The 5th Wave: The Infinite Sea (Book 2) cover art

The 5th Wave: The Infinite Sea (Book 2)

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The 5th Wave: The Infinite Sea (Book 2)

By: Rick Yancey
Narrated by: Ben Yannette, Phoebe Strole
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

For Cassie Sullivan and the rest of Earth's remaining human survivors, the situation was already desperate when the 5th Wave hit. It's about to get worse.
No one yet knows the depths to which Earth's conquerors - the Others - will sink in order to rid the Earth of the human infestation, nor have they guessed the heights to which the human spirit can reach. Characters introduced in Book One will come to the fore - and others will face the ultimate test.

 Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Critic reviews

Wildly entertaining... I couldn't turn the pages fast enough
A modern sci-fi masterpiece... should do for aliens what Twilight did for vampires.
Nothing short of amazing
An epic sci-fi adventure about a terrifying alien invasion. You'll read it in one sitting
Remarkable, not-to-be-missed-under-any-circumstances
A gripping SF trilogy about an Earth decimated by an alien invasion... the question of what it means to be human is at the forefront
This is DAMN and WOW territory. Quite simply, one of the best books I've read in years (Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author.)
This book is scary!
A fantastic read. The 5th Wave is an electrifying page-turner (Kathy Reichs, New York Times bestselling author)
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.
All stars
Most relevant
I Felt as though this is only half of the book and thought there should've been more

Left wanting

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This series is great, I’ve really enjoyed it. Book 2 shows you more about some of the other characters and how they contribute to the over all story. The series story arc is one of those great epic science fiction stories you can get sucked into. There are a couple of heartbreaking moments in book 2 and a lot of action. There are moments when I want to shout at the characters for not thinking their next moves through and then I remember they’re kids being asked to do impossible things and make impossible decisions they shouldn’t have to make in a terrifying world out to get them. Yancey know how to mess with you! Great books

Fantastic

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Great performance but more focused Ringer. Not so much of Cassia and the rest of the characters we grew to love in the first book.

this should be Ringers tale

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I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series but I found that little happened in The infinite sea. To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend it that strongly. I was rather confused by the end of the audiobook and I thought that it was uneventful and slightly boring

A little disappointed

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Review 3.5 rounded up to 4*

Having previously read The 5th Wave, I was looking forward to continuing the series. I decided to download this in audiobook format, having listened to book one in this way.

This audio book is again narrated by Phoebe Strole. However, she is joined by Ben Yannette this time instead of Brandon Espinoza. They both did a wonderful job in bringing the story and the characters to life. Their voices were lovely to listen to. I would definitely consider listening to other books narrated by them.

Cassie (short for Cassiopeia) Sullivan is a wonderful character. I really liked her, she has a lot of spirit and determination. She seems to have grown up some in this book and is not as whiny or full of angst.

Ben "Zombie" Parish is another wonderful character. I really liked him from the beginning. He is quite bright and determined, not to mention charming. Still injured from Ringer's bullet, he is determined to get everyone to safety, though fighting infection.

Ringer is still an enigma to me. I can't seem to figure her out at all. Is she a friend or a foe? Her actions in a certain situation had me scratching my head.

This book has a completely different tone to the first one. Notably, it is no longer told through the eyes of only Cassie, Ben, Sammie and Evan, now Ringer has a say and I must admit that I found this a little confusing, as she seems to have become the main character in this book. Cassie and co are relegated slightly into the background for more than half the story, which I found a little disconcerting, though Evan has more page time, which I enjoyed. There is also a new character introduced, though I am not sure if she added anything to the story apart from a little backstory/history with Evan and as a threat to the group. I loved meeting Poundcake and Dumbo again, and getting to know a little more of their history, especially Poundcake. His tale is not a happy one but, I found him to be exceptionally brave; especially near the end.

For me, the story is bogged down with metaphors about the title and is lacking in the intensity/danger that made The 5th Wave so exciting. There is even less romance too, as Evan and Cassie are separate for most of the book. There are several twists that surprised me though, so it wasn't all bad. I enjoyed the story, but felt disappointed that it didn't grab me as much. Sequels are tricky. They can either exceed the original book, or disappoint a reader. I had high hopes about this book but, unfortunately, it didn't meet them. I am hoping that the third book in the series will be more cohesive and less confusing.

Rick Yancey has written an exciting, fast paced dystopian series that has kept me hooked from beginning to end. I love his fast pace writing style. However, the flow of the story was not as wonderful as the first book and seemed confusing at times. Nevertheless, I will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I highly recommend this book if you love YA dystopian novels like Divergent and The Hunger Games, or TV series like Fallen Skies. - Lynn Worton

Slightly confused and disappointed

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