Reviews

The City Inside, by Samit Basu

pyrocat's review

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

willowwitch's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

3.0

uranaishi's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Blood, Body shaming, Alcohol, Deportation, Fatphobia, Medical content, Cancer, Islamophobia, and Pedophilia

maryjoens's review

2.0

A really killer premise with a ton of great ideas, but at every turn under-delivered on the storytelling.

marsican's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

rubybastille's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

For some readers the passivity of the main characters seemed to slow the book down. For me it felt all too relatable. The idea of a digital-driven world controlled by a distant, wealthy, and uncaring few, who dictate the day to day actions of the masses and violently quash any rebellion that manages to escape their apathetic, easily distracted minds and become tangible action? Depressed main characters struggling to find any sense of honesty, liberty, or compassion in their techno-authoritarian nation, let alone the resources to act on it on any measurable scale? Yeah that’s pretty damn believable. 

I do wish we’d gotten more time with Rudra because his character arc changed pretty rapidly. Also, for as much time as we spend in Joey’s head, we didn’t really get her thoughts when they counted. Her solution to their shared feelings of powerlessness felt more believable than his though, both in context of the larger world and in terms of character development. 

lou_lichti's review

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

3.75

theheartisawaffle's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

notreallyricky's review

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

cammiixy's review

I just wasn’t in the mood for this book will return to it later