Day Four

A Novel

By: Sarah Lotz

Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The chilling follow-up to The Three, Sarah Lotz's "hard to put down and vastly entertaining" debut (Stephen King).

Hundreds of pleasure-seekers stream aboard The Beautiful Dreamer cruise ship for five days of cut-price fun in the Caribbean sun. On the fourth day, disaster strikes: Smoke roils out of the engine room, and the ship is stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon supplies run low, a virus plagues the ship, and there are whispered rumors that the cabins on the lower decks are haunted by shadowy figures. Irritation escalates to panic, the crew loses control, factions form, and violent chaos erupts among the survivors.

When, at last, the ship is spotted drifting off the coast of Key West, the world's press reports it empty. But the gloomy headlines may be covering up an even more disturbing reality.

Day Four is a heart-racing tale from "a ferociously imaginative storyteller." (Lauren Beukes).

©2015 Sarah Lotz (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Weird and uneven

What disappointed you about Day Four?

I just felt like this book never could decide what sort of story it wanted to be. One minute things are quick-paced and exciting and terrifying, the next it's a slow-burn, and finally it just ends on this really weird and surreal note involving either an alternate dimension or a trip to the future, and it's all related in transcripts, like the author wanted to finish things up super quick and didn't have the energy for writing it out in her usual style. It just annoyed me.

What could Sarah Lotz have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

One thing that definitely could've been done better is the supernatural elements. In the beginning of the novel it's hinted that what's happening is partly supernatural, but as the novel goes on, the supernatural elements are only just there, like they've been tacked on at the last minute to spice up the story. It isn't until the very end that the supernatural stuff really gains prominence, but then it's lost in some really surreal stuff and you really don't know how to make sense of it all as a reader. Ms. Lotz should have either made those supernatural elements more prominent and defined or taken them out altogether. Either way the story would've benefited.I also think that the story could've been written a bit more evenly in pace and tone. It was just so all-over-the-place, like the author was still figuring out what sort of story she was writing while writing it. I really think that if she had done better in deciding where the story would go and what sort of pace it was going to go at, we'd have a much better story.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Penelope Rawlins?

Sure, if she was narrating a book I was interested in. Her male voices are pretty obviously a woman pretending to be a man, but she does it better than other narrators I could name. And she also handles accents pretty well too.

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

Yes, it did. Lotz handles multiple narrative point of views very well, developing each narrator quite well. This is also the most diverse cast of characters I've seen in a book: male and female, old and young, every race and ethnicity under the sun. I rarely see that in fiction. It was definitely interesting.

Any additional comments?

You'll be intrigued to see where this story goes, though you'll be left wondering if even the author knows where the story is going as time goes on.

it was ok.....not as good as The Three

I think the use of multiple narrators worked really well in the Three, and while this reader did a good job, it would have been better with not just one reader for every character. I liked the ties back to the three, and the subtle horror that characterize both books. with that being said, I found the three to be much more creepy than this book and the characters more throughly explored and relatable. I was a little bummed with the ending. ...it was pretty much the same conclusion as the three, but less interesting because we have already seen it done. I think I would have liked this book more if I hadn't already read the three. it is probably still worth reading, if you have the time.

Great story but not so great narration

Great story but the reader does such a horrible job at male voices that it is almost distracting. It'd be 100 times better if they had a male reading those parts

Slow... very slow.

I'm going to come clean right off the bat; I'm only around half way through the book. That being said, I feel like I could have jumped into the story right where I'm at and wouldn't have lost anything. The story is taking an agonizingly long time to develop, and the parts that are supposed to be "creepy" never really seem to hit that mark. Most of the content comes across as if I'm overhearing an incredibly uninteresting and mundane conversation held between people I couldn't care less about. As it progresses, I've found that those mundane conversations are becoming more and more annoying and hard to listen to. Right now I'm really struggling with finishing the book.

Stupid story made worse by horrible narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

So, so much! Such a great idea that just peters out at the end. It's like the author came up with the concept and started writing with absolutely no idea what the end game was. Then, when she got there, it was like, "Well, let's just slap together a bunch of nonsense and see if anyone's really paying attention." If you hated the ending of the television series Lost, don't waste 11+ hours of your life on this book.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The idea of people trapped on a cruise ship while something strange is going down around them is great. It was executed really well by Iain Robb Wright with Sea Sick, but not here. The least interesting part of this book was definitely the way it wrapped up. I felt, after all that time listening, that there was no pay off.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Penelope Rawlins?

Anyone! The attempts at accents were embarrassing. Every male character sounded exactly the same - apparently every man this woman knows has a deep, gruff voice. Young women sound like vapid bimbos. Old women sound like horrifically bad Katherine Hepburn impressions. Every time she got to a chapter about the psychic Celine, I thought my ears were going to bleed. And the worst part was that so many lines were misread - flat and emotionless, or with the wrong inflection in the wrong places. Just terrible!

Do you think Day Four needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Part of me would like more explanation - but a bigger part of me just doesn't give a damn. I suffered through all of this; I would not put myself through a sequel.

Any additional comments?

I was almost - almost - tempted to purchase the Kindle version of this book just to see if reading it myself would make it any better. Then I decided it just wasn't worth the pain and suffering. I'll just go watch Ghost Ship again.

Great idea

Loved the idea of people stranded and pecking orders change quickly but this book has too many characters for audio. I listened for one chapter and liked the story but couldn't listen.

Ok

Decent story, prbly should of read the first book in the series but wasn't sure if they were connected or not. Didn't like the ending at all.

I read this because Stephen King did, and I'm glad

Are the passengers going nuts? Are they all actually dead? Are they crossing back and forth between dimensions? How can people be such jerks? How can they not figure out what's going on? Why can't *I* figure out what's going on? This book kept me guessing until the very end. It wasn't confusing or contrived, and the pace kept building until the end.

I read a review by favorite author Stephen King, and I see now why he enjoyed the book so much! It's unusual and interesting, and I certainly recommend it!
Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

Fun book with an interesting plot

Yes it's kinda of obvious but then it's not. The performance is one of the best I have ever heard. The narrator has an unlimited separation between each character.

not a pleasure cruise

This book was slow ~~ but it was slow with out any real strong specific storyline and without one really strong character. The best part of the book were the last two chapters or so .. news papers clippings and stories and interviews with certain characters. I would be hesitant to listen to another book ~~