tecovb's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
a_ab's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
2.0
Since I appreciated the sci-fi concept of this series more than the FBI procedural it is presented as, I didn't find as much enjoyment in this book — the procedural takes center stage here and there is nothing new or interesting added on the conceptual level.
As a procedural it is OK though - in line with what can be expected from the first book.
As a procedural it is OK though - in line with what can be expected from the first book.
kt2e56's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This took me an absurdly long time to get through because it was just SO dry. An interesting premise (and based on the synopsis was supposed to function as a standalone?) that was bogged down by a ridiculous amount of exposition. None of the many characters we’re introduced to are even remotely interesting or unique (which could maybe be the fault of the monotone voice actor?), the worst example is the completely bland protagonist/narrator, Chris. This was just so hard to focus on that it wasn’t until I was 65% of the way through that I could finally pay attention or even care about what was going on. This whole book I think really needed a sense of personality or identity because as it stands, it just fades away amongst other mediocre sci-fi books. Exposition and “world-building” means nothing when there’s no interesting characters to inhabit said world.
frogbone's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
i enjoyed this book very much except for Chapter 22, line 51:
Jonathan Michael Scalzi, you are leaning hard on a meme from the same year Numa Numa came out. you wrote this in 2018. five yard penalty, first down. may God have mercy on your soul
Spoiler
"I looked at Fowler, who had had a bullet applied directly to her forehead."Jonathan Michael Scalzi, you are leaning hard on a meme from the same year Numa Numa came out. you wrote this in 2018. five yard penalty, first down. may God have mercy on your soul
telerit's review against another edition
4.0
4.6 stars. I love the concept and I love the characters.
rmichno's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was happy to spend more time with the main characters. I didn't find this one as innovative as the first, but it still had an interesting story and introduced some concepts that expanded the world.
Scalzi's writing is always top notch and I would probably read anything that paired together agents Shane and Vann. Their rapport and dialogue was always fun to read.
The overall "mystery" was a bit less interesting, though. I think it might be because there were too many random characters thrown in as red herrings, some of them would just appear and disappear in a few pages. So it was hard to get invested in any of them. In the end the crime got wrapped up through a lot of explaining by the lead characters.
Although this one didn't wow me like the first I do hope he continues this series.
Scalzi's writing is always top notch and I would probably read anything that paired together agents Shane and Vann. Their rapport and dialogue was always fun to read.
The overall "mystery" was a bit less interesting, though. I think it might be because there were too many random characters thrown in as red herrings, some of them would just appear and disappear in a few pages. So it was hard to get invested in any of them. In the end the crime got wrapped up through a lot of explaining by the lead characters.
Although this one didn't wow me like the first I do hope he continues this series.
djhobby's review
3.0
Entertaining book.
I love the idea of people being able to "live" in a virtual space on a server. And being able to inhabit android threeps in the real world. I can't wait till I have that option, though not at the cost of my physical body being paralyzed. Throw in the crazy "football" game and a murder mystery, and that all makes for an entertaining story.
I love the idea of people being able to "live" in a virtual space on a server. And being able to inhabit android threeps in the real world. I can't wait till I have that option, though not at the cost of my physical body being paralyzed. Throw in the crazy "football" game and a murder mystery, and that all makes for an entertaining story.