Gillian Anderson (2)Reseñas

An interesting read and if your first dip into self help etc not a bad one. It does borrow heavily from others works and I did find the authors personal contributions a tad self indulgent, in fact at one point I renamed the book ME. That said there are some good exercises and principles within.

Not as good as the first book in the series. Too much happened in the last few chapters to assimilate, for me. I'm not very sure if I will read the next one, yet. 3 stars

Ok, the first book of the series wasn’t the most original one but unfortunately this one is even worse. Moderately interesting characters doing moderately interesting things and having visions all the time about a moderately interesting mystic ancient empire. The forced mysticism is simply too much and worst happened what can happen with a book: I simply wasn’t interested that happens on the next page. I’ll read the third book just to see how all of this ends but I’m not raising high hopes to it.

This is a reasonably entertaining bit of fantasy. It's fast-paced and doles out just enough information to keep my interest, while making the characters smart and skeptical enough to deal with some of my own potential questions (although the skepticism flies out the window pretty quickly at the end). It definitely starts turning into a bit of convoluted history and some heavy woo toward the end, but sets up a sequel with some possible world-building. Overall, it was a great read for my daily commute, but predictably, not stellar literature. It's one of those filler books I like to read when I am also reading some really heavy history or political theory, specifically because it doesn't make me think much.

Completing the Earthend Saga, this novel reaches back into Galderkhaan even more than the previous two books. Caitlyn finds herself stuck inside the body of a Galderkhaani woman just before the catastrophic events kick off and destroy Galderkhaan. So: no pressure. Also, Jacob is there? Back in the present, Ben is trying to sort out what has happened to Caitlyn when the Haitian woman and her son from the first book arrive in New York. And we meet a modern Technologist or two.
This book will make very little sense if you haven’t read the first two in the series. In fact, I recommend reading this immediately after finishing A Dream of Ice because I didn’t and I found it hard to remember who was doing what and why. Mostly, I found my interest in the series waning. A lot happened in this book, but it came at a cost to the character development that I was used to from the previous books in the series. It’s still a fun ride, with a lot of good ideas, so if you enjoy science fiction with a splash of fantasy you may enjoy this book. Just be sure to start at the beginning of the series with A Vision of Fire. ;)

I am not sure what I expected from this book, but it has been eye-opening and positive. I am an occasional reader, and not very fast, so it has taken a while to get through this book in a way that I feel I am absorbing and appreciating. I even found myself taking notes which I rarely do. I plan to read it though a second time now that I know what to expect and made sure I am getting the most from it.

I am at a time in my life I really needed to read/hear the ideas in this book. I am guilty of not putting myself first, not taking care of myself in my frenzy to make sure everyone else's everything is tended to. I am a 40-something mom with two young kids, who left the workforce to stay home with them. I have second-guessed every decision I've made recently and I have been very down on myself as I am in this season of my life. This book really helped me to see my value and had concrete plans to help me address these concerns.

This is the second book in the Earthend Saga, picking up a week after the events of the first book, A Vision of Fire. Caitlin O’Hara is a psychologist who specializes in counseling troubled teens. In the previous book, she encountered teens who were being possessed by people from a prehistoric culture called Galderkhaan. Caitlin is trying to adjust to normal life after the events of the previous book, but her son starts behaving oddly, making her wonder of the Galderkhaani threat remains. Meanwhile, an archaeologist working for The Group makes some very interesting discoveries in Antarctica after a scientist disappears mysteriously.
This book definitely can only be read if you’ve read the first book in the series first. (It’s also probably best not to have a two year gap between reading the two books like I did.) That being said, it follows on nicely and we learn so much more about Galderkhaan in this book. It’s also nice that O’Hara finally becomes aware of The Group in this one. Gillian Anderson is perhaps best known for her work as Agent Scully on The X-Files and she left a tidbit or two in for her fans, such having a character say, “I want to believe.” If you’re in the mood for a series that incorporates fantasy, magic, and paranormal occurrences, you will likely enjoy this. However, The X-Files did it better.

Excellent and better than I expected.

I would say 2.5 stars. It was a very good premise...but very heavy on philosophy. It was quite interesting to read, but sometimes I felt as if I was sitting in a lecture instead of reading a novel.

I had a hard time picking a star rating for this book. It's not really good enough to earn three stars, but I literally could not stop reading it, so it obviously has some level of awesomeness which saves it from the two star rating it probably actually deserves. It's insane and makes pretty much zero sense, but it's unputdownable at the same time. Book crack. This is definitely book crack.

So, having completed the trilogy, all I have to say is What. The. Fuck. I still don't know what the hell just happened or what the purpose of this story was or really much of anything. I have soooooo much to say, but it's 6:30 in the morning, so my thoughts are going to have to wait until my brain is more awake.

I didn't enjoy anything about this thriller. I was suckered in by "Gillian Anderson" in big bold letters on the cover above the actual ghost writer's name below, so they got me. I kept reading but the plot never seemed to resolve itself.½

A well done example of a genre that usually irritates me: ancient secret society involved with a mysterious threat to humanity, paired with characters with psychic connections to the past. The focus characters are strong and likable, the action not TOO too bizarre. And it avoids the common first-book-of-a-series flaw of sketching out a large number of topics and leaving loose ends everywhere. Rather, the issues in this book are nicely wrapped up, and hints of future plot lines revealed only in a few places. I probably won't read further books in this series since, as I said, it's not a genre that interests me. But this book was enjoyable and worth spending three days with.

A Vision of Fire (Earthend Saga #1) by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin is a tense, intelligent and moving work of science fiction and international political intrigue that is setting up a massive series. Full disclosure: I fully admit that Gillian Anderson is one of my favorite actresses. She also narrated the Audible version, which she ably accomplished.

Child psychologist Caitlin O'Hara receives a cryptic call from a friend to visit the daughter of India's Ambassador to the United Nations, Maanik. Maanik has begun to have seizures of some sort and the Ambassador, embroiled in tense negotiations with Pakistan, cannot afford the publicity of his daughter's possible mental illness. Maanik is also having visions and speaking languages she could not possibly know, appearing to be possessed. Through hypnosis, Caitlin finds that Maanik is witnessing the end of the world. Caitlin studies the visions and in doing so finds that there are multiple instances of teenagers around the globe having similar visions. In Iran, a boy sets himself on fire. In Haiti, a teenage girl nearly drowns in seawater while she is standing on dry land. All have visions. All speak in foreign tongues that have no way of knowing. In another part of the world, an ancient artifact is unearthed. There is a sense of impending doom upon everyone. Caitlin must unravel the mystery of the visions before the end of the world becomes a reality, with India and Pakistan on the verge of nuclear war.

With a co-writer on board, the question arises about how much of the tale Gillian Anderson actually wrote. She has been completely transparent about this, revealing that her coauthor, Jeff Rovin, took care of the sci-fi stuff, while she contributed character development and plot. In this case, it seemed to work. This is an ambitious novel combining science, faith, and politics, blending superstition and psychology, daring to use both to answer the revealed mysteries. Are visions real? Is possession real? Are there unexplained powers and phenomenon of which we are unaware and from which we cannot protect ourselves? Sounds like the X-Files, no?

The book explores and tantalizes, yet moves slowly at times. It has to; otherwise the reader would lose themselves in everything that is happening within the story. The anxiousness never lessens, with Pakistan and India locking horns, with Maanik slowly going mad, and with Caitlin traveling the world trying to find the answers.

The novel leaves many questions unanswered, of course, and a sequel is on the way. Overall, there is a very good story here, and I am looking forward to the second book. There is a lot of potential left in this series.

Of course I requested this from Netgalley because of Gillian Anderson. This was risky, of course, because the fact that someone is a terrific actor and seems kind of splendid in real life (based on interviews I've heard) doesn't all mean she can write a lick. Which may partly explain the presence of Jeff Rovin on the ticket; Amazon describes him as an established ghostwriter, so I wonder exactly what the partnership here was like.

It doesn't really matter whether they wrote it together or whether Gillian Anderson just lent her name. It's good. It's really good. Unique plot, interesting characters, sharp writing – I'm sold. I dislike trying to read a Netgalley which comes anywhere but first in a series, but I wanted to try this – and I did – and for the first time I stopped reading a book for another reason than bad ones. I stopped reading because I bought the first book in The EarthEnd Saga on Audible (read by Gillian Anderson!) and I want to listen to that before I come back to A Dream of Ice, so that I can fully appreciate it. So you could say I've abandoned this book – but just this once it's only for now. I'll be back. I'm looking forward to it.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.½

This book is a kind of a mixed bag for me. It was very entertaining despite the beginning was a bit of a Dan Brown, the middle of it a bit of a Nancy Kress and the a bit of The Exorcist at the end. Not too original, the characters are too one dimensional and 'the solution' is too esoteric for me, but in whole I wouldn't say it's a bad book.

This book started a bit slow but when I was half way through, I realized it was because the book is weaving a large tapestry in which to tell its tale. I was amazed by the world created in this book. As soon as I finished it, I was wanting to know more but saddened because I did not, at that time, know it was a part of series. I was thrilled to find it continued. This world is too rich to end after just one book.

Characters - good, sympathetic. Good pacing to book overall.

Another heaping helping of crazysauce that had me going "Wait. Wait. WTF did I just read?" Time travel (sorta-kinda) and some kind of magnetic stones that make animals go crazy and spontaneous combustion and Antarctica and, oh yeah, the voodoo priestess from the previous book shows up at the end and offers vague warnings of danger and... Look, it's just crazy. It's not just the plot and the characters that are over-the-top, but there's also this pseudo-mystical angle where it feels like the book is trying to bee deep and profound, but just comes off as woo-woo New Age "spirituality".

You know how sometimes it's three a.m. and you can't sleep and you're flipping through channels and come across some weird sci-fi movie with an actor you like and so you watch it, but it's so chock full of every possible thing that it makes almost no sense and yet you're compelled to watch but when it's over you're left wondering if you had really watched what you just thought you watched? Yeah, this series is that movie in book form.

I had a hard time picking a star rating for this book. It's not really good enough to earn three stars, but I literally could not stop reading it, so it obviously has some level of awesomeness which saves it from the two star rating it probably actually deserves. It's insane and makes pretty much zero sense, but it's unputdownable at the same time. Book crack. This is definitely book crack.

A DREAM OF ICE is the story of Caitlin, a Psychologist, whose is reeling from her recently awakened abilities and is trying to move on with her life, only to be called upon by supernatural forces to use her powers once again.
I chose this book to read because the story intrigued me, even though I knew I could be a little confused, having not read the first book in the series. While that was true, I was nevertheless able to keep up. Like many modern thriller books (like Preston & Child), A DREAM OF ICE did a good job of slowly building the intensity of the story, and didn't let up until the last page. A drawback to this style of modern sci-fi thriller, though, is that the ability to flesh characters into three dimensional, likable people is limited to only a few, and therefore when any of the auxiliary characters are around; they just feel like place holders to fill out the action. Much of Caitlin's abilities are sensory based and those sensory feelings were so well described that I often found myself feeling things right along with her, which added to the exciting tension of the book. It is definitely an original story with a good cliffhanger at the end, and I look forward to reading the third book when it comes out.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Gillian Anderson & Jeff Rovin, and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Book 2 in the EarthEnd Saga by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Robin is much more sci-fi intensive than book 1. After her psycological battle with members of the ancient civilization of Galderkhaan, Caitlin is left with special mental abilities. Aso if that wasn't enough, big things are happening in Antarctica, powerful Galderkhaani type things, And they are hunting Caitlin.

There were a lot of things going on in this book, and sometimes I had difficulties keeping up with everything. I listened to the book on Audible twice to pick up on stuff I missed the first time.½

"There are things going on that I cannot understand."
This one line from psychologist Caitlin O'Hara sums up the entirety of the book...in a good way. Animals acting abnormally, teens from around the world having similar violent reactions to...something. Is it extraterrestrial or is it ancient?

Science Fiction? Gillian Anderson? Of course I had to read this book! But I didn't have to like it. This was some really inventive sci-fi with relatable characters. That's a tough combination to achieve in this genre.

I listened to this in Audible, and Gillian Anderson narrated it, so that was pretty awesome. She did a greal job differentiating between the characters with accents, and voice inflections.½

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gillian Anderson's 'The Vision Of Fire' was a page turner from the start. I was hooked. I took my time reading it, because I wanted to hold onto every detail, until the very end. There was a major push in the descriptions she used to describe her characters, and the main story line. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

I've gone as far as I'm going to go with it. Take that as you will.

I've gone as far as I'm going to go with it. Take that as you will.