cowboykid's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tracy_reads's review
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
jakegray's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
directorpurry's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.5
navik's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.5
overquake's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
coriabc3d's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tjwallace04's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I ultimately had a lot of fun with "Emergent Properties." At the beginning, I had no idea what was going on and was experiencing the uncomfortable feeling that Scorn was TOO much like Murderbot, in a copy-cat-ish way. But both issues eventually resolved themselves. After struggling in the deep end for about 30 pages, I started to understand and appreciate both the world and the uniqueness of the voice and story. There *are* a lot of similarities between Scorn and Murderbot (snarky sentient AIs), but Scorn is zir own self, and I really warmed to zem.
Premise: Scorn was created by zir mothers as a state-of-the-art AI and was expected to pursue a scientific role. But Scorn is an emancipated AI and wants to be an investigative reporter. When Scorn wakes up with a destroyed chassis and ten days of memory loss, ze knows ze must have stumbled onto an important story...if only ze could remember what it was. As Scorn retraces zir steps to solve this mystery, ze connects with other sentient entities and dodges dangers galore. Will Scorn be able to stop a plot that is afoot on the moon?
I appreciated that "Emergent Properties" is set on a future version of Earth where climate change is in full effect and many people have moved to the moon. The hints of what climate change might look like (the rich people live closer to the poles, while the poor are stuck near the equator; people go on ski trips to Antarctica) really sparked my interest. And there were a lot of other fun and thoughtful little details throughout the narrative about what the future might look like, as well as glimpses into deeper topics like AI-prejudice and what happens when corporations have too much power.
And I absolutely loved Scorn's sibling relationship. Zir conversation with MatT almost made me weepy. "Go bravely." "And you stay bravely."
Overall, it was a fun and thought-provoking read with a lot of zest. I recommend "Emergent Properties" if you enjoy science fiction or speculative fiction, sarcastic and headstrong characters, and a glimpse of a potential future that is both bizarre and terribly recognizable.
Premise: Scorn was created by zir mothers as a state-of-the-art AI and was expected to pursue a scientific role. But Scorn is an emancipated AI and wants to be an investigative reporter. When Scorn wakes up with a destroyed chassis and ten days of memory loss, ze knows ze must have stumbled onto an important story...if only ze could remember what it was. As Scorn retraces zir steps to solve this mystery, ze connects with other sentient entities and dodges dangers galore. Will Scorn be able to stop a plot that is afoot on the moon?
I appreciated that "Emergent Properties" is set on a future version of Earth where climate change is in full effect and many people have moved to the moon. The hints of what climate change might look like (the rich people live closer to the poles, while the poor are stuck near the equator; people go on ski trips to Antarctica) really sparked my interest. And there were a lot of other fun and thoughtful little details throughout the narrative about what the future might look like, as well as glimpses into deeper topics like AI-prejudice and what happens when corporations have too much power.
And I absolutely loved Scorn's sibling relationship. Zir conversation with MatT almost made me weepy. "Go bravely." "And you stay bravely."
Overall, it was a fun and thought-provoking read with a lot of zest. I recommend "Emergent Properties" if you enjoy science fiction or speculative fiction, sarcastic and headstrong characters, and a glimpse of a potential future that is both bizarre and terribly recognizable.