Isi's Reviews > The Swarm

A great plot idea by a terrible author. Not recommended. Characters are flat, one-dimensional, and predictable, at times the book is downright sexist and, yes, racist. Language (I read the German original) is puerile and often vulgar in a dumb, embarrassing way. While some of the science in the book appears plausible to me, other aspects are strangely under-researched: Who ever heard of the rank of "general commander" in the US Navy? The absolute low is when Schätzing descends into the depths of pseudo-philosophical bullshit. Which he often does.

I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on a book that kept me going through some 1300 pages. So I'll give it one thing: The plot was exciting enough to keep me laboring through to the end.

I need to start reading real books again.