So this is pretty bland man. The twist is predictable. The story is repetitive. The characters are boring. Nothing exciting happens. The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie 6th day is better. ( )

An interesting story. The ending is surprising. Its a bit tedious at times, but well worth the time. ( )

in the not so far future, a man and his wife living in a remote farm receives news that they have been drafted to a space program, but only the man gets to go work on the space station. the wife gets left behind. they have two years to prepare themselves for the separation, and the story focuses on how they struggled with this.

its intriguing, lots of thought provoking ideas, and its a clever book. only...this annoyed me so much and i could not wait to finish it. i almost dnf-ed this.

the thing is...its so confusing the way the characters are acting and reacting to one another and to the situation, and how there's so little pertinent detail given to the reader. the twist is guessable half way through, at which point there was little need to be subtle about things and i wish the story did...more. there was a second mini-twist though that's almost a saving grace, but too little too late.

i think this book was just not for me...but i can see others enjoying this. also, i wont mind reading other works by iain reid. good book...just really didnt enjoy it. ( )

Set in a future where it's illegal to own livestock and fields as far as the eye can see are planted only with genetically modified canola, Junior and his wife Hen live a quiet rural life on their farm until one day a stranger arrives. Terrance reveals to Junior the rather alarming news that he is a finalist for an upcoming space mission. Junior, wholly uninterested in leaving Hen or the farm, voices flat-out opposition to the idea, but Terrance assures him Hen will be fine...because they are creating an exact replica of Junior to keep her company while he's gone.

I think this is a story that will stick with me, as it's somewhat unsettling. While reading I couldn't help trying to discern hints from the text, and I'm pleased to have correctly guessed a few of the twists. Luckily, having done so didn't detract from the overall experience. This would have been a fine addition to our "Creepy Reads" book display last month at the library, and I regret having not read it quite in time. Recommended! ( )

This story really gripped me and as I read it I kept thinking, "What the hell is going on with Junior and what the hell is the Installation?" About three-quarters of the way through the book I had an inkling of what may occur, but even when it did I was surprised at how it unfolded. And the ending of the book left me wondering about what I hadn't discovered. ( )