Slightly confused and disappointed

Review 3.5 rounded up to 4*

Having previously read The 5th Wave, I was looking forward to continuing the series. I decided to download this in audiobook format, having listened to book one in this way.

This audio book is again narrated by Phoebe Strole. However, she is joined by Ben Yannette this time instead of Brandon Espinoza. They both did a wonderful job in bringing the story and the characters to life. Their voices were lovely to listen to. I would definitely consider listening to other books narrated by them.

Cassie (short for Cassiopeia) Sullivan is a wonderful character. I really liked her, she has a lot of spirit and determination. She seems to have grown up some in this book and is not as whiny or full of angst.

Ben "Zombie" Parish is another wonderful character. I really liked him from the beginning. He is quite bright and determined, not to mention charming. Still injured from Ringer's bullet, he is determined to get everyone to safety, though fighting infection.

Ringer is still an enigma to me. I can't seem to figure her out at all. Is she a friend or a foe? Her actions in a certain situation had me scratching my head.

This book has a completely different tone to the first one. Notably, it is no longer told through the eyes of only Cassie, Ben, Sammie and Evan, now Ringer has a say and I must admit that I found this a little confusing, as she seems to have become the main character in this book. Cassie and co are relegated slightly into the background for more than half the story, which I found a little disconcerting, though Evan has more page time, which I enjoyed. There is also a new character introduced, though I am not sure if she added anything to the story apart from a little backstory/history with Evan and as a threat to the group. I loved meeting Poundcake and Dumbo again, and getting to know a little more of their history, especially Poundcake. His tale is not a happy one but, I found him to be exceptionally brave; especially near the end.

For me, the story is bogged down with metaphors about the title and is lacking in the intensity/danger that made The 5th Wave so exciting. There is even less romance too, as Evan and Cassie are separate for most of the book. There are several twists that surprised me though, so it wasn't all bad. I enjoyed the story, but felt disappointed that it didn't grab me as much. Sequels are tricky. They can either exceed the original book, or disappoint a reader. I had high hopes about this book but, unfortunately, it didn't meet them. I am hoping that the third book in the series will be more cohesive and less confusing.

Rick Yancey has written an exciting, fast paced dystopian series that has kept me hooked from beginning to end. I love his fast pace writing style. However, the flow of the story was not as wonderful as the first book and seemed confusing at times. Nevertheless, I will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I highly recommend this book if you love YA dystopian novels like Divergent and The Hunger Games, or TV series like Fallen Skies. - Lynn Worton

2 people found this helpful

I expected more.....

I expected more from this book after throughly enjoying the first one. I found that very little happened in it, it felt almost like a filler of some sorts with a similar love interest story as the first one. It also reflects the trend of young adult novels of our time, violence and the merciless killing off of characters. While I guess that this can add realism to the narrative it's now so part of this mode of literature that I expect it. The book is, however, still easy to listen to and the narration is excellent. After the first book I feel a bit disloyal not raving about it, and I might have been in the wrong mind-frame so if you enjoyed the first one I'd give the second a try, but I'm not going to try the 3rd in the series.

1 person found this helpful

A bit disappointing

Beginning to regret getting into the first book so wanting to to listen to the rest. Don’t get me wrong, the performance is great (although I do prefer the trend to have multiple actors read audio books), and the storyline idea is very interesting. However this book seems to have been written by someone doing a creative writing course. Far too “arty farty” for my taste. What’s wrong with just telling a good story?

A little disappointed

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series but I found that little happened in The infinite sea. To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend it that strongly. I was rather confused by the end of the audiobook and I thought that it was uneventful and slightly boring

Couldn't stop listening!

I really enjoyed this book and the narrators telling the story from different character points of view. Focusing more on Ringer this time, we get to learn her past and her survival mechanism to not let anyone get close to her. I am sad that we may never get to see this play out on the big screen. I look forward to the next book.

It was okay

I loved the first book this wasn’t as good, I liked that the was another point of view and how we learned the background of some of the characters of the previous book but I feel like the book was let down slightly by the ending I would recommend the series but if this wasn’t part of a series I wouldn’t recommend this book, in conclusion the voice actors really portrayed the characters and emotion but the book itself wasn’t the best book I’ve read/ listened to but would still recommend. Hope this review helps.

EPIC journey

loved how we could see different characters point of view throughout the story especially ringer she is now my fav !! ending was gripping and needed book 3 asap !!

Fantastic

This series is great, I’ve really enjoyed it. Book 2 shows you more about some of the other characters and how they contribute to the over all story. The series story arc is one of those great epic science fiction stories you can get sucked into. There are a couple of heartbreaking moments in book 2 and a lot of action. There are moments when I want to shout at the characters for not thinking their next moves through and then I remember they’re kids being asked to do impossible things and make impossible decisions they shouldn’t have to make in a terrifying world out to get them. Yancey know how to mess with you! Great books

this should be Ringers tale

Great performance but more focused Ringer. Not so much of Cassia and the rest of the characters we grew to love in the first book.

Brilliant

I love this book it's amazing shall be reading again love it can't wait for the next one