“Imaginative and Fresh.” — Scott Cahan, Readers Favorite
Outside the wall holds a prophetic truth, one which will change James’ life forever!
One night filled with mystery and meteors will change the life of a small town farm boy who never dreamed of what lie beyond…the wall.
To the west lies the wall, a gargantuan metal manifestation that runs as far as the eye can see. They’ve been taught that it was built for their protection. Not to approach it. Not to ask questions.
James spent all 18 years of his life in the shadow of the wall, never even traveling beyond the county lines. It was forbidden. He went to high school, hung out with his friends and his long-time girlfriend, Carol.
He played baseball and never questioned their small-town mid-twentieth century existence. Until a shiny, chrome-like object fell from the sky between the wall and his family’s wheat farm setting him on the path to a whirlwind adventure.
One where he’ll have to fight for Earth’s very existence and the girl he loves.
If you’re looking for a book that revs up and doesn’t stop, with twists and turns that will keep you wanting more look no further. Flat Earth is an exceptional blend of Sci-fi, Dystopia, Action, Adventure, and small town America.
Different sort of science fiction. The story starts in an ordinary manner with normal characters. When the readers are comfortable with the characters, the story shoots forward with James and the science fiction elements drop in at a rapid pace. James and the readers discover the truth as the story progresses. The imagination and the world building was great and thoroughly enjoyable. The plot was interesting while keeping it open for the next story of the series to come in.
There is a point in this book when the MC thinks; He would get one shot at this. It seemed as if his life revolved around one shot, life-threatening events. That sums up the whole book. The book doesn’t say that it’s aimed at the younger market. I wouldn’t even say YA because it is illogical to a fault and most good YA books are adult books without sex! When a story starts out with a faulty premise it stands no chance. There are far too many questions. 1 Why did James have to grow up in a 1956 small American town in the first place? 2. For a genius, Arcturus didn’t plan very well (this encompasses many questions by itself!) 3. Why was the ‘Resistance’ so small? I’ll say no more than that to avoid giving the whole plot away. As I said at the beginning: It seemed as if his life revolved around one shot, life-threatening events. It becomes very annoying when one or two people are attacked by multiple, well armed enemies who they somehow defeat every time! So why did I finish it? Just call me an optimist! I kept hoping that it would start to make sense!
So I found this story to be very original in a few ways and at the same time other parts reminded me of popular movies like Ready Player One (which was actually mentioned in one scene as a book on a shelf). This is pretty much non stop action. I had really loved the first half of the book and I had read it crazy fast. I was totally hooked. Especially by some of the very unusual concepts in here. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like this before.
And that cover image is so very cool...
And so I was reading more and then I started to get a bit bored with this book. Because the same thing seems to be constantly going on throughout the whole entire thing: James and Ariel running from these bad guys that are after them. And they escape countless times only for them to show up again and again and again! It gets kind of old very fast.
Then there was this one scene in here that mentioned building the flat earth. And I have to admit I have some serious issues with that. Call it a plot problem if you will.. But in here they say that we first colonised the moon and then we built flat earth. But just because we have the tech to live in a colony on the moon doesn't mean we have the tech to build flat earth. And that is where my faith in this book kind of fell apart? A story has to suspend your belief. And if that fails you kind of lose the reader.
Now I am quite fascinated by the author's idea of this flat earth (and its not exactly the normal flat earth you hear about - its way more complicated than that) and I do wish this had been written a tad different. People think they are living on a normal earth and then by some accident they start to discover all of this flat earth stuff. And make it a thriller or suspense.
The characters in here are all pretty flat. But they are doing stuff constantly. Running. Fighting. Falling. Jumping. The amount of action gets a tad crazy. I do like the first half of the book better. We get to know James much better than. Once he meets Ariel it gets kind of insane and its like you are trapped on a speeding train going a billion miles an hour. I think that is how James feels too. That nothing is in his control.
So this starts out as a very slow burn for an action packed book but bare with it because it gets better. The main character and his world have a mystery about who they really are and it takes a while to start unraveling before going from a story that follows the smartest country bumpkin in his town to blasters flying everywhere.
Definitely more of a young adult book in my opinion with the main characters being so young and the main character especially being clueless but I found them all pretty endearing.
If I had one complaint, and this is basically my only gripe with the series thus far, it's the romance. Not a big fan of romance to begin with so I normally ignore it, and I get that the main character's a young guy who gets love struck, but come on man. Time and place!
The world the author, Brent Golembiewski, creates for the story is very solid. The design is well thought out. The characters are believable and seem real. While this book can stand alone, it presents well as the beginning of the series. I was an ARC reader and have since purchased the book.
Well I must admit I did struggle at the beginning then the wall and meteors happened lol and thinks started to kick-off lol.. Loved all the banter and plenty of action which hardly ever stopped.. There was plenty of twists and turns too. Well done Brent . Looking forward to the next book
The Earth is flat, at least that is what those left on Earth think. Except James. He just knows there is more out there and keeps asking questions. What he finds out is more incredible than he could have imagined. Fast paced once the action begins with likeable characters.
Flat Earth is a different kind of sci-fi worth reading. A fast-paced start to, I'm sure, wonderful series. The story is original and interesting, the characters are well developed and intriguing. The author had created an amazing new world! I recommend this book to everyone who is sick and tired of the "ordinary" sci-fi books and want to enjoy a new and unique read.
From a simple beginning to an amazing ending, this book takes you on a journey mingling two completely different worlds. J's normal life becomes upended and his perceptions of importance are questioned filling his head with new questions. Acting on them he finds himself tugged along with a beautiful girl on the run from various villains struggling to find his place and save the world. With twists and turns throughout its wholesome fun for the whole family with a style of the sci-fi of old.