Cole Johnson

This is the most surprisingly underrated book I have ever read, without a doubt. It has like 10 ratings on goodreads??? My largest complaint about this book is how short it was. If this book was a 600 page plus monster I would have been a happy man. It had the scope for it too. Now that I'm done reading it I'm just left craving more like a cat first introduced to cat-nip. I don't typically read a ton of sci-fi and I wanted older classic sci-fi that really fit all the criteria for what the core of sci-fi is. I got that and much more from this book, I found it through the website WWE on a list of books called "Ace Doubles" which are two novellas published together in one novel. I'll be reading the second half of this one in the coming days "Envoy to the Dog Star." I don't think it can top "Shock Wave" though. First of all I was intensely pleased to find out that the authors of this book was a married couple. I mean I think it's so romantic that a couple wrote this book together. I was intrigued right as the book started as I immediately liked the writing style. After this I got a little board of the technical descriptions and was worried I wouldn't like the book very much. Once it picked up though I was hooked for the rest of the book. The characters relationships development was amazing, I loved the MC and although the technical stuff was a little bit much sometimes it was fascinating as well. I loved how on top of everything some interesting philosophical discussions were sprinkled in about what freedom is and how important it is. The ending was a bit rushed... but maybe that's because I wasn't ready to be done and I wanted more and more. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. I think I'll re-read it multiple times over the years to come. READ THIS BOOK!

Finally got around to finishing this in continuation of my read through of the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. I started off the book not very impressed, I read the story many years ago and so I had a vague remembrance of it and I remembered it in a pretty positive view. However, when I started it this time I was bogged down with boredom. I couldn't really place why I was board, I just wasn't engaged with the plot or characters. I wasn't enjoying my time reading the story. I was pretty confident it would be at best a three star read. But then I read the last 100 pages or so and I was floored because I had a great time reading. Shasta becomes much more likeable, honestly all of the protagonists do. The plot was engaging and I was excited to see what happened next. There was insightful and funny comments lacing the pages and the fight and wrap up at the end of the book was really satisfying. I liked how all of the encounters with the lion and cat throughout the book was resolved. I was just really impressed. I think I would give this a 3.5 stars if I could, but I'll be willing to give it a 4 here.

This book deserves all the recognition that it’s gotten, man was it fantastic! I was immediately drawn in and almost instantly formed a connection with The Marsh Girl, and because of how well the author makes that bond between reader and character I was devastated as I was brought through her tragic life. I don’t know if I’ve ever been rooting for a character from a fictional book quite as much as The Marsh Girl. I was entranced with the style of writing and storytelling and was waiting with baited breath at the end of the book for the verdict. This book stirred deep emotions for me that lasted even after I finished reading and I think that’s one of the most important and valuable things you can get from reading a book. It left me melancholy and sad because it is a truly heartbreaking tale, but sometimes there’s good to sadness and this book is my example. Obviously 5/5 stars.

Frightening and unpleasant in a wonderful way, this book grabs you by the throat and holds you there until you are done reading. I think I could read this book five times and still be getting new things from it. All of the scenes are so vivid I feel like I could taste them. I think this book could definitely classify as a “underground classic.” It’s set up in a way that tells you only the important parts of the story, and because it does that, it never is close to boring. I had to actually use a summery guide to go over ever chapter after I read it to fully appreciate the book. That sounds like a bad thing, but really I was just so enthralled I needed to make sure I knew what was going on. I would highly recommend. 4/5 stars.

I understand the hype now. Stephen King knows how to right a god damn book. He writes such realistic characters, almost too realistic. He really paints the setting he wants in this book. You even get attached to the villain of the story, which is rare. On top of everything, the ending is absolutely heartbreaking too. One of the saddest endings to a book I’ve ever read. And something I really didn’t expect from a horror book of all books. 26/30

Really nice little book, tons of crazy and bizarre facts I’ll be spouting to people I know for the near future. I’ve always been fascinated by animals so I know a lot of the widely known facts about the oddities and cool things about them. That’s why I really liked this book because either I hadn’t heard about the animals at all previously or I got a much more in depth look at what I knew about them and better understood them. The evolution beliefs spliced intermittently was enjoyable too. The author tried very hard to be humorous, but it didn’t take away from the book substantially and he was funny sometimes which helped balance that. 24/30