kba76's review against another edition
3.0
Glass Town Wars is a puzzling read. I didn’t dislike this, but I was left frustrated by so many elements.
Fascinated by the Bronte link, but this was not really explored until the latter stages so I never felt we fully got the picture I expected.
We begin with a young man, Tom, who’s in a coma. We don’t know what’s happened to him, but for some reason a friend of his decides to use Tom as a guinea pig in a bizarre gaming experiment. He travels back in time and finds himself caught up in someone’s attempt to overthrow those in power.
Alongside the story of Tom in his travelling guise and Augusta (the woman he ends up fighting for), we find out a little of what’s happening to Tom while in hospital.
While there were a range of aspects to this, they really didn’t combine that clearly. We never got details about what had put Tom in this precarious position, it wasn’t always clear who was being focused on/which world they were part of, and I definitely wanted to know more about the world Tom was in while he was travelling.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this prior to publication.
Fascinated by the Bronte link, but this was not really explored until the latter stages so I never felt we fully got the picture I expected.
We begin with a young man, Tom, who’s in a coma. We don’t know what’s happened to him, but for some reason a friend of his decides to use Tom as a guinea pig in a bizarre gaming experiment. He travels back in time and finds himself caught up in someone’s attempt to overthrow those in power.
Alongside the story of Tom in his travelling guise and Augusta (the woman he ends up fighting for), we find out a little of what’s happening to Tom while in hospital.
While there were a range of aspects to this, they really didn’t combine that clearly. We never got details about what had put Tom in this precarious position, it wasn’t always clear who was being focused on/which world they were part of, and I definitely wanted to know more about the world Tom was in while he was travelling.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this prior to publication.
polythenegirl's review
3.0
I was given a digital review copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was drawn to it (once again) by the cover and the cover alone. That along with the title reminded me of John Green-esque contemporary book. When I read the synposis it seemed much more sci fi based so I thought 'Why Not?' and clicked request.
We start out by being introduced to Tom, a young man in a coma. How he got there we don't know beyond a social media following of #heroinacoma, and a dodgy girlfriend and Best Mate who are cheating on him together. We then meet Lucy and Joe who are less connected but seem to care more. Lucy is someone who comes to Tom's room in the hospital to read to him and Joe is one of the nurses attending to him. The Dodgy Best Mate then decides that this is a good time to test a piece of tech on Tom. Its sort of like a babblefish from HItchhiker's but it puts him into a false reality where he has various adventures.
Overall this was a confusing book. I liked it is so far as I could grasp where we were and what was going on. There was supposed to be a basis/underlying story that had Bronte undertones but, in all honesty, if I hadn't been told I wouldn't necessarily know that.
The writing was good in and of itself, the world building was where the book lacked. It felt very confusing and very 2 dimensional. I would have loved to have learnt more about the places.
This was a 2.5/5 for me! (rounded up to 3 for GoodReads)
We start out by being introduced to Tom, a young man in a coma. How he got there we don't know beyond a social media following of #heroinacoma, and a dodgy girlfriend and Best Mate who are cheating on him together. We then meet Lucy and Joe who are less connected but seem to care more. Lucy is someone who comes to Tom's room in the hospital to read to him and Joe is one of the nurses attending to him. The Dodgy Best Mate then decides that this is a good time to test a piece of tech on Tom. Its sort of like a babblefish from HItchhiker's but it puts him into a false reality where he has various adventures.
Overall this was a confusing book. I liked it is so far as I could grasp where we were and what was going on. There was supposed to be a basis/underlying story that had Bronte undertones but, in all honesty, if I hadn't been told I wouldn't necessarily know that.
The writing was good in and of itself, the world building was where the book lacked. It felt very confusing and very 2 dimensional. I would have loved to have learnt more about the places.
This was a 2.5/5 for me! (rounded up to 3 for GoodReads)
heavenlybookish's review against another edition
1.0
'Glass Town Wars' had a unique plot but couldn't keep my attention
Glass Town Wars by Celia Rees ★
"The next day, all that was left to show was a faint staining on the marble piazza, pink on grey."
I received this e-book from Netgalley. This does not affect my review or opinion. All thoughts are my own and I'm being 100 per cent honest. Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for providing me this e-book for reviewing purposes.
I don't like to write negative reviews, but I really did not like this book. The blurb made the plot sound so unique and interesting and I was so excited to read this book. However, from very early on I already knew this wasn't going to be amazing. Throughout most of the book I had no idea what was going on. The story couldn't keep my attention.
Go to my blog to read the full review https://www.heavenlybookish.be/post/glass-town-wars-had-a-unique-plot-but-couldn-t-keep-my-attention
Glass Town Wars by Celia Rees ★
"The next day, all that was left to show was a faint staining on the marble piazza, pink on grey."
I received this e-book from Netgalley. This does not affect my review or opinion. All thoughts are my own and I'm being 100 per cent honest. Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for providing me this e-book for reviewing purposes.
I don't like to write negative reviews, but I really did not like this book. The blurb made the plot sound so unique and interesting and I was so excited to read this book. However, from very early on I already knew this wasn't going to be amazing. Throughout most of the book I had no idea what was going on. The story couldn't keep my attention.
Go to my blog to read the full review https://www.heavenlybookish.be/post/glass-town-wars-had-a-unique-plot-but-couldn-t-keep-my-attention
bozakrowka's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
gracepowell's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bookish_arcadia's review
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
thenarratress's review
I hoped to like it but I had a hard time doing so. I did not like the characters and the world confused me
tbhonest_uk's review against another edition
5.0
Glass Town Wars is a mind-blowing and thrilling read that fans of Ready Player One and Mary Hoffman's Stravganza series will love.
It's an original and gripping tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
It's an original and gripping tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
wxrldwalker's review
2.0
You know when you read a book and it's SO GOOD you can't put it down- you take it while you're travelling, while studying, you sneak glances at it and even take selfies with it because it's just THAT good?
Yeah, this ain't one of them...
I agree with the majority when I say that I finished this book and didn't know what the hell I just read. And let me explain. Firstly, the characters were two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs. I couldn't connect with any of them! They had no motivations other than to get out of a bad situation, only to land themselves in another- even worse- setting.
The plot...did you see it? Because I didn't. And let me tell you- the synopsis is there to misguide you. How can you write a book with a synopsis that matches only 2% of what this book is actually about? This Glass Town setting was so interesting but wasn't built upon. The author was trying to create a world initially introduced by the Brontës, and what did she do? She took their imaginations and snippets of writing only to make it dull and boring- even my curries have more flavour than this book!
So in summary, all the things I disliked/hated about this book:
- The characters
- The plot
- The writing style was so fragmented and bland
- The world-building was meh
- There was a villain-ish character in this book that wasn't ever revealed- why he did what he did- and was just as easily caught (wtf!)
- I still don't understand the dynamics of this story
- The descriptions were long and winded
- The romance element was cringy
- Quick POV changes that confused the hell out of me
- the worst thing about this: THERE ARE SO MANY FRICKIN' CHARACTERS!!!
What I remotely liked:
- The Glass Town descriptions (which weren't expanded on- and had so much potential, but alas :'(
it wasn't meant to be- and I can see why this only has about 13 ratings/reviews...
I'm only glad I didn't spend money on buying this trash because it costs a lot and I would punch myself in the face if I spent my money on this...
Yeah, this ain't one of them...
I agree with the majority when I say that I finished this book and didn't know what the hell I just read. And let me explain. Firstly, the characters were two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs. I couldn't connect with any of them! They had no motivations other than to get out of a bad situation, only to land themselves in another- even worse- setting.
The plot...did you see it? Because I didn't. And let me tell you- the synopsis is there to misguide you. How can you write a book with a synopsis that matches only 2% of what this book is actually about? This Glass Town setting was so interesting but wasn't built upon. The author was trying to create a world initially introduced by the Brontës, and what did she do? She took their imaginations and snippets of writing only to make it dull and boring- even my curries have more flavour than this book!
So in summary, all the things I disliked/hated about this book:
- The characters
- The plot
- The writing style was so fragmented and bland
- The world-building was meh
- There was a villain-ish character in this book that wasn't ever revealed- why he did what he did- and was just as easily caught (wtf!)
- I still don't understand the dynamics of this story
- The descriptions were long and winded
- The romance element was cringy
- Quick POV changes that confused the hell out of me
- the worst thing about this: THERE ARE SO MANY FRICKIN' CHARACTERS!!!
What I remotely liked:
- The Glass Town descriptions (which weren't expanded on- and had so much potential, but alas :'(
it wasn't meant to be- and I can see why this only has about 13 ratings/reviews...
I'm only glad I didn't spend money on buying this trash because it costs a lot and I would punch myself in the face if I spent my money on this...