Bamagrad03

Good start, bland finish, hero worship abound

Reviewed: 03-18-18

I have to echo the sentiments of another reviewer from Amazon, the book starts of decent and devolves into hero worship pretty quickly. It also feels like the author lacked material for an entire book, so the back half was meandering without much depth.

There are also a couple of other things I didn't love about the book. First, the writing is rather pedestrian. It really feels like Billy Gallagher isn't a seasoned writer. That's not to say it's bad, just basic.

The bigger issue I had is the one I often have with audio books: the author choosing to narrate. I understand the desire to have a youthful voice given the notion that Snapchat the product is targeted towards a younger demographic. But a book about Snapchat the business isn't necessarily the same target. Billy's voice and style just doesn't hold up to an entire book. I'll never understand why writers opt for themselves as narrators of audio books if they aren't seasoned orators.

I consume start up books like oxygen. And this one wasn't bad. It's a solid C+ in my opinion. But I couldn't get past the lack of 2nd half depth and fanboyism to fully enjoy it. I'd still recommend it, but I'd do so with the previously mentioned notes.

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4 people found this helpful

Poor narration, good information

Reviewed: 02-21-16

This is a good book wrapped in unnecessary hyperbole. The publisher chose to allow the author to do the narration, and that was an unwise decision.

Oren Klaff doesn't have a bad voice, his issue is with cadence and tone. Every single time he gives back story to introduce a concept or scenario, he'll ramp up his cadence, then trail off at the end of sentences. It's really annoying.

The book will turn off many readers because it is a bit over the top. There's so much hyperbole and overuse of superlatives that it can be maddening. I'm also very skeptical that all of Oren's scenarios he outlined were non-fiction.

However, the core principles of the book are fantastic - and well worth sifting through the whiz-bang over the top commentary Oren's used to gift wrap the message. Frame control and power dynamics are real, whether you believe in them or not. So it's great to be armed with an understanding of them before you walk into a pitch and immediately place yourself on the losing end of the deal.

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Great Book, At Times Unrealistic Despair

Reviewed: 08-27-14

Any additional comments?

First of all, this was a fantastic read. Flynn is a wonderfully skilled writer and I devour her books. I enjoyed this book more than Gone Girl (though I too enjoyed Gone Girl). The plot made more sense and I felt this one had an appropriate conclusion.

The one thing I didn't love about this book was the near comical level of 'one after another' misfortunes that were foisted upon the Day family. The meat of the Patty Day sections were constantly introducing new Murphy's Law type problems that started to feel like a dark Ben Stiller movie. 3 terribly perfectly timed bad things happened yesterday? Well 6 more are going to happen today.

And while the voice acting for Patty Day's section was absolutely fantastic and absolutely what you'd expect in your mind from reading those sections - her level of defeatedness really begins to weigh on the listener, especially when paired with the myriad doomsday happenings that took place.

My other negative takeaway from the book was the language. I don't object to bad language when it is fitting, but the overuse of the F word and the many GDs seemed jarring and out of place. GD was everywhere in this book, often in places that were so misused that it took me out of the story. "Bad words" should be artfully placed for impact and weighted importance, not bandied about like a paint roller, filling spaces where modifiers aren't even necessary.

Overall this was a fantastic book that I couldn't put down. Flynn is super dark, I knew that coming in. Her skill is undeniable and I eagerly await her next non-YA title.

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