesome as it showed a braver side.
But when he started
sulking/crying about why he did the obstacles it kind-of made me feel like
Alcott didn’t really know why he wanted to get into the obstacles.
Gretchen was quite an
awesome character aswell; I like the selfishness that she felt for her sister
and I liked how she was the main talker for the group when they met Alcott.
She was also allowed
for her personality to change quite drastically which I felt was good character
progression as in the start she was very open and smiley but as the story
continued she became more confined from the other contestants and in-tune with
Alcott
Mayra was your
generic shy character with a dark side, though she was a nice take on it
honestly.
The main thing I didn’t like about the
character situation is that the author sort of disregarded some of the characters
sometimes and it made it the overall story feel quite bland at points.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, it was a fun
and pleasant read.
I do think it is mostly aimed for children
around the ages of 10+, which I understand and thought the author grasped
completely!
I’m so glad the author gave me the chance to
read this book!
Thank you so much to the author for allowing me
to read his book.
You can purchase it here if you fancy it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Obstacles-Chris-Reardon-ebook/dp/B00TXUOC4S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424826257&sr=8-5&keywords=obstacles+book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Obstacles-Chris-Reardon-ebook/dp/B00TXUOC4S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424826257&sr=8-5&keywords=obstacles+book
http://www.amazon.com/Obstacles-Chris-Reardon-ebook/dp/B00TXUOC4S/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1424826265&sr=8-11&keywords=obstacles+book
Thank you for reading guys!
We appreciate you guys so so much! :)
Thanks!
Joe :)
Thank you for reading guys!
We appreciate you guys so so much! :)
Thanks!
Joe :)
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