ioana_singh's review against another edition
Started very interesting but it got boring really quickly, for me. Might be too conceptual for my liking. I was forcing myself to read it, and that’s a sign to dnf.
leevo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mkean's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm, more like a 3.5.
The concepts in this book were lovely, yet they fell flat in places. It was such a great idea, and it could have been taken so much further. What if it wasn't just in this crazy guy's head, but a new, actual species that existed in reality? What about other animals that could have evolved in thoughts? The idea of a shark that swims through concepts is so great though, especially combined with the other animals that Hall mentions, yet it ends up being a gimmick, something that becomes comical in the end. (Stabbing the shark with a brush? Really?)
And Scout was so obviously Clio that it hurt when Eric just sort of... went along with her anyway, blindly, refusing to see what was right in front of his eyes. The tattoo on her big toe was such a red, glaring warning sign, impossible to be a coincidence, that I wanted to rip my eyes out. They even said the same things to each other. I know it was Eric's way of coming to terms with her death, but he could have been smarter. Come on.
A few of the problems I had with the book went away once I knew the ending (I hate it when a main character loses someone, yet is able to find someone else almost /exactly like them/ instead of moving on and loving someone for who they are, individually, instead of comparing the two. It's unhealthy).
So, in short, easy to read, entertaining, but could have been so much more.
The concepts in this book were lovely, yet they fell flat in places. It was such a great idea, and it could have been taken so much further. What if it wasn't just in this crazy guy's head, but a new, actual species that existed in reality? What about other animals that could have evolved in thoughts? The idea of a shark that swims through concepts is so great though, especially combined with the other animals that Hall mentions, yet it ends up being a gimmick, something that becomes comical in the end. (Stabbing the shark with a brush? Really?)
And Scout was so obviously Clio that it hurt when Eric just sort of... went along with her anyway, blindly, refusing to see what was right in front of his eyes. The tattoo on her big toe was such a red, glaring warning sign, impossible to be a coincidence, that I wanted to rip my eyes out. They even said the same things to each other. I know it was Eric's way of coming to terms with her death, but he could have been smarter. Come on.
A few of the problems I had with the book went away once I knew the ending (I hate it when a main character loses someone, yet is able to find someone else almost /exactly like them/ instead of moving on and loving someone for who they are, individually, instead of comparing the two. It's unhealthy).
So, in short, easy to read, entertaining, but could have been so much more.
lilylikesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
hm the fuck? I think I’m at 3.5 stars. It really had me for awhile. The steampunk villain was an interesting concept that should’ve been fleshed out more. Female character every man’s wet dream. But the idea of conceptual fish was really cool, and the ending didn’t bother me as much as other reviewers. Definitely a Jaws rip off at the end, tho not sure if that was meant to be an homage
spike979's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable read. Would probably give it 3.5 stars if that was allowed.
lukija's review against another edition
4.0
Kummallinen jouhevasti etenevä seikkailu. Matrix-Memento-TappajaHai-Inception (ilm kirjan jälkeen) kombinaatio ihmeellisyyksillään. Teksti ja sen konseptit käyttäytyvät villisti. Netin syvyyksien ja kielen köyhtymisen uhat. Menetys. Totta vai ei. Mysteeristä seikkailun kautta eeppiseen lopputaistoon.
arich6213's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
I really really loved the concept and the main plot of the story, but it fully lost me with the romance subplot. Like legit, who cares. I did not, I don't need to hear you drooling over this 24 year old woman who you cannot stop calling a "girl". It did not need to happen. Give me more of the THOUGHT SHARK EATING YOUR MIND. THAT'S the interesting part.
ingread's review against another edition
1.0
Yeah, so this was all a bit too conceptual for me. Usually, I'm all for the strange and mysterious and complicated (being weirded out by a narrative can totally happen in a good way), but conceptual sharks that feed on thoughts and words (or something), that are also kinda physical? Some dude that consists for 1/100 out of the mind of a girl that was dead only maybe she isn't? (Apologies if this is incorrect, but that's what I seem to remember.) Anyway, sorry, but that's all a bit too much for me. I couldn't disappear into this book the way I would love to when I find the time to read something other than course books, and I can't give the 200 pages I read more than 1 star. Respect for all who could keep up with this story and weren't completely weirded out (in a bad way).
strwbrry_jamm's review against another edition
Ughhhhhh. This has a very promising start. About a hundred pages of good. It’s not the most revolutionary plot, but it’s interesting. It’s the standard memory loss bullshit, but it feels a little different, a little fresher than normal. There’s a solid mystery building. And the reveal of the word-shark is at the very least pretty cool. The story stays pretty good up until the introduction of Scout. And then it becomes the worst book I’ve ever read.
Every description of scout reads like someone’s Scout Pilgrim fan fiction. “She’s pretty but doesn’t know it” times infinity. It’s just bad. There’s no other word for it. It tries to salvage itself with the introduction of the Doctor, but by that point I just did not care. The story got sorta interesting (I think?) but the damage was already done. I just bobbed along the top of the word-ocean, soaking into what information I could while furiously flipping through the pages.
The word-shark attack thing was kinda neat I guess. But it basically devolves into Moby Dick or Jaws in the final stretch. Doesn’t help that the main trio are all basically the same character. They don’t feel distinct at all.
If House of Leaves is the gold-standard for “experimental” fiction (which I would barely consider this a part of), I would say this is like a 3-4/10 and that’s basically only because of the first part. Do yourself a favor and go watch Jaws if you want the story of this, or read House of Leaves if you want a book that messes with print.
Every description of scout reads like someone’s Scout Pilgrim fan fiction. “She’s pretty but doesn’t know it” times infinity. It’s just bad. There’s no other word for it. It tries to salvage itself with the introduction of the Doctor, but by that point I just did not care. The story got sorta interesting (I think?) but the damage was already done. I just bobbed along the top of the word-ocean, soaking into what information I could while furiously flipping through the pages.
The word-shark attack thing was kinda neat I guess. But it basically devolves into Moby Dick or Jaws in the final stretch. Doesn’t help that the main trio are all basically the same character. They don’t feel distinct at all.
If House of Leaves is the gold-standard for “experimental” fiction (which I would barely consider this a part of), I would say this is like a 3-4/10 and that’s basically only because of the first part. Do yourself a favor and go watch Jaws if you want the story of this, or read House of Leaves if you want a book that messes with print.
pourrir's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I thought I would love this book more than I ended up. However, it was fun. The ending was really what spoiled it for me, unfortunately.