Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
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Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
So, have any of you read Ship Breaker?
I just finished reading it about a week ago. I was so excited to read it I saved it just for summertime, when I'd have nothing else to do.
And.... I was disappointed.
I don't want to spoil it for any of you who are planning to read it. In fact, I'd like to have some other opinions. However, to sum things up, I think it shouldn't have been published. He has a great world and a great story, but three things really bugged me the whole time I was reading:
1. His actual writing. He needs editing, big time. His sentences didn't flow and he re-used the same words about a hundred times, until I was ready to personally mail him a dictionary. Like the word 'feral'. I've never known a writer to use the word 'feral' so many times.
2. I think the MC was the wrong person. I felt like the main story was about this girl that he rescues. I would have preferred to be in her head, since she was the one with all the secrets and the excitement and the danger at her heels. The MC just felt -- to me -- like he was useless to the story.
3. One of the villains (and a pretty main villain) didn't really have motivation for what he did. He just killed and killed and killed like a destructive machine. There was nothing to make us feel sorry for him or get into his phsychie. I like complex villains, and even better ones that are slightly slightly sympathetic. Or at least have a MOTIVATION for what they do. He had none. At least none I ever picked up on.
That being said, you should go read it and tell me what you think. These things tend to bother me in whatever book I read. I'm kinda amazed Ship Breaker won an award. Now I'm wondering if it's just ME having the problem, or if agents/publishers will lower their standards for a good story??
Sorry about that rant. I had to talk about it SOMEWHERE.
I just finished reading it about a week ago. I was so excited to read it I saved it just for summertime, when I'd have nothing else to do.
And.... I was disappointed.
I don't want to spoil it for any of you who are planning to read it. In fact, I'd like to have some other opinions. However, to sum things up, I think it shouldn't have been published. He has a great world and a great story, but three things really bugged me the whole time I was reading:
1. His actual writing. He needs editing, big time. His sentences didn't flow and he re-used the same words about a hundred times, until I was ready to personally mail him a dictionary. Like the word 'feral'. I've never known a writer to use the word 'feral' so many times.
2. I think the MC was the wrong person. I felt like the main story was about this girl that he rescues. I would have preferred to be in her head, since she was the one with all the secrets and the excitement and the danger at her heels. The MC just felt -- to me -- like he was useless to the story.
3. One of the villains (and a pretty main villain) didn't really have motivation for what he did. He just killed and killed and killed like a destructive machine. There was nothing to make us feel sorry for him or get into his phsychie. I like complex villains, and even better ones that are slightly slightly sympathetic. Or at least have a MOTIVATION for what they do. He had none. At least none I ever picked up on.
That being said, you should go read it and tell me what you think. These things tend to bother me in whatever book I read. I'm kinda amazed Ship Breaker won an award. Now I'm wondering if it's just ME having the problem, or if agents/publishers will lower their standards for a good story??
Sorry about that rant. I had to talk about it SOMEWHERE.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
Haha, yeah, I've read books/stories like that, with the choppy sentences and useless characters and motivation-less villains. They're called commercial fiction. Just kidding. But seriously, those kind of things bug me--we work so hard to create logical and realistic (as realistic as sci-fi and fantasy can be) worlds and characters that act like real human beings, and then these commercial thrill rides get published with a lot less work. It's just a little bit sad.
I find though, that when I come to a work with high expectations because everyone said it was good, I end up disappointed. So I generally try to keep my expectations low, so I can be pleasantly surprised instead of let down. It works great for the movie theaters.
I find though, that when I come to a work with high expectations because everyone said it was good, I end up disappointed. So I generally try to keep my expectations low, so I can be pleasantly surprised instead of let down. It works great for the movie theaters.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
Oh my gosh! I'm not the only one! *hugs Lizzy* Everyone is always praising this book and it got so many awards and stuff and ... I just didn't get what the big deal was. It sounded really cool, and I loved the cover art, and I had such high expectations. But I think you're absolutely right. I didn't like the main character much; the girl was more interesting. I got bored about halfway through the book and started skimming.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
*hugs Brigid right back* I'm so glad to find another who agrees. I wondered if it was me being really snobby or if there was genuinely something wrong with the book. I'll probably never read it again.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
Nah, you're not snobby. Unless I'm also snobby and don't realize it. *shifty eyes* But, I consider myself pretty easy to please. I like most of what I read. I didn't think there was anything too appealing about this book, though.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
Me too. I'm not uber-picky. Though I admit I haven't even read Twilight yet (I will! I really will!) because it's not a priority. And that's a total attitude thing. I just need to find a time where I feel like wasting reading time. It's hard enough for me to find time to enjoy the GOOD books in my life.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
Heeheehee. I know what you mean. It always takes me so long to get to popular books. I didn't read Harry Potter until this year. Hehhhh... Twilight I actually read a loooong time ago. I'd never heard of it before, except for from my friend. And then I just got it randomly from the library one day. This was like ... six years ago. And then suddenly, like three years later, everyone was ca-razy about it. I really liked it the first time I read it, but the huge hype is annoying. Still, I thought they were enjoyable. They're not amazing, but they're entertaining.
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
How cool you read it first! And that's OK about HP. My mom wouldn't let me read it until I reached a certain 'maturity level'. But I remember the days before books 5-7 came out. *was a fan at least that far*
Re: Ship Breaker Review (no spoilers)
A-yup. I'm such a trendsetter. Haha. Heh, yeah, I think they probably would have scarred me for life if I'd read them when I was younger. Hmm. Or maybe not. I read some pretty scary stuff. Sometimes I remember something I read a long time ago and I'm like, "Wow, how did I handle that? That book was freaky..."
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