Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Sarmaşık

an abstract reflective nothing book. vague sci-fi books aren’t poetic, just dull. it’s the one genre where I expect major over-explaining. reminded me of death valley by Melissa Broder with no oversharing (I love you Melissa Broder). scratches the surface level on modern-day topics—think Barbie movie (love you Margot Robbie) or Kamala Harris.
Porter backs off anytime there’s an interesting concept. girl you’re the author!!
worldbuilding—yeah not really? I guess it’s America on crack.
character development—eh. nobody I gave an eff about. maybe we’re not supposed to care about the characters, like American Gods where we just follow Trina as she mopes and talks to people?
I wish she scrolled on her phone more.

I like the book cover, it’s pretty 🌸

I did finish this book in one day and felt good about myself 👍

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livelaughlesbian99's review against another edition

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3.75

Strong beginning, kinda lost me in the middle, strong ending. If you're looking to read about grief and some absurd scenarios you'll enjoy this.

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deanamethyst's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

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sinslashcos's review against another edition

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5.0

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a_violentfemme's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I sped through this one and couldn't put it down. This book ultimately does what any good sci-fi should do (in my opinion) which is explore the human experience and as such, it is a great exploration of grief and relationships.

However, I want more from this world and hope that Porter expands this series in someway. There were a lot of unanswered questions I had around the world building and felt the 'short story' at the end was key to contextualising the main narrative. I did really enjoy the concept of a 'slow' and apparently benign alien invasion but again, felt this background took a back seat to the character development.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

'The Seep' by Chana Porter is a deeply human story about a woman dealing with loss and an alien invasion.
When the Seep first arrives, humanity is terrified by its alien presence but the Seep seeks to calm humanity's fears and problems. This includes allowing humanity to transform beyond its expectations and take on new forms. Trina finds that the possibilities of the Seep do not solve her own search for meaning and experience but she is still enjoying life with her wife, Deeba. But then Deeba throws her life into turmoil when she informs Trina that she wants to revert back into a baby and lead a completely new life. Reeling from loss and seeking meaning, Trina will have to venture out to discover what she values and where she wants to go next in her life.
Porter has created such a deeply human story told with a sci-fi flair. This is a deeply strange book as the things that the Seep allows humanity to do makes the world far more surrealist than I was expecting. But at its core, it is a story about grief, loss, and what we do with our life. There are a number of incredible quotes and a deeply human core. It's hard to explain but I highly recommend it as long as you are open to a little (or a lot of) weirdness. I will definitely be picking up more books by Porter as she clearly has a way with storytelling and tapping into emotions.

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biobeetle's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

4.75

Really liked this book! It was a quick read and a really interesting concept that I think it explored really well even in the short length that it had to work with.

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