Review by Hatethouself -- Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)

Hatethouself · Post by **Hatethouself** » 19 Apr 2021, 04:46

[Following is a volunteer review of "Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)" by Barry Litherland.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Waves Break(on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland is about 2 best friends Phil and Wayne. They’re now living their own lives 13 years after the incident that shaped them and their childhood peers, happened. Both try and move on from their past. Of course, that’s not going to happen but an incriminating package that powerful people want to have their hands on is suddenly stolen, the two friends get dragged into the mess and it is in this mess that they are forced to face the past that they’d rather forget.

This is a great book, let's just get that out of there. There are a lot of great things in here and very little wrong. I could not for the life of me point out a single negative thing because it is that clean. So I will just move on to the very extensive positives.

To me, the worst and most laborious part of reading is the beginning. I struggle with trying to muster the necessary willpower to force myself to power through it until I finally get interested in the book and have that interest make me want to continue reading. I did not have such problems with this book. The descriptions are sprinkled in in such a simple yet clever manner. It doesn’t overload you with physical features, which I find boring and personally, really hard to follow, not to mention it also makes it an absolute slog to read. The descriptions are always so concise yet comprehensive. The author can masterfully detail what a person looks like with a few lines or less, making it really approachable and fun. The dialogue flows beautifully and the writing especially in the initial parts is extremely humorous, garnering a spectrum of reactions from me that ranges from a nose inhale, all the way up to a quick burst of laughter. The characters are really sympathetic too. I especially like when authors indirectly explain why characters are the way they are which does happen in this book, and it gives me a really satisfying kind of feeling. Now for the plot itself, I normally hate this dual plot thing where one is set in the past and one is in the present and you see the parallels between them and eventually they’ll meet up. You know it, you’ve seen it. It sounds great but what usually happens is that one part is significantly better than the other part, and now whenever the bad part is on, it just makes you groan and wish you could just get back to the part that you actually like. That wasn’t a problem in this book, both parts were compelling in their own way and I very much enjoyed reading the entirety of the book instead of adoring a half and absolutely getting bored by the other half. The pacing is also great, never once do I remember it dragging. I’d also like to give a nice pat on the back on the absolutely powerful title drop. Normally when books or any form of media does a title drop, I probably won’t bat an eye, I might give a half-hearted chuckle so that I don’t hurt its feelings but that’ll be it. This is the first time that a title drop actually threw me off my chair, made me stand by my bed, and pass out because of how deep it cuts. It was just such an “oof” moment that to this day I can’t get over it. Now out of the mass compendium of positives, I still do have a favorite thing, and that is the protagonist. The protagonist is fun to read and is very upbeat without being obnoxious or super positive. His personality adds a nice springiness to the otherwise rather heavy happenings in the book, but even though he throws a lot of quips and jokes, it never takes from the weight of a situation.

I have decided to give this book my second 4 out of 4 stars. Now if you for some reason remember the things I say in my reviews, you might know that I have once said that I only reserve 4 stars for the ones that truly reach me, a book that will stay in my heart, long after my mind forgot. So then you might ask “Did this book do it for you?”. No, it did not. But I do feel like rating it 3 stars would be a crime. This is a really, really good and flawless book, and it would be unfair for me to not rate it a 4 star just because It didn’t make me go through an identity crisis as the last 4 stars did. This book is of really great quality and is deserving of every praise it gets.

Aside from people who read one genre exclusively. There's really nothing in the book that would deter any open-minded reader from reading.

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Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
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Bigwig1973 · Post by **Bigwig1973** » 06 May 2021, 19:31

Another intriguing review - especially the identity crisis part. I have to ask, what exactly does "slog" mean? I can guess in context, but I've never heard that used before. Also, you mention the "title drop"; do you mean that the title refers to something? Like a literary allusion, or what some refer to as an "Easter egg". I'm also not familiar with this term. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine - I'm just curious. Especially since this title seemed very something to you!

Hatethouself · Post by **Hatethouself** » 08 May 2021, 11:22

I don't know if its an actual word or the actual definition but when I say the title drop I mean that scene in a movie where the main character says the title of that movie.

And when I say slog, what I mean is that the book's pacing slows down to a halt, pages feel feels as though they're never-ending, making it a pain to read. Hope this helps, feel free to ask for further clarifications

Bigwig1973 · Post by **Bigwig1973** » 09 Sep 2021, 17:40

Hatethouself wrote: I don't know if its an actual word or the actual definition but when I say the title drop I mean that scene in a movie where the main character says the title of that movie.

And when I say slog, what I mean is that the book's pacing slows down to a halt, pages feel feels as though they're never-ending, making it a pain to read. Hope this helps, feel free to ask for further clarifications

Thank you for clarifying! I was curious about the title as I thought it might have something to do with a book entitled The Holographic Universe. I've never heard the phrase "title drop" so I wasn't sure what precisely you meant! But, now knowing what it means I would agree. It seemed as if it took quite awhile before he worked it in - I remember waiting for it when I was reading the book. "Slog" totally makes sense too! Thanks for the replies!