I’m not surprised that often. I have come to accept that if I score /review certain authors poorly, then some people in their fan base retaliates by going to my review page and squeezing down on unhelpful on most of my reviews. It’s actually kind of sad, but I guess the ratings system is skewed by these actions as well as the blatant fake reviews that friends and families complete. I suspect that is the case with this book.
This book is very uneven, probably because of the 5 different authors that worked on it. It is not seamless as some have said. There are clearly 5 authors with varying writing abilities. It’s a clever idea, but not easily executed. And, why go to the trouble?
The story itself is drawn out, repetitive, etc. You are following 5 different stories. 5 different groups of people. It’s just a mess. The characters are mainly stereotypes and are paper thin. The dialogue is all over the place. I really didn’t connect to anyone. Their plight is so uninteresting and has mainly been covered by the authors in previous works. All I can think, is that these guys were sitting around drinking one night and someone suggested they all write a book together, probably like they do in some high school classes, with post-its. Then put it all together and create a masterpiece.
Finally, the narrator is awful. Probably one of the worst I’ve ever heard. All of his characters sound very similar. And, as some reviewers have stated, he sounds like William Shatner. He actually does talk like William Shatner, but in an even more pronounced manner. All of the characters talk in this manner.
Very HARD PASS. This genre is so bloated. Look around for at least an average writer with an average narrator. There is no reason to settle. So, unless you are a Shatner fan, walk on by.