The first two thirds of 14 have the makings of a truly
fantastic book. It is everything you are looking for in a science fiction
thriller. Mysterious apartment building, strange happenings, interesting
characters, clues you can try and put together yourself; I thoroughly enjoyed
it.
I love how Clines wrote about the apartment building itself.
It was as though the Kavach building was a character in its own right. The way
it was described made you feel like it was alive and changing as the story
developed, as well as helping or hindering the protagonists along the way.
I also enjoyed the way we slowly learnt little bits and
pieces about the inhabitants of the building. As certain apartments were drawn
into the mystery, we learnt things about the people who lived in them. And you
really got the feeling each little detail was adding to the developing plot. I
was completely sucked in.
That is until the last third.
It got weird. Think Lost after too many seasons strange. It
seemed to stray far away from the mystery/thriller vibe that it had built up,
and focused solely on the science fiction based resolution, I was a bit
disappointed. That’s not to say it became badly written or boring, I still
enjoyed it, I was just hoping for something a little cleverer or less cliché. It
lost the tightly written ‘pull you in’ feel that came before it, and branched
out too wide and lost me. The well placed clues and details disappear as soon
as we find out the truth.
All in all I would recommend this book to fans of the genres,
for the most part it is a really good read, and who knows, you may be a fan of
the ending; it just wasn't where I hoped it would go.
ebook c/o NetGalley & Permuted Press
linking up for Book Club Friday
