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Haze
Haze is the story of Jack Decker, an art school dropout who has to face his repressed memories in a post-apocalyptic London. It was just another workday when he saw that girl wanting to stuff her face with doughnuts from across the room. Who knew that this event would start it all.
139 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2016
3 people want to read
About the author
Brandon J. Barnard
1 book6 followersPhD Chance in Filmmaking, MA Experience Design, MA Education, BA Education | Artist |
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 7, 2016
Hazed and Confused
Haze is the story that I would have written if I was going to write a gender bending story about my younger sister...or maybe it just made me think of her so much that I feel like this story was written about her. It happens!
Here's the premise of the story Jack Decker is an art school dropout who has to face his repressed memories in a post-apocalyptic London. During a regular workday he sees a girl wanting to stuff her face with doughnuts from across the room and that event starts the whole book.
I'm giving this book 5 stars and here's why. The setting of the story takes place in the future 2071 the environmental pollution has reached astronomical limits and no one can go outside or breath the air without a gas mask and goggles on. (FYI my younger sister would look so kick ass in goggles, like steampunk awesomeness). The London apocalyptic setting is subtle so you have to pay attention to the little details he gives us throughout the descriptions. As an avid reader I appreciate that attention to detail it helps paint a more vivid picture. The other reason the book gets 5 stars from me is the character development. Jack Decker is a puzzle, an enigma, a mystery and you'll have a blast trying to figure him out. This mystery drives the story so I can't say too much about him on here without giving away spoilers and NO ONE WANTS THAT! I can say this about Jack Decker the author paces the revelations about his character really well. You never learn too much too soon and those character revelations are almost always followed by plot twists so astounding that I found myself actually standing up and saying "WHAT THE WHAT DUDE?!!" out loud for my entire family to hear.
This whole book has a sort of Anime vibe to it that my super geeky, nerdy, self thought was pretty cool. The book isn't very long so if you're looking for a longer read this won't be it but what it lacks in length it makes up for in depth. At only 154 pages you can start and finish this book in a day or less if you have that nifty speed reading ability.
This book does fall under the heading of Psychological Thriller and it certainly meets that criteria. Haze is a head trip that you'll enjoy all the way to the last page. I'm excited to see what this author brings us in the future!!
Haze is the story that I would have written if I was going to write a gender bending story about my younger sister...or maybe it just made me think of her so much that I feel like this story was written about her. It happens!
Here's the premise of the story Jack Decker is an art school dropout who has to face his repressed memories in a post-apocalyptic London. During a regular workday he sees a girl wanting to stuff her face with doughnuts from across the room and that event starts the whole book.
I'm giving this book 5 stars and here's why. The setting of the story takes place in the future 2071 the environmental pollution has reached astronomical limits and no one can go outside or breath the air without a gas mask and goggles on. (FYI my younger sister would look so kick ass in goggles, like steampunk awesomeness). The London apocalyptic setting is subtle so you have to pay attention to the little details he gives us throughout the descriptions. As an avid reader I appreciate that attention to detail it helps paint a more vivid picture. The other reason the book gets 5 stars from me is the character development. Jack Decker is a puzzle, an enigma, a mystery and you'll have a blast trying to figure him out. This mystery drives the story so I can't say too much about him on here without giving away spoilers and NO ONE WANTS THAT! I can say this about Jack Decker the author paces the revelations about his character really well. You never learn too much too soon and those character revelations are almost always followed by plot twists so astounding that I found myself actually standing up and saying "WHAT THE WHAT DUDE?!!" out loud for my entire family to hear.
This whole book has a sort of Anime vibe to it that my super geeky, nerdy, self thought was pretty cool. The book isn't very long so if you're looking for a longer read this won't be it but what it lacks in length it makes up for in depth. At only 154 pages you can start and finish this book in a day or less if you have that nifty speed reading ability.
This book does fall under the heading of Psychological Thriller and it certainly meets that criteria. Haze is a head trip that you'll enjoy all the way to the last page. I'm excited to see what this author brings us in the future!!
May 15, 2016
It’s set in London in the future year 2071, and the air pollution levels have gotten so bad that venturing outside for any length of time requires wearing a gas mask. How the world came to be this way isn’t really important, as this story is a psychological thriller that centres around Jack Decker. The setting just serves to create an eerie, claustrophobic atmosphere in a world that at first glance is very familiar yet is not.
Jack works in an office like a great many other people (I’m not exactly sure what his office does; I just know it involves a lot of typing and graphs, probably), and his main hobby is Digital Diving – a kind of virtual reality where I guess the computer is essentially feeding dreams right into your brain, I suppose stimulating all the different areas to immerse the user completely in its artificial world. It’s rather like lucid dreaming – when you’re having a dream, but you realise it’s a dream and can take control of it. Some people attempt to deliberately induce lucid dreaming in real life, but there are certain risks to doing that.
Which brings us back to Jack, who one day meets a new girl in his office eating doughnuts – the titular Haze, and… the trouble is I can’t really say much more without completely spoiling it. Suffice to say, there are quite a few twists and turns as Jack’s relationship with this girl develops. We also start to see flashbacks of Jack’s life as an art student in college, all leading him to this point.
My only gripe is a couple of little pop culture references that seemed out of place in the year 2071. For example:
‘With the world now visible and tinted like an Eiffel 65 song he made his way to the nearest automated bus station.’
Would anyone still know Eiffel 65 in 2071? I mean, I know we still talk about some artists and classic composers from years ago, but… Eiffel 65? Maybe that’s the only music from our time that survives into the future. Now that’s a horrifying thought.
If you like psychological stories or manga/anime, then I think you will like this.
Jack works in an office like a great many other people (I’m not exactly sure what his office does; I just know it involves a lot of typing and graphs, probably), and his main hobby is Digital Diving – a kind of virtual reality where I guess the computer is essentially feeding dreams right into your brain, I suppose stimulating all the different areas to immerse the user completely in its artificial world. It’s rather like lucid dreaming – when you’re having a dream, but you realise it’s a dream and can take control of it. Some people attempt to deliberately induce lucid dreaming in real life, but there are certain risks to doing that.
Which brings us back to Jack, who one day meets a new girl in his office eating doughnuts – the titular Haze, and… the trouble is I can’t really say much more without completely spoiling it. Suffice to say, there are quite a few twists and turns as Jack’s relationship with this girl develops. We also start to see flashbacks of Jack’s life as an art student in college, all leading him to this point.
My only gripe is a couple of little pop culture references that seemed out of place in the year 2071. For example:
‘With the world now visible and tinted like an Eiffel 65 song he made his way to the nearest automated bus station.’
Would anyone still know Eiffel 65 in 2071? I mean, I know we still talk about some artists and classic composers from years ago, but… Eiffel 65? Maybe that’s the only music from our time that survives into the future. Now that’s a horrifying thought.
If you like psychological stories or manga/anime, then I think you will like this.
May 16, 2016
I was NOT expecting any of this, oh my god. Jack just ran up the hill to catch his Jill and fell the **** down and broke his crown and now he's a pail of red water. I read this completely blind to the contents, and although there were a few grammatical errors here and here, I was astounded by the quality of this book and themes it covered.
I would definitely read anything else this author chooses to produce.
I would definitely read anything else this author chooses to produce.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2016
Very enjoyable. Many twists and turns, definitely made the book a page turner. Read it in three sittings.
February 10, 2017
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not change my opinion of the book or the contents of this review.
I know a lot of people who basically refuse to read self-published or independently published novels. They always say that they're turned off by the idea that someone can write anything they want, and regardless of quality, it'll get published. And to be honest, I've never agreed with that. Independent publishing can be a way for authors to release books that would never be released from a traditional publishing company. I've read independently published books from talented authors with great ideas that don't strike editors as marketable. I've even seen authors decide to self-publish a book after a publishing company told them they'd only release the book if a gay character was made straight, or if a POC character was made white. So, I definitely support the idea of self-published books, and I've been rewarded by some great books that I would never read otherwise.
However.
I do definitely understand why some people don't like indie books as a rule. Traditional publishing is far from a guarantee of quality, but it is an indication that even if the book is bad, there are certain aspects of the book that will be functional. Traditional publishing makes sure that the writing is at very least coherent and follows the most basic concepts of grammar or spelling. And while this isn't quite as reliable, it usually makes sure that, even if the plot is bad, there at least is an identifiable plot. You may leave the book feeling like the author has failed, but you'll at least have a good idea of what they were going for. With indie books, those aren't guaranteed. I won't say that bad indie books are necessarily worse than bad traditionally published books, but indie books tend to be bad in very specific ways. Reading an indie book can be high-reward, but it is inherently high-risk - if it's bad, it's going to be bad in ways that are constantly irritating and impossible to ignore.
And it pains me to say this, but Haze is essentially a textbook example of what a bad indie novel looks like.
The most immediate problem with this book comes with the prose. This prose reads like first-draft material. It clearly hasn't been edited with very much rigor, if at all. And the problems are constant - without exception, every page has several distracting errors. To demonstrate what I mean, I went to a random page of my copy of the book, and picked out a phrase:
The errors here are so distracting that I can barely focus on the scene. The dialogue is very stilted and awkward; Barnard does a terrible job of suggesting a natural flow to the conversation. The run-on sentences in Jack's dialogue make it feel as if he's rambling without pausing to take a breath. This is especially clear in Jack's second line of dialogue, where it's clear that some sort of direction should've gone after that ellipsis, to suggest a longer pause. Without any direction there, the sentence feels rushed and unnatural. Moreover, it just doesn't feel like the way real people talk to me - the way Jack suddenly goes from a casual tone to an almost poetic one in the second line confuses the mood of the line, and Barnard's attempts to be casual (particularly in the last line) are usually cringe-worthy. And that's not even mentioning how a lot of the dialogue isn't formatted correctly, or the sentence fragments in the prose itself. Reading a couple paragraphs like this might not seem too bad, but reading an entire book like this gets exhausting. Barnard's prose constantly uses run-on sentences, almost none of the dialogue is formatted correctly, and his attempts to be casual are forced and awkward.* This is a big part of what makes this book feel so obviously indie to me. No professional editor would let prose like this slide - only an indie book could ever have prose this bad.
At first, I was thinking that maybe the story itself could make it worth the bad prose, but as the novel went on, it became more and more clear that this wouldn't happen. The first half of the book feels like it has no plot at all - it's just a look at Jack's life, with no structure to speak of. We often jump around from place to place with no transition, and little to connect one given scene to another. It feels as if the characters are just waiting around for the plot to start. Around halfway through the novel, an inciting incident finally happens, and from there, the book undergoes a sudden and extremely jarring tone change. What started off as something light and whimsical gets dark and emotional very quickly. This wouldn't have necessarily been such a problem if there was any sort of setup for this. But the way Barnard writes it, it comes completely out of nowhere, and the second half feels like a completely different book from the first half. I was at first tempted to give Barnard credit for taking the book in such an unexpected direction, but the more I read, the less I liked the second half of the book. The twist that Barnard introduces honestly isn't very original, and Barnard doesn't do anything compelling with it. I don't want to get too spoilery here, but Barnard's understanding of mental health strikes me as very superficial, and the tropes he uses feel more like they're pulled from b-list horror movies than real psychiatry.
I'll be honest: I have no idea what Barnard was even going for in this book. If he had anything to say, it got lost in all the weak writing and confused structure. This makes a lot of the tropes he uses truly baffling. For example, I'm not sure why this book is set in the future. The summary describes this book's setting as post-apocalyptic, but it isn't really - in fact, despite being set ~60 years in the future, the setting doesn't feel very different than today's society. Yes, there's horrible pollution in the air, and we see the existence of digital diving, as described in the quote above. But other than that, Jack's day-to-day life is basically identical to that of a twenty-something today. He goes to work, and does the same kind of work that secretaries do today. This is some of the emptiest worldbuilding I've ever seen. Barnard barely goes into how technology has advanced, and he doesn't go into how this society ticks at all. He clearly just didn't have much interest in writing a futuristic society, which makes me wonder why he did so at all. I don't see what this novel gains from being set in the future - as far as I can tell, if it were set in the present, nothing would change. And this is indicative of a larger problem. In a book that says something - or even just in a book that has anything at all to say - I should be able to at least speculate about why decisions about things like genre and setting were made. But I'm honestly baffled by this book. Barnard has failed to communicate with me - he hasn't related to me or said anything to me on any level whatsoever. I couldn't even identify an attempt to do so. Not only do I dislike this book, I find it hard to imagine how someone could like it - the other reviews indicate otherwise, but as far as I can tell from reading this book, it offers nothing to anyone.
No book is so bad that nothing works about it, and this is no exception. Jack is actually sort of a well-rendered character, and despite my problems with the second half of the book, I liked the flashbacks that showed us more about his past. I wouldn't call him an engaging character exactly, since Barnard doesn't seem to know what to do with him, but I'll at least say that a book with him as the protagonist wasn't necessarily doomed from the start. Other than that, however, there's not much good I can say about this book. I didn't enjoy it, and I find it hard to picture how someone could. This book seems to have gotten generally positive responses apart from this review, so maybe I just lack imagination for how other people read. But I can't recommend this book on any ground, and if you're interested in indie books that have unique ideas not found elsewhere, you'll be disappointed by this book.
*I am aware that many of the worst writing problems be fixed after I write this review. However, I can only review the novel I was given - I'm not taking into account any corrections that Barnard makes after this review is written.
I know a lot of people who basically refuse to read self-published or independently published novels. They always say that they're turned off by the idea that someone can write anything they want, and regardless of quality, it'll get published. And to be honest, I've never agreed with that. Independent publishing can be a way for authors to release books that would never be released from a traditional publishing company. I've read independently published books from talented authors with great ideas that don't strike editors as marketable. I've even seen authors decide to self-publish a book after a publishing company told them they'd only release the book if a gay character was made straight, or if a POC character was made white. So, I definitely support the idea of self-published books, and I've been rewarded by some great books that I would never read otherwise.
However.
I do definitely understand why some people don't like indie books as a rule. Traditional publishing is far from a guarantee of quality, but it is an indication that even if the book is bad, there are certain aspects of the book that will be functional. Traditional publishing makes sure that the writing is at very least coherent and follows the most basic concepts of grammar or spelling. And while this isn't quite as reliable, it usually makes sure that, even if the plot is bad, there at least is an identifiable plot. You may leave the book feeling like the author has failed, but you'll at least have a good idea of what they were going for. With indie books, those aren't guaranteed. I won't say that bad indie books are necessarily worse than bad traditionally published books, but indie books tend to be bad in very specific ways. Reading an indie book can be high-reward, but it is inherently high-risk - if it's bad, it's going to be bad in ways that are constantly irritating and impossible to ignore.
And it pains me to say this, but Haze is essentially a textbook example of what a bad indie novel looks like.
The most immediate problem with this book comes with the prose. This prose reads like first-draft material. It clearly hasn't been edited with very much rigor, if at all. And the problems are constant - without exception, every page has several distracting errors. To demonstrate what I mean, I went to a random page of my copy of the book, and picked out a phrase:
[Haze asked Jack to talk about himself.]
“I studied art, not really a useful subject to take on in Uni I know...”
“Why art?” She asked with a smile.
“That’s a hard one... I guess that I enjoyed the way the paint felt between my fingers, the smell of chalk, creating stuff. That probably sounds really weird.” She quickly shook her head from side to side, waiting for him to continue. “My hobbies, well... I enjoy DDing”.
“What’s deeding?” Haze asked, her face glowing with interest.
“Wait... You have never digitally dived? Digital diving is when you connect to a server with your mind; it’s kind of like dreaming, but way more realistic and you’re in complete control. It can allow you to travel to any country, no, any universe in a matter of seconds, it’s amazing!" Jack’s passion building up with each word, noticing this he blushed a shade of vermilion. Haze saw this and laughed accordingly. He never answered the final part of her question though, not knowing the answer himself. “What about you? He asked, no longer enjoying all of the attention on him.
The errors here are so distracting that I can barely focus on the scene. The dialogue is very stilted and awkward; Barnard does a terrible job of suggesting a natural flow to the conversation. The run-on sentences in Jack's dialogue make it feel as if he's rambling without pausing to take a breath. This is especially clear in Jack's second line of dialogue, where it's clear that some sort of direction should've gone after that ellipsis, to suggest a longer pause. Without any direction there, the sentence feels rushed and unnatural. Moreover, it just doesn't feel like the way real people talk to me - the way Jack suddenly goes from a casual tone to an almost poetic one in the second line confuses the mood of the line, and Barnard's attempts to be casual (particularly in the last line) are usually cringe-worthy. And that's not even mentioning how a lot of the dialogue isn't formatted correctly, or the sentence fragments in the prose itself. Reading a couple paragraphs like this might not seem too bad, but reading an entire book like this gets exhausting. Barnard's prose constantly uses run-on sentences, almost none of the dialogue is formatted correctly, and his attempts to be casual are forced and awkward.* This is a big part of what makes this book feel so obviously indie to me. No professional editor would let prose like this slide - only an indie book could ever have prose this bad.
At first, I was thinking that maybe the story itself could make it worth the bad prose, but as the novel went on, it became more and more clear that this wouldn't happen. The first half of the book feels like it has no plot at all - it's just a look at Jack's life, with no structure to speak of. We often jump around from place to place with no transition, and little to connect one given scene to another. It feels as if the characters are just waiting around for the plot to start. Around halfway through the novel, an inciting incident finally happens, and from there, the book undergoes a sudden and extremely jarring tone change. What started off as something light and whimsical gets dark and emotional very quickly. This wouldn't have necessarily been such a problem if there was any sort of setup for this. But the way Barnard writes it, it comes completely out of nowhere, and the second half feels like a completely different book from the first half. I was at first tempted to give Barnard credit for taking the book in such an unexpected direction, but the more I read, the less I liked the second half of the book. The twist that Barnard introduces honestly isn't very original, and Barnard doesn't do anything compelling with it. I don't want to get too spoilery here, but Barnard's understanding of mental health strikes me as very superficial, and the tropes he uses feel more like they're pulled from b-list horror movies than real psychiatry.
I'll be honest: I have no idea what Barnard was even going for in this book. If he had anything to say, it got lost in all the weak writing and confused structure. This makes a lot of the tropes he uses truly baffling. For example, I'm not sure why this book is set in the future. The summary describes this book's setting as post-apocalyptic, but it isn't really - in fact, despite being set ~60 years in the future, the setting doesn't feel very different than today's society. Yes, there's horrible pollution in the air, and we see the existence of digital diving, as described in the quote above. But other than that, Jack's day-to-day life is basically identical to that of a twenty-something today. He goes to work, and does the same kind of work that secretaries do today. This is some of the emptiest worldbuilding I've ever seen. Barnard barely goes into how technology has advanced, and he doesn't go into how this society ticks at all. He clearly just didn't have much interest in writing a futuristic society, which makes me wonder why he did so at all. I don't see what this novel gains from being set in the future - as far as I can tell, if it were set in the present, nothing would change. And this is indicative of a larger problem. In a book that says something - or even just in a book that has anything at all to say - I should be able to at least speculate about why decisions about things like genre and setting were made. But I'm honestly baffled by this book. Barnard has failed to communicate with me - he hasn't related to me or said anything to me on any level whatsoever. I couldn't even identify an attempt to do so. Not only do I dislike this book, I find it hard to imagine how someone could like it - the other reviews indicate otherwise, but as far as I can tell from reading this book, it offers nothing to anyone.
No book is so bad that nothing works about it, and this is no exception. Jack is actually sort of a well-rendered character, and despite my problems with the second half of the book, I liked the flashbacks that showed us more about his past. I wouldn't call him an engaging character exactly, since Barnard doesn't seem to know what to do with him, but I'll at least say that a book with him as the protagonist wasn't necessarily doomed from the start. Other than that, however, there's not much good I can say about this book. I didn't enjoy it, and I find it hard to picture how someone could. This book seems to have gotten generally positive responses apart from this review, so maybe I just lack imagination for how other people read. But I can't recommend this book on any ground, and if you're interested in indie books that have unique ideas not found elsewhere, you'll be disappointed by this book.
*I am aware that many of the worst writing problems be fixed after I write this review. However, I can only review the novel I was given - I'm not taking into account any corrections that Barnard makes after this review is written.
August 14, 2016
Reading Haze feels like going into the cold water of the sea. You slowly acclimate to it and at the moment you start to feel comfortable, you're thrown into a freezing shower.
After reading the summary, I was intrigued, I had no clue at what to expect and I think it's better that way.
At first, I was unimpressed. The writing is deceiving. Simple but very efficient. I found some comparisons pretty funny and I liked how the author balanced the story. I was fooled because of the normality of the situation (except for the fact that it's post-apocalyptic of course). The main character is relatable but not remarkable. Just an ordinary guy living his life, I had no idea where this story was going.
Thank you to the author for sending me a digital copy.
Then, the girl with donuts came up and before I knew it I was entranced. I had to keep reading. I had to find out what the hell was going on. It raises curiosity but no frustration.
I made up some theories in my head (all wrong... As usual) but I don't think you can predict it.
I would've liked more dialogues though. I think I would've felt more invested if the main characters' interactions were more detailed. And I have a few questions unanswered, unfortunately.
Anyway, I finished the story feeling hazy (Yes, I did it), I've read the last chapter twice before I could process what happened.
If you're looking for something short but intense and mysterious, Haze is your go to.
After reading the summary, I was intrigued, I had no clue at what to expect and I think it's better that way.
At first, I was unimpressed. The writing is deceiving. Simple but very efficient. I found some comparisons pretty funny and I liked how the author balanced the story. I was fooled because of the normality of the situation (except for the fact that it's post-apocalyptic of course). The main character is relatable but not remarkable. Just an ordinary guy living his life, I had no idea where this story was going.
Thank you to the author for sending me a digital copy.
Then, the girl with donuts came up and before I knew it I was entranced. I had to keep reading. I had to find out what the hell was going on. It raises curiosity but no frustration.
I made up some theories in my head (all wrong... As usual) but I don't think you can predict it.
I would've liked more dialogues though. I think I would've felt more invested if the main characters' interactions were more detailed. And I have a few questions unanswered, unfortunately.
Anyway, I finished the story feeling hazy (Yes, I did it), I've read the last chapter twice before I could process what happened.
If you're looking for something short but intense and mysterious, Haze is your go to.
May 18, 2016
*I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Check out my video review at https://youtu.be/UPWHSw7I55M
London 2071- The world population in 4 billion and the streets have such a strong haze of smog, that you need to wear an oxygen mask to go outside. Jack Decker works as an assistant in an underappreciated job. A job he doesn't really want and inherited from his mother. Jack is reclusive and really doesn't have any friends, at work or home, until he meets Haze. I love Haze as a character! She's feisty, questions pretty much everything, and incredibly entertaining. Haze is full of surprises and loves the unexpected. Jack gets to know her, he stretches himself. The two of them together is my favorite part of the story.
The technology and the way the future evolves are my other favorite part of this story. The books are paper, but with audio books built in. Fully automated fast food restaurants. The virtual reality worlds they can go into are so cool. Virtual Reality is completely life like. I wanna go to Paris virtually. I love the way the future operates too. It's cool to think about how things might change in the not to distant future.
Check out my video review at https://youtu.be/UPWHSw7I55M
London 2071- The world population in 4 billion and the streets have such a strong haze of smog, that you need to wear an oxygen mask to go outside. Jack Decker works as an assistant in an underappreciated job. A job he doesn't really want and inherited from his mother. Jack is reclusive and really doesn't have any friends, at work or home, until he meets Haze. I love Haze as a character! She's feisty, questions pretty much everything, and incredibly entertaining. Haze is full of surprises and loves the unexpected. Jack gets to know her, he stretches himself. The two of them together is my favorite part of the story.
The technology and the way the future evolves are my other favorite part of this story. The books are paper, but with audio books built in. Fully automated fast food restaurants. The virtual reality worlds they can go into are so cool. Virtual Reality is completely life like. I wanna go to Paris virtually. I love the way the future operates too. It's cool to think about how things might change in the not to distant future.
December 28, 2016
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book. The setting is London in 2071 and the main character is Jack Decker. I loved the author's way of subtly adding to the setting, he showed a lot without specifically saying something. The writing was great and the story was much different than I expected. I'd definitely recommend this to someone who enjoys dystopian but is sick of the many dystopian cliches.
I enjoyed this book. The setting is London in 2071 and the main character is Jack Decker. I loved the author's way of subtly adding to the setting, he showed a lot without specifically saying something. The writing was great and the story was much different than I expected. I'd definitely recommend this to someone who enjoys dystopian but is sick of the many dystopian cliches.
July 20, 2016
I really enjoyed this book, fun and different from what I usually read!
For a full review click here.
For a full review click here.
May 17, 2016
"With the starry night overhead you realize how small we are, and it makes all your worries and concerns feel less important."
Haze is a thriller set in post-apocalyptic London, a story that unravels bit by bit and will keep you questioning till the end.
Jack lives in a post-apocalyptic London, where the air pollution levels are so high, people can no longer properly breathe without special masks. His life is ruled by routine, as he works in an office, a job position inherited from his mother. Until the day he meets Haze and his life is slowly starting to change. But who really is this mysterious girl, whom Jack's co-workers don't seem to know and who disappears and jumps back into his life in a blink of an eye?
I must admit that I was hesitant to pick up Haze, because I knew that it would be going out of my reading comfort zone, since neither psychological thrillers nor post-apocalyptic fiction are my favourite genres. But I decided to give it a go and it turned out to be an intriguing and enjoyable read.
The story follows Jack, who after dropping out from art school now works in an office, a job that he in a way "inherited" after his mother. It's set in year 2071, in post-apocalyptic London and world building was one of my favourite parts of the book. It's not set that far apart from current times, yet the world is so different. People have to wear gas masks when going outside and the air pollution is so bad, they can no longer see the sky. Barely anyone uses cars anymore and there are also a few interesting inventions, like books with plug-ins, which you can listen to or read in a traditional way. I thought that apart from the main story, the book can also function as a warning about what may happen in the future, if we don't take better care of our environment. It was truly scary for me to think that in 55 years we could not be able to see the sky or the stars anymore.
Apart from my summary, I can't really reveal much more of the plot, because it's the mystery behind it that draws the reader in. Jack himself too is a riddle most of the time and the author gradually showed us more and more about him. However, I have to say that I would love to see a bit more of foreshadowing for the "big reveal", because as I took the story as it goes, without expecting anything, I at first got a wrong impression of it and saw some things in a slightly negative light, until I understood why they had to be this way. I probably sound ambiguous but what I'm trying to say is that if the reader didn't know that there is a mystery going on, they could perceive some things differently (just as I did).
The writing flew well and I like the flashbacks throughout the story. I'd like to see more development of some secondary plot-lines but I understood where the main focus was. The story wasn't really predictable which is a big plus and what would keep readers glued into it, because they would want to find out how it all ends, just like I did.
All in all, Haze is a promising debut, that I would recommend to all lovers of psychological thrillers and mysteries or just readers who like a story full of surprises.
I have kindly received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The review also appeared on my blog.
Haze is a thriller set in post-apocalyptic London, a story that unravels bit by bit and will keep you questioning till the end.
Jack lives in a post-apocalyptic London, where the air pollution levels are so high, people can no longer properly breathe without special masks. His life is ruled by routine, as he works in an office, a job position inherited from his mother. Until the day he meets Haze and his life is slowly starting to change. But who really is this mysterious girl, whom Jack's co-workers don't seem to know and who disappears and jumps back into his life in a blink of an eye?
I must admit that I was hesitant to pick up Haze, because I knew that it would be going out of my reading comfort zone, since neither psychological thrillers nor post-apocalyptic fiction are my favourite genres. But I decided to give it a go and it turned out to be an intriguing and enjoyable read.
The story follows Jack, who after dropping out from art school now works in an office, a job that he in a way "inherited" after his mother. It's set in year 2071, in post-apocalyptic London and world building was one of my favourite parts of the book. It's not set that far apart from current times, yet the world is so different. People have to wear gas masks when going outside and the air pollution is so bad, they can no longer see the sky. Barely anyone uses cars anymore and there are also a few interesting inventions, like books with plug-ins, which you can listen to or read in a traditional way. I thought that apart from the main story, the book can also function as a warning about what may happen in the future, if we don't take better care of our environment. It was truly scary for me to think that in 55 years we could not be able to see the sky or the stars anymore.
Apart from my summary, I can't really reveal much more of the plot, because it's the mystery behind it that draws the reader in. Jack himself too is a riddle most of the time and the author gradually showed us more and more about him. However, I have to say that I would love to see a bit more of foreshadowing for the "big reveal", because as I took the story as it goes, without expecting anything, I at first got a wrong impression of it and saw some things in a slightly negative light, until I understood why they had to be this way. I probably sound ambiguous but what I'm trying to say is that if the reader didn't know that there is a mystery going on, they could perceive some things differently (just as I did).
The writing flew well and I like the flashbacks throughout the story. I'd like to see more development of some secondary plot-lines but I understood where the main focus was. The story wasn't really predictable which is a big plus and what would keep readers glued into it, because they would want to find out how it all ends, just like I did.
All in all, Haze is a promising debut, that I would recommend to all lovers of psychological thrillers and mysteries or just readers who like a story full of surprises.
I have kindly received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The review also appeared on my blog.
July 29, 2016
Being a Londoner myself, I loved how the story was set in my own hometown in a post apocalyptic era. I only wish there had been more scenes describing what London is actually like in 2071.
I really enjoyed the element of digital diving but I would have liked to find out more about the side effects that comes with using it. Also, the idea of having to wear oxygen masks because of how polluted the air has become is absolutely amazing.
I have to say I enjoyed the last 60 pages of the book more than the first half. It took me quite a while to get into the story, I found myself rushing through and not because I was enjoying the story so much but because I wanted to see where it was all leading to. If this book had been longer, I don’t believe I would have finished it. At only 164 pages, I decided I would read till the end as its only a short novel. In my opinion, the pacing was off throughout the first 10 chapters or so. At times I felt as if the author wrote extra chapters only to lengthen the story.
I understand that the author wanted to centre the story around the main characters but I really would have enjoyed reading more on how the world became the way it did.
Be prepared for many twists and turns and a very abrupt ending.
Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved this book but I did thoroughly enjoy many of the elements within.
I would consider reading more from this author in the future as I think with time and more experience, he could potentially create a new wonderful niche in literature and also some amazing stories.
My Favourite Quotes:
“With the starry night overhead you realize how small we are, and it makes all your worries and concerns feel less important. Looking up with no barrier, your vision being carried for billions and billions of miles it puts things into perspective. You realize just how insignificant you are.”
“It’s because it’s not only you that feels small, but so does the weight of the world around you.” He shifted his shoulders and continued, “When you are so insignificant your choices don’t really matter, the waves you create are like a grain of sand landing in the ocean. Which means you can make whatever choices you want. There is no pressure to confine to rules set by
society, why would you? We are nothing more than a speck on the universe that hasn’t affected anything outside of our little microcosm. Without feeling insignificant we can’t feel free.”
I really enjoyed the element of digital diving but I would have liked to find out more about the side effects that comes with using it. Also, the idea of having to wear oxygen masks because of how polluted the air has become is absolutely amazing.
I have to say I enjoyed the last 60 pages of the book more than the first half. It took me quite a while to get into the story, I found myself rushing through and not because I was enjoying the story so much but because I wanted to see where it was all leading to. If this book had been longer, I don’t believe I would have finished it. At only 164 pages, I decided I would read till the end as its only a short novel. In my opinion, the pacing was off throughout the first 10 chapters or so. At times I felt as if the author wrote extra chapters only to lengthen the story.
I understand that the author wanted to centre the story around the main characters but I really would have enjoyed reading more on how the world became the way it did.
Be prepared for many twists and turns and a very abrupt ending.
Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved this book but I did thoroughly enjoy many of the elements within.
I would consider reading more from this author in the future as I think with time and more experience, he could potentially create a new wonderful niche in literature and also some amazing stories.
My Favourite Quotes:
“With the starry night overhead you realize how small we are, and it makes all your worries and concerns feel less important. Looking up with no barrier, your vision being carried for billions and billions of miles it puts things into perspective. You realize just how insignificant you are.”
“It’s because it’s not only you that feels small, but so does the weight of the world around you.” He shifted his shoulders and continued, “When you are so insignificant your choices don’t really matter, the waves you create are like a grain of sand landing in the ocean. Which means you can make whatever choices you want. There is no pressure to confine to rules set by
society, why would you? We are nothing more than a speck on the universe that hasn’t affected anything outside of our little microcosm. Without feeling insignificant we can’t feel free.”
July 8, 2016
I liked this hectic book, with his flashback and different planes of reality. I have not even saw the plot twist coming! Jake and Haze are two characters to remember and if you are searching for a post apocalyptic novel set in the future, this could be the right book for you.
Mi é piaciuto questo libro breve ma molto veloce, con i suoi flashback e i diversi piani di realtá. Non mi ero nemmeno accorta che stava arrivando la svolta nella trama per quanto mi ero immersa nella lettura! Jake ed Haze sono due bei personaggi da ricordare e state cercando una storia post apocalittica ambientata nel futuro, questo libro potrebbe fare per voi.
THANKS TO BRANDON J . BARNARD FOR THE ARC!
Mi é piaciuto questo libro breve ma molto veloce, con i suoi flashback e i diversi piani di realtá. Non mi ero nemmeno accorta che stava arrivando la svolta nella trama per quanto mi ero immersa nella lettura! Jake ed Haze sono due bei personaggi da ricordare e state cercando una storia post apocalittica ambientata nel futuro, questo libro potrebbe fare per voi.
THANKS TO BRANDON J . BARNARD FOR THE ARC!
May 19, 2016
This was by far a very unusual book, I liked the setting in 2071 London. I enjoyed the different tech things the author has in the book. Ok now the other side of the story and it's hard as not to give to much away, but it takes at least 1/2 the book before it's like omg _______ can't give it away. Once you know this then it's like OH. I get it now, but I have to say I didn't see the end coming and maybe I should have, but didn't.
March 26, 2017
I was provided a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. A video review can be found on my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/OglDJm6JfZc
This is a science fiction psychological thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future centering around a boy named Jack who dropped out of art school and took on a generic office job. One day, an interesting new employee at his company catches his eye, and as he spends more time with her, his life changes forever.
The primary reason why I only gave this book two stars was the grammar. It's rife with sentence fragments, comma splices, incorrectly formatted dialogue, etc., and this is a bit of a deal-breaker for me. Grammatical errors pull me out of a story, and if they're frequent, I can never get into the story to start with. While it could be argued that this is a self-published book and therefore lacked the benefits of a professional editor, I still feel that the author should be able to create a polished final draft on his own.
Interestingly, I also thought this book was far too short. My PDF copy is 161 pages, and I finished it in two sittings. The length itself wouldn't be a problem, but I feel the story sets up a lot of interesting things and then leaves most of them untouched.
One example of this is the post-apocalyptic setting. It's present in the background, but it doesn't affect the story, at all. Aside from the main character's fondness for Digital Diving, a virtual reality technology, the story could take place in the present day and remain exactly the same. In fact, the dystopian elements of this world get undermined as time goes on; in the beginning, the reader is under the impression that the air outside is too toxic to breathe, but as the story goes on, characters spend more time directly exposed to it with no obvious side effects (unless the whole premise of the book is a side-effect, but I feel like that would be revealed at some point if that were the case).
Another piece of the story with undeveloped potential is Jack's workplace, which serves as a central location throughout the story. In the first chapter, Jack finds a document which provides an incorrect date for a meeting between his boss and someone from a company called Mishimoto Corp. To me, this indicated some sort of corrupt nature to the relationship between Jack's boss and Mishimoto. Much later, one of Jack's old friends reveals himself as an employee of Mishimoto, and I get excited, awaiting some sort of discovery. However, nothing happens; in the end, Mishimoto Corp. served no actual purpose to the plot, whatsoever.
Additionally, the character of Haze gives Jack a gift: her necklace. As further plot points are revealed, I expected the necklace to come up again and serve a specific purpose, but alas, it was never mentioned. The same goes for a specific idea she has: a Digital Dive within a Digital Dive. While I was glad that the author didn't pursue this idea too far, as it could have easily brought an otherwise original story into Inception Rip-Off territory, I expected it to be used somehow within the plot, especially since it was mentioned a second time later.
As a positive, I did enjoy the plot twists in this book, though I thought more time could be spent developing them. For example, Jack's relationship with Haze progressed quickly; he knew her for months, but to me, it felt like approximately two weeks. This made everything seem to progress to quickly; they were an odd mixture of knowing each other too well and not well enough, at all. I also wanted more of a solid tie-in between the primary plot line and the one from Jack's past. The tie-in was implied at the end, but it was never fully and properly addressed in the way that I wanted it to be.
The ending also came too quickly, in my opinion, and I don't think the author made it clear enough what was actually happening. By this point, our main character was flashing through multiple realities, but I would have liked an indication of which one was real (of course, there are artistic reasons why the author might not want to do this).
All in all, I think this story has a lot of raw potential, but the book struck me more as an early draft than a finished product. I would love to see this story again after being reworked into a more developed and polished piece.
This is a science fiction psychological thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future centering around a boy named Jack who dropped out of art school and took on a generic office job. One day, an interesting new employee at his company catches his eye, and as he spends more time with her, his life changes forever.
The primary reason why I only gave this book two stars was the grammar. It's rife with sentence fragments, comma splices, incorrectly formatted dialogue, etc., and this is a bit of a deal-breaker for me. Grammatical errors pull me out of a story, and if they're frequent, I can never get into the story to start with. While it could be argued that this is a self-published book and therefore lacked the benefits of a professional editor, I still feel that the author should be able to create a polished final draft on his own.
Interestingly, I also thought this book was far too short. My PDF copy is 161 pages, and I finished it in two sittings. The length itself wouldn't be a problem, but I feel the story sets up a lot of interesting things and then leaves most of them untouched.
One example of this is the post-apocalyptic setting. It's present in the background, but it doesn't affect the story, at all. Aside from the main character's fondness for Digital Diving, a virtual reality technology, the story could take place in the present day and remain exactly the same. In fact, the dystopian elements of this world get undermined as time goes on; in the beginning, the reader is under the impression that the air outside is too toxic to breathe, but as the story goes on, characters spend more time directly exposed to it with no obvious side effects (unless the whole premise of the book is a side-effect, but I feel like that would be revealed at some point if that were the case).
Another piece of the story with undeveloped potential is Jack's workplace, which serves as a central location throughout the story. In the first chapter, Jack finds a document which provides an incorrect date for a meeting between his boss and someone from a company called Mishimoto Corp. To me, this indicated some sort of corrupt nature to the relationship between Jack's boss and Mishimoto. Much later, one of Jack's old friends reveals himself as an employee of Mishimoto, and I get excited, awaiting some sort of discovery. However, nothing happens; in the end, Mishimoto Corp. served no actual purpose to the plot, whatsoever.
Additionally, the character of Haze gives Jack a gift: her necklace. As further plot points are revealed, I expected the necklace to come up again and serve a specific purpose, but alas, it was never mentioned. The same goes for a specific idea she has: a Digital Dive within a Digital Dive. While I was glad that the author didn't pursue this idea too far, as it could have easily brought an otherwise original story into Inception Rip-Off territory, I expected it to be used somehow within the plot, especially since it was mentioned a second time later.
As a positive, I did enjoy the plot twists in this book, though I thought more time could be spent developing them. For example, Jack's relationship with Haze progressed quickly; he knew her for months, but to me, it felt like approximately two weeks. This made everything seem to progress to quickly; they were an odd mixture of knowing each other too well and not well enough, at all. I also wanted more of a solid tie-in between the primary plot line and the one from Jack's past. The tie-in was implied at the end, but it was never fully and properly addressed in the way that I wanted it to be.
The ending also came too quickly, in my opinion, and I don't think the author made it clear enough what was actually happening. By this point, our main character was flashing through multiple realities, but I would have liked an indication of which one was real (of course, there are artistic reasons why the author might not want to do this).
All in all, I think this story has a lot of raw potential, but the book struck me more as an early draft than a finished product. I would love to see this story again after being reworked into a more developed and polished piece.
September 14, 2016
I got this book from the author himself in return of a honest review and oh my how honest it will be. If I got it as ARC then maybe my review would’ve done something good but now it will come close to bashing. Yet I won’t sugarcoat it like I never do.
When I agreed to read this book I already knew that this is not my genre, but author was very nice so I decided to give it a go. I don’t shy from indie books so I wasn’t afraid to dive in. Will it be good or bad I didn’t know then and I decided not to read any reviews before reading it because I wanted to form my honest opinion before writing a review myself. Thing is after I read the book I read some of the reviews and damn, they pretty much agree with what I’m about to lay down here.
Beginning of the story wasn’t something spectacular but I don’t lose hope so fast so I pushed on. But right after few first pages I felt like author tried a little bit too hard to sound sophisticated. Many unnecessary words may look pompous but personally I saw no purpose in them aside from showing off how many “smart words” author can use.
To be honest at first I didn’t know what was happening in this story. A dystopian world created but not explained nor introduced properly. I felt lost. Soon one question came to my mind “why this had to be in the year 2071?” I found no answer and it speaks volumes about how much time and energy Barnard poured into creating this futuristic setting.
By 1/5th of the book I still didn’t get the goal of the story. So far it lead nowhere and I started feeling that it will lead nowhere till the end. I was pretty much right but to sum it up nothing really happens in the first half of the book. I felt like if I was skipping chapters and sentences I wouldn’t’ve missed anything.
At some point we get a small glimpse to protagonist’s past when he’s still an art student. It’s not really significant but I mentioned this because even if you’re talking about clay, etc it’s still not good enough of a reason to use the word “moist”. Also, trying to sound smooth while writing author somehow manages to use the word “slipped” three times in one sentence. I feel like this book was never edited.
Jack, our protagonist, gets a girl named Haze. She’s all kinds of weird and has some disgusting habits that were really putting me off. Like talking with full mouth. And despite very poorly written sex scene in the shower there is completely no chemistry between them. Maybe it was intentional but Jack often talked how much he loves Haze and I just... couldn’t see it.
I must admit that I had to read this story in chunks. Couldn’t read it for more than 10 minutes tops because it was hard to find any interest in the story. On the top of that I didn’t care for any of the characters. They felt bland and without a spark. Jack’s occasional swears seemed not like a speech pattern but something author had to remember to add from time to time to make his protagonist cooler and more laid back. Can’t really say it worked.
From about the half of the book we get a “plot twist”. As usual I won’t go into much detail not to spoil anything but I must say that I really didn’t like how author dealt with some topics. The ending was strange and... boring like this whole story.
The idea itself, I think, had some potential, but it was so poorly executed that I find it hard to talk about it without completely bullying the book or the author.
I give this book 0 out 5 (and 1 out of 5 on Goodreads because you can’t give a lower rating there) because well... I wasted my time. I recommend this for... no one. I can’t imagine that someone would genuinely like it.
When I agreed to read this book I already knew that this is not my genre, but author was very nice so I decided to give it a go. I don’t shy from indie books so I wasn’t afraid to dive in. Will it be good or bad I didn’t know then and I decided not to read any reviews before reading it because I wanted to form my honest opinion before writing a review myself. Thing is after I read the book I read some of the reviews and damn, they pretty much agree with what I’m about to lay down here.
Beginning of the story wasn’t something spectacular but I don’t lose hope so fast so I pushed on. But right after few first pages I felt like author tried a little bit too hard to sound sophisticated. Many unnecessary words may look pompous but personally I saw no purpose in them aside from showing off how many “smart words” author can use.
To be honest at first I didn’t know what was happening in this story. A dystopian world created but not explained nor introduced properly. I felt lost. Soon one question came to my mind “why this had to be in the year 2071?” I found no answer and it speaks volumes about how much time and energy Barnard poured into creating this futuristic setting.
By 1/5th of the book I still didn’t get the goal of the story. So far it lead nowhere and I started feeling that it will lead nowhere till the end. I was pretty much right but to sum it up nothing really happens in the first half of the book. I felt like if I was skipping chapters and sentences I wouldn’t’ve missed anything.
At some point we get a small glimpse to protagonist’s past when he’s still an art student. It’s not really significant but I mentioned this because even if you’re talking about clay, etc it’s still not good enough of a reason to use the word “moist”. Also, trying to sound smooth while writing author somehow manages to use the word “slipped” three times in one sentence. I feel like this book was never edited.
Jack, our protagonist, gets a girl named Haze. She’s all kinds of weird and has some disgusting habits that were really putting me off. Like talking with full mouth. And despite very poorly written sex scene in the shower there is completely no chemistry between them. Maybe it was intentional but Jack often talked how much he loves Haze and I just... couldn’t see it.
I must admit that I had to read this story in chunks. Couldn’t read it for more than 10 minutes tops because it was hard to find any interest in the story. On the top of that I didn’t care for any of the characters. They felt bland and without a spark. Jack’s occasional swears seemed not like a speech pattern but something author had to remember to add from time to time to make his protagonist cooler and more laid back. Can’t really say it worked.
From about the half of the book we get a “plot twist”. As usual I won’t go into much detail not to spoil anything but I must say that I really didn’t like how author dealt with some topics. The ending was strange and... boring like this whole story.
The idea itself, I think, had some potential, but it was so poorly executed that I find it hard to talk about it without completely bullying the book or the author.
I give this book 0 out 5 (and 1 out of 5 on Goodreads because you can’t give a lower rating there) because well... I wasted my time. I recommend this for... no one. I can’t imagine that someone would genuinely like it.
August 18, 2016
Set in a “post-apocalyptic” London (which is not so much the result of a dramatic event as the consequence of decades of reckless environmental behaviors), Haze is presented as a psychological thriller, but it’s not obvious from the first half of the story.
Jack, a former art student and overall unremarkable person, is stuck in an uninteresting job he got because of his mom and spends his free time digital diving, aka spending time in artifically recreated places and time. His life is boring until he meets Haze, a quirky girl he begins to date. The first half of the story is entirely occupied by their courtship, with so little indication of any kind of mystery it made me doubt I was reading a thriller. I’ve found the characters very difficult to empathize with. Jack’s characterization is not very solid, focusing on details that don’t help getting an idea of who he is, and even inconsistent in some places (and, unfortunately, the little characterization I got straight made him sound whiny and arrogant, which didn’t help). Haze is simply a manic pixie dream girl, there is nothing more to her character than getting Jack out of his boring life. There is a reason to that, though, but it takes so long to come that if I wasn’t a persistent reader, I would have dnf’d the book before it got interesting.
The courtship in itself is not very interesting. It is quite cliché and entirely told from Jack’s perspective, which made it tiresome to me, as I don’t appreciate what I know of him. Fortunately, the mystery comes in the second part of the book, and Haze is slowly explained. The idea is good and interesting, if maybe not the most original, but the writing is not as effective as I’d hoped. Flashbacks begin to show up in between the “now” chapters. While it’s a good idea, they show up too late, and don’t seem to be connected to anything. They can also kill the twist for readers used to the genre, especially since no explanation is given on why they are there in the first place. The end also feels a bit rushed up and unsatisfying, expecially in regard of the lenght of the rest of story.
Overall, the story is interesting in its second half, but would have benefit from a big editing work to tighten the action and get all the unnecessary parts out. Pacing is important in thriller, and here it is way too slow and off ; I could put the book down at any time, as I didn’t feel compelled to know what happened next. The setting was interesting too, but it feels more like a device than an integral part of the world ; other than gasmasks, we don’t really see any impact of this pollution-filled Earth, and I feel like it could have been linked so much more to Jack’s psychological state. The story has great potential though, and a big revision of the draft could make something gripping and super effective.
Disclaimer : I have received a copy of the book from the author in exchange of an honest review.
Jack, a former art student and overall unremarkable person, is stuck in an uninteresting job he got because of his mom and spends his free time digital diving, aka spending time in artifically recreated places and time. His life is boring until he meets Haze, a quirky girl he begins to date. The first half of the story is entirely occupied by their courtship, with so little indication of any kind of mystery it made me doubt I was reading a thriller. I’ve found the characters very difficult to empathize with. Jack’s characterization is not very solid, focusing on details that don’t help getting an idea of who he is, and even inconsistent in some places (and, unfortunately, the little characterization I got straight made him sound whiny and arrogant, which didn’t help). Haze is simply a manic pixie dream girl, there is nothing more to her character than getting Jack out of his boring life. There is a reason to that, though, but it takes so long to come that if I wasn’t a persistent reader, I would have dnf’d the book before it got interesting.
The courtship in itself is not very interesting. It is quite cliché and entirely told from Jack’s perspective, which made it tiresome to me, as I don’t appreciate what I know of him. Fortunately, the mystery comes in the second part of the book, and Haze is slowly explained. The idea is good and interesting, if maybe not the most original, but the writing is not as effective as I’d hoped. Flashbacks begin to show up in between the “now” chapters. While it’s a good idea, they show up too late, and don’t seem to be connected to anything. They can also kill the twist for readers used to the genre, especially since no explanation is given on why they are there in the first place. The end also feels a bit rushed up and unsatisfying, expecially in regard of the lenght of the rest of story.
Overall, the story is interesting in its second half, but would have benefit from a big editing work to tighten the action and get all the unnecessary parts out. Pacing is important in thriller, and here it is way too slow and off ; I could put the book down at any time, as I didn’t feel compelled to know what happened next. The setting was interesting too, but it feels more like a device than an integral part of the world ; other than gasmasks, we don’t really see any impact of this pollution-filled Earth, and I feel like it could have been linked so much more to Jack’s psychological state. The story has great potential though, and a big revision of the draft could make something gripping and super effective.
Disclaimer : I have received a copy of the book from the author in exchange of an honest review.
September 6, 2016
I managed to finish this book weeks ago and I know it took me forever to write a review (sorry!) but here it is now.
Set in London year 2071 where air pollution was so high that people need to wear a gas mask when going outside, the novel followed the life of Jack Decker, an office assistant who didn't like his job. He was socially awkward without any friends that was until he met Haze who was too busy stuffing her mouth with doughnuts the first time they met. Jack grew fond of her and eventually started to fall for her. There were also flashbacks that gave us more of Jack's past.
What I liked most in this book was the mystery surrounding Jack as well as Haze. Though there were instances that I've predicted what would happen next, it was still good to be surprised at times. Another thing I really liked was Jack's DDing! (That's Digital Diving, by the way) It's some sort of VR that lets you dream anything you want and anything inside it would feel real, like you're really there! How cool is that? At some point we saw Jack sharing a DD experience with Haze which deepened his feelings for her. Here we also saw Haze giving us an idea of what-if-you're-dreaming-inside-a-dream kind of thing.
"This aspect of Digital Diving brought along different emotions for everyone. Some felt secluded, others felt a lack of atmosphere, and Jack felt right."
I didn't feel any strong connection with Haze but it didn't mean I didn't like her. She was a so-so and maybe it's because she wa predictable. Her character was underdeveloped and I think it would've been better if we saw more of her story. Jack, on the other hand, was relatable but his character was inconsistent and it was somehow confusing.
Now let's get to the things-I-didn't-like/get part. First, it was set in a post apocalyptic London which I think didn't really play a great part in the story. I mean, it could've been set in a modern day and it wouldn't matter. Or maybe I just didn't see the connection? And then the pacing was a bit off at times and I felt like the flashbacks were only inserted to make the story longer. There were also grammars errors and sometimes the dialogues felt unnatural. Or maybe it's just me. again. And then there was the issue about his mental health which I think was taken lightly.
That said, I think Haze has a great potential if the plot is developed even more and the writing is improved. It's a really interesting concept and I think it can still be polished into something better!
*I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Set in London year 2071 where air pollution was so high that people need to wear a gas mask when going outside, the novel followed the life of Jack Decker, an office assistant who didn't like his job. He was socially awkward without any friends that was until he met Haze who was too busy stuffing her mouth with doughnuts the first time they met. Jack grew fond of her and eventually started to fall for her. There were also flashbacks that gave us more of Jack's past.
What I liked most in this book was the mystery surrounding Jack as well as Haze. Though there were instances that I've predicted what would happen next, it was still good to be surprised at times. Another thing I really liked was Jack's DDing! (That's Digital Diving, by the way) It's some sort of VR that lets you dream anything you want and anything inside it would feel real, like you're really there! How cool is that? At some point we saw Jack sharing a DD experience with Haze which deepened his feelings for her. Here we also saw Haze giving us an idea of what-if-you're-dreaming-inside-a-dream kind of thing.
"This aspect of Digital Diving brought along different emotions for everyone. Some felt secluded, others felt a lack of atmosphere, and Jack felt right."
I didn't feel any strong connection with Haze but it didn't mean I didn't like her. She was a so-so and maybe it's because she wa predictable. Her character was underdeveloped and I think it would've been better if we saw more of her story. Jack, on the other hand, was relatable but his character was inconsistent and it was somehow confusing.
Now let's get to the things-I-didn't-like/get part. First, it was set in a post apocalyptic London which I think didn't really play a great part in the story. I mean, it could've been set in a modern day and it wouldn't matter. Or maybe I just didn't see the connection? And then the pacing was a bit off at times and I felt like the flashbacks were only inserted to make the story longer. There were also grammars errors and sometimes the dialogues felt unnatural. Or maybe it's just me. again. And then there was the issue about his mental health which I think was taken lightly.
That said, I think Haze has a great potential if the plot is developed even more and the writing is improved. It's a really interesting concept and I think it can still be polished into something better!
*I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
June 11, 2016
Review originally posted on Inked In Pages
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Based on the blurb of the book and the author describing it as a psychological thriller, I wasn't too sure what to expect from Haze. It was an okay read and I enjoyed some parts but overall it just wasn't for me.
As far as first novels go, it was okay and the writing can be improved on but that's just something that comes with time and practise.
I loved the world building. We receive snippets of the history all throughout the book, rather than a quick history lesson placed at the start. While it's post-apocalyptic, it's set in the not too far future of 2071 and it's a very potential future for us. A world in which the air is so polluted that we have to wear what are essentially gas masks every time we step outside. the technology is also really cool. you can listen to books just by plugging into a book. There's also virtual reality, Digital Diving, where you put yourself into a simulation of a time or place.
I can't reveal too much about the book plot wise because that will take away from the mystery of it all. However, I feel like the story could have used a bit more foreshadowing because the reveal was quite a surprise. I also thought that the title is quite clever now that I've read the book.
There's some romance in the story and I feel like it moved a little too quickly to be realistic but it makes sense why it happens like that later on. Also, I feel like a lot of the side characters could have been developed a bit more, just to give the story that extra layer of depth. The flashbacks throughout the story were great because it helps the reader to understand Jack more.
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Based on the blurb of the book and the author describing it as a psychological thriller, I wasn't too sure what to expect from Haze. It was an okay read and I enjoyed some parts but overall it just wasn't for me.
As far as first novels go, it was okay and the writing can be improved on but that's just something that comes with time and practise.
I loved the world building. We receive snippets of the history all throughout the book, rather than a quick history lesson placed at the start. While it's post-apocalyptic, it's set in the not too far future of 2071 and it's a very potential future for us. A world in which the air is so polluted that we have to wear what are essentially gas masks every time we step outside. the technology is also really cool. you can listen to books just by plugging into a book. There's also virtual reality, Digital Diving, where you put yourself into a simulation of a time or place.
I can't reveal too much about the book plot wise because that will take away from the mystery of it all. However, I feel like the story could have used a bit more foreshadowing because the reveal was quite a surprise. I also thought that the title is quite clever now that I've read the book.
There's some romance in the story and I feel like it moved a little too quickly to be realistic but it makes sense why it happens like that later on. Also, I feel like a lot of the side characters could have been developed a bit more, just to give the story that extra layer of depth. The flashbacks throughout the story were great because it helps the reader to understand Jack more.
August 1, 2016
My actual rating: 2.5/5 (Can't give half stars on here, but I didn't think it was quite three stars for me)
*I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
Haze is set in a post-apocalyptic future London, and the world created was very unique and clever. It really drew me in and intrigued me from the get-go. The premise is very original, and the plot was quite fast-paced, so it kept the pages turning.
I think this book is self-published, and I noticed some grammar issues and I think the book could have benefited from a professional editing service. Sometimes the writing was a bit choppy and detracted from how absorbed I got in the book, because I kept noticing awkward places, or places where the writing didn't flow that well. Again, this could be addressed with a professional editor. And maybe it's just me, since I have degrees in both Literature and Publishing/Editing.
However, I think the plot and the writing had a lot of potential. I look forward to seeing the author's future work, because the world he has created is fascinating, and he clearly has a lot of creative talent. More time just could perhaps be given to the more technical/localized aspects of writing.
*I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
Haze is set in a post-apocalyptic future London, and the world created was very unique and clever. It really drew me in and intrigued me from the get-go. The premise is very original, and the plot was quite fast-paced, so it kept the pages turning.
I think this book is self-published, and I noticed some grammar issues and I think the book could have benefited from a professional editing service. Sometimes the writing was a bit choppy and detracted from how absorbed I got in the book, because I kept noticing awkward places, or places where the writing didn't flow that well. Again, this could be addressed with a professional editor. And maybe it's just me, since I have degrees in both Literature and Publishing/Editing.
However, I think the plot and the writing had a lot of potential. I look forward to seeing the author's future work, because the world he has created is fascinating, and he clearly has a lot of creative talent. More time just could perhaps be given to the more technical/localized aspects of writing.
August 8, 2016
I absolutely loved this book. I still think about it to this day. Things like Digital Diving and if reality is any different from something fake like that. My favorite chapter was when Jake (not sure can't remember name) was talking to Haze. ACTUALLY NO. On the tower. yes. where she asks if being real matters. Very clever. I like a lot. Good book.
September 20, 2016
Actual Rating: 4.5/5
Barnard is great at making a creepy atmosphere. Never really read a book like this before. Felt indie in a good way. My only real gripe is that some dialogue felt awkward. (that shower scene!!)
Barnard is great at making a creepy atmosphere. Never really read a book like this before. Felt indie in a good way. My only real gripe is that some dialogue felt awkward. (that shower scene!!)
October 9, 2016
3.5. Check out my review at https://tintededges.wordpress.com/201...
April 17, 2017
Review to come
September 22, 2016
A very eerie book. Creepy, but kind of cute in some places.
September 24, 2016
This book has lots of potential but would probably work better as a movie. Cast Cameron Diaz as Haze!
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