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yevolem's review against another edition
4.0
The first quarter or so may be rough going for many as it's little else other than worldbuilding presented through political campaigning and electioneering. While the book does shift focus later on, overall it's about the political process of Earth in the 2060s through and through. At the 25% mark, I was thinking a low 3 stars, and was somewhat disappointed. By 50% I was at 3.5 because it had become more action oriented. When I finished it was 4 and I knew I'd try to read the rest of the trilogy. It took most of the book, but I eventually succumbed to enjoying the world and being amused by the characters to where I wanted more of it all.
This book is concerned with its ideas to the exclusion of almost all else. The central idea is that the world is ruled by various governments through the process of micro-democracy. Centenals, groupings of 100k people, form the basis of this system. This means that a city with one million residents could theoretically have ten governments with radically different laws. This is overseen by an organization called Information, which is the Internet, the regulatory body for all politics, a peacekeeping force, and other assorted functions. The governmental elections are held every ten years and one is currently being held.
There are four viewpoint characters, though two of them are primary. Not much should be expected from the characters as they exist to demonstrate how the political process works, for better and worse. The characters are the The Guy Who Stumbles Into Success, The High-Functioning Chuunibyou, The Revolutionary With An Afro (White), and The Oblivious One.
There's technically a romance subplot, but it's mostly that
This could be read as a standalone as all the plot points are wrapped up by the end, though it's done in a way that's a bit too neat for my taste.
This book is concerned with its ideas to the exclusion of almost all else. The central idea is that the world is ruled by various governments through the process of micro-democracy. Centenals, groupings of 100k people, form the basis of this system. This means that a city with one million residents could theoretically have ten governments with radically different laws. This is overseen by an organization called Information, which is the Internet, the regulatory body for all politics, a peacekeeping force, and other assorted functions. The governmental elections are held every ten years and one is currently being held.
There are four viewpoint characters, though two of them are primary. Not much should be expected from the characters as they exist to demonstrate how the political process works, for better and worse. The characters are the The Guy Who Stumbles Into Success, The High-Functioning Chuunibyou, The Revolutionary With An Afro (White), and The Oblivious One.
There's technically a romance subplot, but it's mostly that
Spoiler
within minutes of the two characters meeting they have sex and decide they are in a relationship for the rest of the book, more or less.This could be read as a standalone as all the plot points are wrapped up by the end, though it's done in a way that's a bit too neat for my taste.
peregrine's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting ideas about politics, the internet, connectivity, privacy and human nature. Characters were inoffensive but pretty flat. The ending was kind of odd, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it or what emotional note it was supposed to hit. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not.
This is very much Idea sci fi. I think that's a perfectly respectable genre, but people looking for action or character here will be disappointed.
This is very much Idea sci fi. I think that's a perfectly respectable genre, but people looking for action or character here will be disappointed.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
somethingnerdy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
eeeem's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
lesserjoke's review against another edition
3.0
A fun spy thriller, set in the near future where corporations compete in "microdemocracies" to be the new government rulers of thousands of small territories around the world. It's more amusing than strictly plausible, and it took a good 10% of the novel before its technologies and processes really clicked into place, but I still had a good time reading this particular vision of tomorrow.
davidtan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
mhockenson's review against another edition
4.0
Took me a while to really get into this book as I am thoroughly disgusted with this years political process, but I was able to press on and in the end I was very entertained by this book. For a debut novel it was very well written and thought out. Great political world building and to be honest a scary look at what our democracy could end up becoming. It was a fun ride into the near future and I look forward to reading Malka Older's next novel.
magsnificentmils's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lisagray68's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
3.5