Alas, I was hoping for more.

I like buying audiobooks that have bad reviews just so I can disagree. And some of the bad reviews for this book are quite harsh. But in the end, I tried my best to see something that just wasn't there. The premise for the story could have been so much better if lizards weren't involved. The idea of parallel universes hasn't been done that well in the past, and still hasn't. This book goes back and fourth and even though you do know who is speaking, it is too disjointed and unclear. Perhaps it would work as a movie, I don't know.
But the whole idea of the book had very little to relate to the doomsday theory of 2012. This was just implemented as a recognition of people starting to take notice of the potential this theory has. The actual story of this book would read exactly the same if it were situated in any time period.
I thought this would be an interesting doomsday story, like "One Second After" or "the Road". but it wasn't. It had a much stronger focus on Science Fiction. So if you like that sort of thing, fine. But for me, as much as I tried, this book didn't work.
The only saving grace was the narrator, the veteran of the audiobook world, "Joe Barrett". He never disappoints with a vast array of tone, accents, characters and clarity of voice. Joe is the consummate professional, I've listened to his other work and it is clear he was born to be a story teller.

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1 person found this helpful

Meh...

I couldn't do it. I just couldn't finish this book. Rarely do I ever stop listening to a book, but this was a rough one. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that the author actually took the time to write it (hence the first star of my review). Also, the concept was quasi-interesting, but it was a little too disconnected for me (hence the second star).

Other than that, I had to pull the rip-cord about halfway into the story before I found myself throttling my iPod (three cheers for product placement...I'll take my check now Apple).

Try listening to Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson instead.

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13 people found this helpful

A fun ride, but a few pot holes at the end

Stephen King spins immersive yarns that make up for his anticlimactic endings. Mr. Strieber does the same for the first half of the story. As long as I could follow his protagonists and antagonists, it was an enjoyable ride -- especially with the nimble and evocative voice work of reader Joe Barrett.
*
The tease toward the didactic in Martin's transformative experiences seemed short on an adequate supply of gold leaf. The references felt out of place in the context of this story, where a lighter touch would have been as, if not more, effective.
*
The long and fun ride hits pot holes in the final chapters. Characters suddenly display amazing attributes, convenient for the storyline, by having historic information about the character quickly backfilled to explain the unexpected turn of events.
*
Strieber may have thought that the alien location of these scenes offered a blank canvas, but without any reader preparation, this technique was more like early draft notes for a different book had been left in the wrong manuscript.

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Not bad, but not brilliant either...

The book starts off great with a captivating plot of an apocalyptic future - but then it takes a wrong turn and looses some of its mystery. The ending, however, is the most disappointing part of the book - it is somewhat forced, as though the writer has ran out of ideas for the book's ending, or if this ending was planned in advance - it hadn't come out right.

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Don't waste your credit on thi

After listening to "The Grays" by Whitley Strieber, I was very excited to listen to another of his books but I was greatly disappointed by this novel. My biggest complaint is that this book has too many sci-fi elements that on their own or even put two of them together would have worked fine but with parallel dimensions, soul stealing, snake people, and Mayan calendars mixed together this story is a giant stew of crap.

Also, none of the character's with the exception of General North are not likable or relatable and didn't care if they lived or died.

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A slow read

This book would be better if it were condensed, maybe even a lot. For me, it is a slow read - I'm having a difficult time staying interested. In fact, I have listened to seven other books while still trying to finish this one.

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Strieber Fans Will Enjoy

Ever since Communion I've always liked Whitley's tales, although I suspect the whole alien abduction business has been simply his meal ticket, not for real. In this tale, it seems as if he's shaping the protagonist and his wife in a way that wants to lend some credibility to what he would have you believe about his own life. And, virtually every type of paranormal experience ever mentioned on Art Bell's programs gets thrown into the soup. He tries to tie everything together in one story and, sometimes, it seems a little contrived. Aliens, zombies, war of the worlds, reptoids, cattle mutilations, out-of-body experiences, Egyptians, pyramids, parallel universes, ray guns, and on and on. And yet - somehow it all works! Whitely manages to create an enjoyable story and pulls off several great plot surprises. Recommended!

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7 people found this helpful

very good

I picked this up browsing and it is a very good listen!

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1 person found this helpful

Everything including the kitchen sink

Think about every paranormal, alien-invasion, parallel universe, time-warp and supernatural story you've ever heard. Dump them all into a mixer and set the machine's dial to "liquify." That's this book. Previous reviewers' use of the word "disjointed" was exceedingly kind.

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It really kept me hooked .... not bad at all

I'm surprised at the bad reviews this book has received. I found it much more compelling in terms of an interesting narrative than half of what I download here on Audible. Though it got a little out there during the last 1/4, I found the rest of the storytelling top notch. I liked the symmetry between the worlds, and there were other nice devices as well.

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2 people found this helpful