The 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

Narrated by: Brandon Espinoza, Phoebe Strole

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The Passage meets Ender's Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the first wave, only darkness remains. After the second, only the lucky escape. And after the third, only the unlucky survive. After the fourth wave, only one rule applies: Trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the fifth wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

©2013 Rick Yancey (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Gripping!" (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Nothing short of amazing!" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Yancey's heartfelt, violent, paranoid epic, filled with big heroics and bigger surprises, is part War of the Worlds, part Starship Troopers, part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and part The Stand ... a sure thing for reviewers and readers alike." (Booklist, starred review)

Wow!

A very fresh take on the alien invasion story. Very The performance was excellent as well.

Amazing! Captivating!

This was an awesome book, especially one to listen to vs. read. I enjoyed every minute!

Amazing

Amazing book, good for all ages, action, romance, SciFi. Awesome story, great writing, Highly recommended.

pretty good

I like it. I did not love it. it was a little kiddy for me. I think I saw a movie like this but I can't place it.

Starts strong but ends weak !

I really got pulled into this book when I first started reading it. It was creepy it had that air of menace that's really hard to cultivate, but then it started to turn into a lame teen love story and the female protagonist really starts to get on your nerves. By the time the climax hit I was really checked out. My advice is to pass on this one.

great story and compelling

Would you listen to The 5th Wave again? Why?

I'm very good listen the two readers were wonderful

What other book might you compare The 5th Wave to and why?

a lot are comparing this the Hunger Games I think it's much better the characters are definitely more developed here and this book you couldn't help but really root for everyone from all sides

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

there were some season this book it actually made me cry I teared up the readers are wonderful in portraying all the emotions that the characters were feeling

Enjoyed most of it

What about Brandon Espinoza and Phoebe Strole ’s performance did you like?

I particularly enjoyed Brandon Espinoza's performance. In his voice portrayal of Ben especially. His vocal inflections reminded me of a particular movie actor "Channing Tatum" who I could well see playing that character in a movie version of this book. Regardless of how you feel about Channing Tatum, Brandon Espinoza reading the part of Ben really brought that character to life for me. As regards Phoebe Strole, I will say I think she did a good job with her Narration. I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Cassy. During most of the book the main character is extremely sarcastic & flippant. Phoebe Strole delivered these lines so well that I would actually get irritated with Cassy and think that if I was actually in the room while someone spoke to me like that I would need to step outside to keep from getting angry. As I believe that's how the character was meant to be I think Mrs. Strole did a great job.

Any additional comments?

This book takes a lot of ideas about an alien invasion and spins them in new and unique ways. Particularly 5 unique ways and therefore waves. I was always wondering what twist would the author throw at us next. Among all it showed, there was one big plot hole that hit me 1/2 way through and I kept waiting for it to be explained. It sadly never was and since most of the book is about catching little details that seem out of place, only to have them brought up later as major plot twist, this particular hole is very bothersome. Hopefully there will be a 2nd book and that will explain it. Even if the author did one of those little interviews afterward and explained that would satisfy me and would raise the story and entire star in my opinion. My only other complaint is that the main solution to the issue the character's face is fixed with a bit of "Dues ex machina". Some reviews say mix Justin Cronin "The Passage" with Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" but I would say mix Stephen King's "The Talisman" with Stephanie Meyer's "The Host". The world built by Mr. Yancy & the way he kept parceling out information kept me hook. I do think this was a technically challenging book to write and believe the author deserves credit for doing a job as well as he did, even with the things I personally dislike about it. I will say I gave the story 3 stars but if there is a sequel to this book I would read it. Also I'll be taking a look at other works created by Mr. Yancy.

A rollercoaster of emotions

It keeps you on the edge of your seat, sometimes pushing you completely off.
If you are looking for an exciting story that makes you laugh and cry and think, this is it.

Addicting and complicated

It kept me listening. I recommend it to sci fi geeks. So carefully coordinated and interesting

Thought provoking...

If the human race is destroyed, it will be at our own hands. Even if not by choice.