The Infinite Sea

The 5th Wave, Book 2

By: Rick Yancey

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole, Ben Yannette

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others' ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven't seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

©2014 Rick Yancey (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Heart-pounding pacing, lyrical prose and mind-bending twists ... "(The New York Times Book Review)

“Impressively improves on the excellent beginning of the trilogy.” (USA Today)

"This gut-wrenching sequel to The 5th Wave careens on a violent course of nonstop action.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Not as good as the first :(

Would you recommend The Infinite Sea to your friends? Why or why not?

If you have read The 5th Wave, then you pretty much don't have a choice. I know you will read it, and you should, because there's a chance the third book will be super badass.

What about Phoebe Strole and Ben Yannette ’s performance did you like?

Great performance. No issues there.

Was The Infinite Sea worth the listening time?

Yes and no. Yes because it was an enjoyable read, and no because it was nowhere near as good as its predecessor. The issue I had with this book was that the majority of the story was told in Ringer's POV (a character I don't care much for). It makes sense why it was written like that; it's setting up and building up the story for the 3rd book, which I am assuming (and praying) will be much better than this one, but in the process you are left with hardly any character building, hardly any Cassie and Evan or Ben, and more Ringer, more Vosch and The Others, more theory pondering, chess games, and a whole lot of guesswork. The whole time I kept waiting, very expectantly, to get what I've waited over year for, and at times it felt like it was right there, on the next page. But alas, it never came. I should point out though, the big reveal at the end was a clever twist I did not see coming, so to that I tip my hat to you Mr. Yancey.

Any additional comments?

Bottom line: It was intriguing enough to be enjoyed but it will ultimate leave you unsatisfied. I am sure I am speaking for most readers out there when I say that, after reading The 5th Wave, we are opening this book with VERY high expectations. So you, my dear reader friend, will most likely be let down. Perhaps not as much as I was, but I guarantee you will not finish this book and feel the same way you did when you finished the first one.

Liked it a lot.

This 2nd installment in the series is different than the 1st in that it is more character than action driven . I did not agree with the many other reviewers who didn't care for this one. You learned a lot about he characters and their motives. Many readers realize that the 2nd book in a series often may often be thought as the weakest, but In this case I got a lot out of the story. For me, The Infinite Sea was well worth my time.

An interesting twist

Another fabulous story in the series. One of the plot lines I loved from The 5th Wave carried on in The Infinite Sea. Though, there was a twist near the end I wasn't expecting. The narration was fabulous with the characters differentiated enough for me not to get confused. I look forward to listening to the next book in the series.

Recommended for lovers of Sci-fi Young Adult stories.

excellent

If you could sum up The Infinite Sea in three words, what would they be?

EXCITING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, INTENSE

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Infinite Sea?

the struggle between humanity and being human

Which character – as performed by Phoebe Strole and Ben Yannette – was your favorite?

really enjoyed Evan

Any additional comments?

Excellent, when is the next one coming out??

Why is it that book 2 always drags

You have to read this one to understand whats going on. But the story lacks the originality and pace of the 1st book. Let's see where we go with book 3

Challenging listening

The story of this second in the trilogy is excellent, as was the first. However, I found it to be more difficult to recognize the characters as the sections changed. It is a listening challenge. The story is clear. Glad the next one is downloaded and ready for me.

Disappointing Follow-Up

My kids and I read The Fifth Wave as part of our family book club a few years ago and enjoyed it. This follow-up however has taken a step back in terms of story telling, the amount of filler material, writing style and characterization. I'm not sure if it's because of publisher mandated filler to increase the size and length of the story (trilogies are the rage) but I was bored out of my mind. This will mark the end of this series for our book club. It lost its spark.

Slow-Same question as the first book, no answers

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book feels like a bloated chapter than a book. Story doesn't really move forward still no answers as to the question of why they are here.

What was most disappointing about Rick Yancey’s story?

No answers. Feels like he is milking this story.

What about Phoebe Strole and Ben Yannette ’s performance did you like?

Their performance was fine.

Any additional comments?

Keep the story moving. Answer the dam question.

Not much action; no resolution

The last third of the first book in this series saved it. No such luck here.

First of all, the dialogue from instead a teenager's head does get old after a while. Then the plot is fairly thin. Finally, there is no resolution. No denouement. You are just left hanging as if he wrote half a book and decided to stop there.

The readers are OK and they voice teenage sarcasm well. That's the best I can say.

I'm through with this series.

Tremendous Disappointment

What disappointed you about The Infinite Sea?

The first book was very exciting and a great listen. This book is disjointed, rambling, confusing, and at times makes no sense. There is little action per se, but instead we are forced to listen to a bunch of senseless philosophy that turn it into a boring boring book.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None that I can think of. I feel ripped off.