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adhduck's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very enjoyable, gritty and interesting and I like how all the mysteries and things unfolded. Also the complexity of the characters was good. Less of a fan of Go’s sudden vibe switch with Kaev, though I guess it was meant to partly be a front or her pretending to him/herself she wasn’t like Podlove? Also, how is Kaev old enough to be Soq’s dad, I thought he was like 33. And Ora’s like 50. Did they just have kids as teenagers and the book didn’t address it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
Involves a disease that gives you neurological symptoms, the way it’s passed and is treated by the government has some parallels to HIV/AIDS.marmaladereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book is 50% vibes, set in a dystopian futuristic city that is run by crime syndicates with extreme income inequality and in a post climate catastrophe world where most world governments have collapsed. The book follows 5ish seemingly unrelated characters and their varied perspectives of the city - some are rich, poor, criminals, government workers. Most of the characters are queer, and the book is incredibly queer normative despite taking place with a background of a sexually transmitted and fatal pandemic reminiscent of HIV (which the government ignores). So the setting is incredibly interesting and the vibes and atmosphere established dominate the book.
However the plot is quite thin. It took probably 60% of the book for the plot to truly emerge, and when it did finally all come together, I found it somewhat underwhelming. Characters that were pretty interesting as individuals in earlier chapters kind of fell apart in terms of character depth and personality when they were thrown into group situations in later chapters, and a lot of the relationships lacked the emotional charge that should have come with long awaited reunions and the revelations that came with them. A lot of the big mysteries set up throughout the book also fell kind of flat for me when they were finally revealed.
Overall I would rate this book 5 stars for vibes and 2 stars for plot.
However the plot is quite thin. It took probably 60% of the book for the plot to truly emerge, and when it did finally all come together, I found it somewhat underwhelming. Characters that were pretty interesting as individuals in earlier chapters kind of fell apart in terms of character depth and personality when they were thrown into group situations in later chapters, and a lot of the relationships lacked the emotional charge that should have come with long awaited reunions and the revelations that came with them. A lot of the big mysteries set up throughout the book also fell kind of flat for me when they were finally revealed.
Overall I would rate this book 5 stars for vibes and 2 stars for plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Police brutality, Abandonment, and Deportation
julian7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I liked the concepts in this book (like nanobonding with animals and how the breaks result in sharing memories) a lot more than the actual book. The world-building felt underdeveloped - there were a lot of cool concepts, but perhaps too many to take on in one book, because they were often not explained very well. Also, it took forever for all the different characters and threads to come together. I didn’t feel like I knew what was going on until about a third of the way through, and even then I was still confused about the logistics of some things, like nanobonding and the breaks.
Meanwhile, the anticapitalist messages felt over-explained. Sometimes, I feel like the “message” or moral of the story is too hard to figure out, but with this book I actually felt like it was way too easy because the author would explicitly say it many times throughout the book. That being said, I still really appreciate the anticapitalist messaging. 🫡
Another thing that was underdeveloped was the relationships between the characters. A lot of the characters had potential to feel more interesting and relatable had they been more developed.
All in all, super interesting concepts and a lot of potential for an interesting world and characters, but not enough development and depth, because of the massive amount taken on. Overall, 3/5 score. Also, THE COVER GLOWS IN THE DARK so that’s pretty fucking cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ms_rey's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Started too slow, ended too fast. Took me ages to get invested, and I only got through the first half because it was an audiobook. Then the climax ran through a couple different scenarios that were meant to be important and gripping but instead felt glossy and lacking detail. A couple character deaths that meant nothing to me. A punishment for an antagonist shown offscreen. I wish I liked it but I’m not sure I do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Abandonment
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