Matt’s review of The Abominable > Likes and Comments
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Ugh, that sounds awful. I had been planning to read it because I love 1920s Everest, but I will probably hate it, maybe almost as much as I detested Jeffrey Archer's abysmal Paths of Glory. (view spoiler)[I think I would prefer the yeti. (hide spoiler)]
I knew you were never going to like this book.
Veeral wrote: "I knew you were never going to like this book."
I came close to liking it. Very close. Then: you know what happens.
One star? Come on, Simmons is a great writer.
I appreciate one star reviews - why sugarcoat awful books - saves us all from wasting our time
Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't really like it all that much to begin with (although I did like "The Terror", plodding though it was at times), but I made it until the Welsh expedition before I started to wonder if this was actually worth investing more hours of my life... I had my suspicions when I read about German news mag "Der Spiegel" picking up a certain piece of news (incidentally, Der Spiegel, in addition to being rather left-wing, was first published in 1947... oh well, research isn't everything, right?), BUT your review cinched it for me. I mean, Nazis. Please. Please no. Not this old trope. I was hoping for more Terror, not dumb old Adolf. So off the Kindle it goes...
Gkn wrote: "Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't really like it all that much to begin with (although I did like "The Terror", plodding though it was at times), but I made it until the Welsh expedition befo..."
I really should have realized what was going to happen once they went to the Hofbrauhaus. Chekov's Gun and all. But I pressed on. Like you, I was hoping for something more in the vein of The Terror.
1 star. Yes that's what I gave it as well. I really looked forward to reading it and expected much more. Very disappointing.
Whew. It's a huge relief to read somebody else's thoughts on this one that so closely mirror my own. I kind of couldn't believe how terrible this book was. About halfway through I realized its two-page descriptions of down jackets weren't actually building to anything and I started to resent every new page. By the time we got to the "secret" at the top of the mountain, I was just furious. What a terrible book. It would be much better if Simmons was just an idiot, but he's not! Hyperion is great! I can't figure out what his publisher was thinking letting this trash out the flow door.
If I could marry this review, I would. Wonderful! Much better than the book.
Nice review. I really liked The Terror and the Hyperion series, but I jumped off the Simmons bandwagon after reading this one.
When the title itself has forewarned you...
I couldn't finish The Terror. I thought it was atrocious.
Although I've read "Drood" by this author and hated it, I might have given him a second chance after reading the synopsis of this one owing to my weird Everest obsession. But I trusted you and read the spoiler...shrieked and threw an imaginary copy into the air. Thanks for saving me...
If y'all enjoyed the Terror, by the way, the AMC adaptation last year was tremendous. One of the best TV series in years.
Susan wrote: "Although I've read "Drood" by this author and hated it, I might have given him a second chance after reading the synopsis of this one owing to my weird Everest obsession. But I trusted you and read..."
You're welcome! I have done my good (Goodreads) deed for the year!
Mitchell wrote: "If y'all enjoyed the Terror, by the way, the AMC adaptation last year was tremendous. One of the best TV series in years."
Oh yes - absolutely. I loved it.
Great review. Thanks for the heads up, as I would likely have thrown this hard against a wall when it got going. Loved the spoiler, esp your asides. =)
I just read the spoiler- Wow. Thanks for the warning (removed from tbr list). Enjoyed the review as always.
I too enjoyed 'The Terror' but will give this one a miss. Thanks for the warning.
I've never seen a 1 star review from you before. Your 2 star reviews are devastating enough! If you rated this 1 star, then damn, it must be awful.
Omg I’m so glad I read your spoiler and I almost never read spoilers lol. Absolutely NO ONE asked for that. How ridiculously disappointing. *sigh* I just want to find a truly scary, SUPERNATURAL mountain climbing story!
I absolutely loved the Terror but couldn’t get into Summer of Night. Thank you for saving me from reading this.
OK I have read this one now and agree on all counts, with the added issue that I found it staggeringly boring every step of the way, driven by the fact that Simmons was apparently determined to ensure that every single piece of information he learned while researching this book would make its way onto the page no matter how awkwardly expository it might be.
It is only the voluminous praise from yourself and other Goodreads users that keeps The Terror on my TBR pile.
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Sarah (Presto agitato)
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Mar 03, 2014 01:44PM
Ugh, that sounds awful. I had been planning to read it because I love 1920s Everest, but I will probably hate it, maybe almost as much as I detested Jeffrey Archer's abysmal Paths of Glory. (view spoiler)[I think I would prefer the yeti. (hide spoiler)]
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I knew you were never going to like this book.
Veeral wrote: "I knew you were never going to like this book."I came close to liking it. Very close. Then: you know what happens.
One star? Come on, Simmons is a great writer.
I appreciate one star reviews - why sugarcoat awful books - saves us all from wasting our time
Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't really like it all that much to begin with (although I did like "The Terror", plodding though it was at times), but I made it until the Welsh expedition before I started to wonder if this was actually worth investing more hours of my life... I had my suspicions when I read about German news mag "Der Spiegel" picking up a certain piece of news (incidentally, Der Spiegel, in addition to being rather left-wing, was first published in 1947... oh well, research isn't everything, right?), BUT your review cinched it for me. I mean, Nazis. Please. Please no. Not this old trope. I was hoping for more Terror, not dumb old Adolf. So off the Kindle it goes...
Gkn wrote: "Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't really like it all that much to begin with (although I did like "The Terror", plodding though it was at times), but I made it until the Welsh expedition befo..."I really should have realized what was going to happen once they went to the Hofbrauhaus. Chekov's Gun and all. But I pressed on. Like you, I was hoping for something more in the vein of The Terror.
1 star. Yes that's what I gave it as well. I really looked forward to reading it and expected much more. Very disappointing.
Whew. It's a huge relief to read somebody else's thoughts on this one that so closely mirror my own. I kind of couldn't believe how terrible this book was. About halfway through I realized its two-page descriptions of down jackets weren't actually building to anything and I started to resent every new page. By the time we got to the "secret" at the top of the mountain, I was just furious. What a terrible book. It would be much better if Simmons was just an idiot, but he's not! Hyperion is great! I can't figure out what his publisher was thinking letting this trash out the flow door.
If I could marry this review, I would. Wonderful! Much better than the book.
Nice review. I really liked The Terror and the Hyperion series, but I jumped off the Simmons bandwagon after reading this one.
When the title itself has forewarned you...
I couldn't finish The Terror. I thought it was atrocious.
Although I've read "Drood" by this author and hated it, I might have given him a second chance after reading the synopsis of this one owing to my weird Everest obsession. But I trusted you and read the spoiler...shrieked and threw an imaginary copy into the air. Thanks for saving me...
If y'all enjoyed the Terror, by the way, the AMC adaptation last year was tremendous. One of the best TV series in years.
Susan wrote: "Although I've read "Drood" by this author and hated it, I might have given him a second chance after reading the synopsis of this one owing to my weird Everest obsession. But I trusted you and read..."You're welcome! I have done my good (Goodreads) deed for the year!
Mitchell wrote: "If y'all enjoyed the Terror, by the way, the AMC adaptation last year was tremendous. One of the best TV series in years."Oh yes - absolutely. I loved it.
Great review. Thanks for the heads up, as I would likely have thrown this hard against a wall when it got going. Loved the spoiler, esp your asides. =)
I just read the spoiler- Wow. Thanks for the warning (removed from tbr list). Enjoyed the review as always.
I too enjoyed 'The Terror' but will give this one a miss. Thanks for the warning.
I've never seen a 1 star review from you before. Your 2 star reviews are devastating enough! If you rated this 1 star, then damn, it must be awful.
Omg I’m so glad I read your spoiler and I almost never read spoilers lol. Absolutely NO ONE asked for that. How ridiculously disappointing. *sigh* I just want to find a truly scary, SUPERNATURAL mountain climbing story!
I absolutely loved the Terror but couldn’t get into Summer of Night. Thank you for saving me from reading this.
OK I have read this one now and agree on all counts, with the added issue that I found it staggeringly boring every step of the way, driven by the fact that Simmons was apparently determined to ensure that every single piece of information he learned while researching this book would make its way onto the page no matter how awkwardly expository it might be.It is only the voluminous praise from yourself and other Goodreads users that keeps The Terror on my TBR pile.