Giữa Dòng Xoáy Cuộc Đời tải về miễn phí cuốn sách

Cisko Vandeverre ciskovan — First Reads review: Well, first things first... Due to several sexual scenes, violence, and rough language, I would not recommend this book to anyone under 17. That said, I am torn as to how to review this book. It seems almost like two novels, intersecting to further the plotline but distinct and unequal. On one side we have the outspokenly green, eco-minded story revolving around Jan, the first lady; on the other, an intricate and politically treacherous story revolving around Everett, the President. In a total upset from my usual tastes, I much preferred the political novel to the ecological one. For whatever reason, Jan and those immediately around her did not ring true to me. Some of the action scenes felt contrived and stretched credulity but the characters seemed to distract more from the story. For example, just before Jan collects her party to try and save the whales, her best friend Raquel's boyfriend (almost fiance) dies. It receives roughly three paragraphs and Raquel cries once. Two pages later there is a sniff, a cracked voice, and then nothing for the rest of the book. Even though there is a lot of action and turmoil packed into a relatively short timeframe, I would expect more reaction than that or at least a further reference or two (the opportunities abounded). The boyfriend was critical to the plotline but seems forgotten as soon as the plot turned that corner, a means to an end and nothing more. Several of the characters are equally one-dimensional. It is perhaps a symptom of a big story and the embedded drama, which rarely bogs down for more than a page or two and continues to almost the very last. There were a few mild twists and turns but they led to a fairly satisfying, if wholly predictable, ending. Two smaller contentions I had with the book: sound effects and punctuation. Don't get me wrong, sound effects can add a great deal of dimension and tension to a story ("Nothing sounded more dreadful than the soft clack of the space bar." p. 320) but in the story they were sometimes overused to the point of distraction. And as for punctuation... Exclamation points derive their import from rare usage! Normally they truly heighten a scene or statement! Or lend realism when someone is shouting! But seeing them misused in sentence after sentence is really annoying! Now, if you've read this far, you may think I didn't enjoy this book at all. But actually I did, especially the intricate political passages. I might not recommend it for a serious read but it would serve just fine for lighter fare.