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ohsocaitlin's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. A snooze-fest :( but I'm bailing because I read the other reviews and I just don't wanna put myself through that. Bleh
kpfeil's review against another edition
1.0
1/5stars
Loll this book was LAUGHABLY bad. It attacked so many religions, was incredibly sexist, had the creepiest and most porn-written sex scenes I’ve ever experienced (I’ve never seen the word “pussy” more in my life) and the plot/characters were honestly not interesting enough to warrant such aggressive writing.
Loll this book was LAUGHABLY bad. It attacked so many religions, was incredibly sexist, had the creepiest and most porn-written sex scenes I’ve ever experienced (I’ve never seen the word “pussy” more in my life) and the plot/characters were honestly not interesting enough to warrant such aggressive writing.
yurineves's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of the book was really interesting and the plot had enough suspense to keep me going but overall not an amazing book.
The prose was pretty simple, there were a handful of great lines but nothing to write home about. Looking at some other reviews I feel like the main draw was how the author looked at radicalization and how people can be drawn into these kinds of groups but to me it felt quite shallow. Perhaps its because I have some prior knowledge but it seemed like it boiled down to nihilism, traumatic past experiences and psychopathy. I feel like this is not really nuanced and actually doesn't take into account the more complex interactions between personal issues, grievances and various cognitive processes that actually go into the radicalization process.
The ending did not provide the pay off I was expecting based on where the plot was heading and the characters, for the most part, felt one dimensional. Despite this, the book kept my interest for the 500 or so pages which I do believe is a feat in itself. There are obviously some critiques that can be leveled at the depictions of sex scenes, whether or not they are gratuitous and the depiction of women but that has been amply covered elsewhere. Probably will not re-read this one but it did make me interested in reading some of the author's other works. I feel that perhaps his other shorter workers with a tighter focus on plot may interest me more than this one.
The prose was pretty simple, there were a handful of great lines but nothing to write home about. Looking at some other reviews I feel like the main draw was how the author looked at radicalization and how people can be drawn into these kinds of groups but to me it felt quite shallow. Perhaps its because I have some prior knowledge but it seemed like it boiled down to nihilism, traumatic past experiences and psychopathy. I feel like this is not really nuanced and actually doesn't take into account the more complex interactions between personal issues, grievances and various cognitive processes that actually go into the radicalization process.
The ending did not provide the pay off I was expecting based on where the plot was heading and the characters, for the most part, felt one dimensional. Despite this, the book kept my interest for the 500 or so pages which I do believe is a feat in itself. There are obviously some critiques that can be leveled at the depictions of sex scenes, whether or not they are gratuitous and the depiction of women but that has been amply covered elsewhere. Probably will not re-read this one but it did make me interested in reading some of the author's other works. I feel that perhaps his other shorter workers with a tighter focus on plot may interest me more than this one.
bluestar_of_thunderclan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
zhandlen's review against another edition
4.0
Talkier than I was expecting, but enjoyably so--compelling mix of philosophy, strange sex, and potential violence. Works as both a thriller (had no idea where it was going until the end) and a study into what drives people (especially Japanese men and women) to get involved with cults.
ymmakesthings's review against another edition
2.0
This turned out to be not quite what I expected, at least compared to when I first read the synopsis. It was kind of interesting - and also kind of horrifying - to read about how the cults in the story operated. That said, the sex/sexism/sexual assault/harems that went on was...awful so lots of TWs for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
jeremycp60's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
_stephk10's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
123ale_is_cool's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.0