Reviews and Comments

What a wasted opportunity! In another author's hands, this could be a very powerful book. Unfortunately, Reid ruined the effect with weak dialogue (think internet fan fiction) and needless, repeated attempts at shocking the reader.

I guess I am not a fan of this kind of book. It reminded me of Gone Girl, as it was not a terribly good book, relied on numerous red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and had a bunch of horrible people that no reader could possibly care about.

Fascinating. This is by far the best Canada Reads 2015 finalist.

I guess this just wasn't my kind of book. It did not hold my interest at all. I kept going until the end, though, hoping that there would be some payoff to make it all worthwhile, but no such luck.

Most other people seem to like it, though, so don't let me stop you from reading and enjoying this one.

This is a difficult book to review. The book was described to me as less of a complete story than a series of flashes, like rays of glimmering light. The writing style made it impossible for me to generate any kind of emotional connection, since it would move so quickly from one thing to another. This is appropriate, though, as the book spends quite some time talking about the author's/character's inability to feel emotional attachments.

It is definitely something more than an average book, but not one of my favorites, so 4 stars seems about right to me.

This book was a disappointment. The author wrote about a very serious issue in Canadian and American society, which is admirable. Unfortunately, he wrote the book in such a smug, sarcastic manner that it became incredibly frustrating and annoying. The author very often wrote long paragraphs detailing both historical and current injustices, but then always seemed to follow up with a snide one-liner. He also took shots at everybody from the government to the police to native band administrators; unfortunately, throughout the whole book, he could offer no thoughts as to how things could actually be improved.

The author did a disservice to his cause. People who already feel passionate about the issue will surely give the book 5 stars because they can afford to overlook the author's distasteful writing style. I just couldn't bring myself to it. By coming off as obnoxious, the author will have a very difficult time bringing new people off the fence and onto his side.

King had such a good opportunity to really make a difference with this book. He did the research and had the reach. However, the man referred to as "a towering intellectual" by the Globe and Mail came off as a condescending smart aleck.

In terms of Canada Reads, I personally found The Orenda to be a far more effective book in terms of opening people's eyes to native issues. That book was able to stir emotions in the reader - emotions other than annoyance, which Thomas King provided in spades.

This is a decent, but not awe-inspiring, contender for Canada Reads. It was readable and sufficiently interesting to keep my attention. I am sure that it will not win Canada Reads, but should make it past the first round.

By far, the most enjoyable book of the series. I had some difficulty trying to figure out if I liked the first book since it focused so much on the angsty teen crap. This one left all of that behind and zeroed in on going on weird adventures. I have no idea how Grossman thinks up this stuff. He has a fantastic imagination. I hope that there is some sort of follw-up to this, whether it is another book (or trilogy) or movie.

This is a well-written account of everything that happened behind the scenes at Marvel Comics. I had no idea that so many of the company's employees, including some legends, were treated so poorly. Although there is a huge cast, the book is always understandable. I am not a regular comic reader (unlike when I was a kid), but I still enjoyed the book.