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Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Blackout (All Clear, #1) in Books

Mar 1, 2018  
B(
Blackout (All Clear, #1)
Connie Willis | 2010
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh, Ms. Willis! I cannot believe you did this to me! A cliffhanger? After 512 many pages? And I hung in there SO long in the beginning, when the book was so slow to get going!

Seriously--during all that nattering about over changed schedules and finding drop sites I nearly screamed to just <b>get on with it already</b>! So it is absolutely ridiculous to find that after more than 500 pages, I am not a nice resolution to any of the various plot lines, but rather am referred to the next boook, [b:All Clear|7519231|All Clear (All Clear, #2)|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267552735s/7519231.jpg|9735628]!

It's a bloody good thing that I 1) really, really like Ms. Willis' work; and 2) already have <i>All Clear</i> on hand and ready to go, or I would have been sorely tempted, <b>sorely</b>, I say, to throw the book across the room. That isn't nearly so satisfying with ebooks, and tends to do absolutely nothing but damage one's hardware, so I imagine I would have refrained.

But I absolutely would not suggest this work to a first-time Willis reader. [b:To Say Nothing of the Dog|77773|To Say Nothing of the Dog|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298434745s/77773.jpg|696], certainly. [b:Bellwether|24985|Bellwether|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167544946s/24985.jpg|1194887], even more so. But not this one, and not [b:Doomsday Book|24983|Doomsday Book|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1287032661s/24983.jpg|2439628] or [b:Lincoln's Dreams|24980|Lincoln's Dreams|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167544943s/24980.jpg|25743] or, honestly, even [b:Fire Watch|10301442|Fire Watch|Connie Willis|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JNKi8g3aL._SL75_.jpg|2324159] (the story on which the <i>All Clear</i> duology is based).

Willis doesn't write simplistic stories, or I probably wouldn't enjoy her work so much, but she has a way of making the complex clear that's beautiful. It's just that these require a bit more desire to get there on the part of the reader, to my way of thinking, than the other two. And once one is seduced by those, it is clear that the effort is wholly worthwhile.

In any case, there's no doubt but that I'm going right on ahead to read [b:All Clear|7519231|All Clear (All Clear, #2)|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267552735s/7519231.jpg|9735628]. I'm just a bit put out with the author at the moment--and very, very glad, considering the heft of these tomes, that I've switched to ebooks!

I still think that readers deserve some small reward for the sheer aggravation meted out thus far. Surely resolving some small plot issues would not have caused trouble? For instance, authors who are accustomed to working with multi-book series regularly wrap up some issues in each book, while leaving other, larger plot threads to carry over into future volumes to provide continuity.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The War Pianist in Books

Feb 19, 2023  
The War Pianist
The War Pianist
Mandy Robotham | 2023 | History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Who knew radio operators during WWII were known as pianists? I certainly didn't.

The story is told from the perspectives of the two pianists ... Marnie in London and Connie in Amsterdam. Marnie and Connie are exceptionally strong characters and the author transported me into their worlds amongst the bombs of the blitz and the invasion of the Nazi's where trust can be a dangerous thing.

With oodles of tension, the fear palpable and the bravery and courage of those working against the Nazi war machine excellently portrayed, the War Pianist is a gripping story and whilst this is a work of fiction, it felt authentic and was totally riveting.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The War Pianist.