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Title: Good idea, poorly told
Review: After "Doomsday Book," I swore I'd never read Willis again. But the topic here - near-death experiences - seemed interesting, so i gave her another chance. Well... same ol' stuff, really. This is a wonderful story, hard to put down, with some engaging characters, and some good-sounding scientific speculation, and a truly haunting payoff. At the same time, it's an incredibly irritating read, full of characters and situations whose only purpose is to get in the way and annoy the poo out of the main characters and, I assume unintentionally, the reader. Connie Willis may be the world's most annoying story-teller. Her stories are told in a setting of non-stop frantic, frenetic, and frenzied mayhem, and almost all of it is petty, silly, everyday dreck that just kills the narrative. So. Once again, great story idea, terribly told. And this one really could have earned an "A." Shame.
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