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dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Weird and timely, this sci-fi take on the modern day workplace will keep you sucked in till the very last page. Told entirely in Slack messages, Several People are Typing is about a PR office going about their work, only for our main character to be stuck inside Slack itself.
Even though this story is told only through text messages, I think that Kasulke does a great job with maintaining the character dynamics that you would find in non-epistolary fiction. Additionally, I liked Kasulke’s use of Slack as a character in this story as our main character navigates being inside Slack and wanting to return to the real world.
If you like books of the weird variety and don’t mind epistolary fiction, you’ve come to the right place with this book.
Even though this story is told only through text messages, I think that Kasulke does a great job with maintaining the character dynamics that you would find in non-epistolary fiction. Additionally, I liked Kasulke’s use of Slack as a character in this story as our main character navigates being inside Slack and wanting to return to the real world.
If you like books of the weird variety and don’t mind epistolary fiction, you’ve come to the right place with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death
curious_oyster's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Excrement
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.5
This book is weird. There's no way around that. Enjoyable, but weird. I enjoy epistolary novels, so I was super curious about this one (told all via Slack messages) and I definitely enjoyed the ride. I had been expecting more of a SF-angle, though, given the main character "uploaded his consciousness to Slack" thing. However, that was never really explained, so it was more of a SF gimmick instead of a SF angle.
I'm not usually a fan of workplace drama. This workplace, though... man. They have their share of drama and I couldn't look away. This was a very fast read (partly due to so much white space on the page) and even though there are no physical descriptions of any of the characters, I did feel like I got a good sense for what these characters were like. You can learn a lot about someone from their social media presence, even without any pictures.
(Side note with a minor spoiler:Near the end, one character has sex with Slackbot possessing another character's body. Slackbot wanted sex, but the owner of the body wasn't consulted. It didn't impact my enjoyment of the book at all—everything is so weird by this point in the story that I didn't notice the potential implications at the time. However, that is a questionable consent issue, in a very weird way.)
I'm not usually a fan of workplace drama. This workplace, though... man. They have their share of drama and I couldn't look away. This was a very fast read (partly due to so much white space on the page) and even though there are no physical descriptions of any of the characters, I did feel like I got a good sense for what these characters were like. You can learn a lot about someone from their social media presence, even without any pictures.
(Side note with a minor spoiler:
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
darlaslays's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
I listened to this as an audiobook, which was very strange to follow at first. I thought I didn’t like the format, but I got oriented quickly when I was able to mentally visualize the text channels. It captivated me, and I had a fun time listening to it, with some feelings of existential dread here and there.
I only briefly used Slack (less than 2 weeks), so while I sort of knew how the channels worked, I had no context of what the “dusty-stick” emoji even looked like when I heard it over and over.
Speaking of emojis, dialogue including emojis were more challenging to visualize on an auditory level because I had to take an extra step mentally in distinguishing the specific implied meanings of each emoji while the speakers were communicating rapidly. I had to pause and rewind a few times in lieu of being able to take my time reading.
For instance: 👀 (eyes) could mean I see, what is this?, HUH?, you’ve piqued my interest, you and I know something that nobody else does.
👍 (thumbs-up) could mean good, go ahead, like, yes, I approve. Those are all similar meanings but in a string of dialogue, it would sound like this: “I thumbs up how thumbs up of a time we had. Eyes. Is this place thumbs up? Thumbs up. I thumbs up it. Me too thumbs up. What are we doing after? Eyes.” I don’t remember the exact dialogue, but that’s sort of what would happen.
I wonder how different an experience of seeing the physical text would be, because it’s apparent that’s how the book was originally intended to be consumed.
However, the cast did a great job illustrating everything in their performances. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book.
It does leave you with questions at the end, like:
What happened to Lydia?
Why couldn’t Tripp and Beverly speak normally at the end?
How exactly did Gerald get out of and then back into his body?
It’s a lot to think about because you don’t get clear answers, and I think that’s what’s fun about these kinds of stories.
I only briefly used Slack (less than 2 weeks), so while I sort of knew how the channels worked, I had no context of what the “dusty-stick” emoji even looked like when I heard it over and over.
Speaking of emojis, dialogue including emojis were more challenging to visualize on an auditory level because I had to take an extra step mentally in distinguishing the specific implied meanings of each emoji while the speakers were communicating rapidly. I had to pause and rewind a few times in lieu of being able to take my time reading.
For instance: 👀 (eyes) could mean I see, what is this?, HUH?, you’ve piqued my interest, you and I know something that nobody else does.
👍 (thumbs-up) could mean good, go ahead, like, yes, I approve. Those are all similar meanings but in a string of dialogue, it would sound like this: “I thumbs up how thumbs up of a time we had. Eyes. Is this place thumbs up? Thumbs up. I thumbs up it. Me too thumbs up. What are we doing after? Eyes.” I don’t remember the exact dialogue, but that’s sort of what would happen.
I wonder how different an experience of seeing the physical text would be, because it’s apparent that’s how the book was originally intended to be consumed.
However, the cast did a great job illustrating everything in their performances. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book.
It does leave you with questions at the end, like:
It’s a lot to think about because you don’t get clear answers, and I think that’s what’s fun about these kinds of stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content
Minor: Death and Excrement
I want to give a trigger warning to people who have existential crises as it relates to AI, being in a simulation or digital world, and fears about disconnecting from one’s body. I was able to get through it, but I know if I was fresh off of an existential crisis episode, I would have a difficult time because of how terrifying certain scenes that involved repetitive and frenzied texts were. Examples that are sort of spoilers but without context include:clovetra's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this is gonna be a short review considering this book is “short”.
page wise it’s normal but considering its text messages with like. 20 words on a page. i breezed thru this.
this was defo what i needed after my last read. super fun & wacky shenanigans
still confused about the whole lydia situation? idk what was going on there
dialogue was v funny
confused about what happened with tripp & beverly too? why were all the emojis all fucked up by the end
loved the unexpected gay factor
would’ve liked a little more substance but also tbh this book’s format and plot worked perfectly together
:dustystick:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Slavery, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content, Excrement, and Vomit
marmaladereads's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This might be the best thing I've read in a while. Hilarious, bizarre, heartfelt, sometimes lyrical workplace satire that is perfect for our WFH post-COVID times.
The story follows Gerald, an employee of a PR firm in NYC, who inadvertently gets himself stuck in his company's Slack. But the entire book is written entirely in Slack conversations that Gerald participates in and can observe, including private conversations between other colleagues.
Because of the chat format, the book is an extremely quick read, and I was totally hooked. Don't be surprised if you finish it in one sitting. I laughed out loud repeatedly and saw a lot of similarities to my own work, where we use Slack obsessively. It does get very surreal at times and the plot is certainly bizarre and paranormal (slackbot is one of the key characters), and I actually thought the ending would be much more apocalyptic then it ended up being, but it turned out to be a very sweet and heartfelt book! The Silicon Valley and tech zingers just added to the fun. And despite me assuring my husband that he should definitely read this one because it's not a queer romance for a change... um... it's a little queer and there's a little romance 🥰
I also ended up finishing it during a long zoom meeting at work (which I ignored) during which my work besties provided a live commentary over Slack via our private channel (which I ignored a little less) which seemed extremely fitting. And I made our head of IT read it 😂
Highly recommended! :thumbsup: :dusty_stick: (ifykyk)
The story follows Gerald, an employee of a PR firm in NYC, who inadvertently gets himself stuck in his company's Slack. But the entire book is written entirely in Slack conversations that Gerald participates in and can observe, including private conversations between other colleagues.
Because of the chat format, the book is an extremely quick read, and I was totally hooked. Don't be surprised if you finish it in one sitting. I laughed out loud repeatedly and saw a lot of similarities to my own work, where we use Slack obsessively. It does get very surreal at times and the plot is certainly bizarre and paranormal (slackbot is one of the key characters), and I actually thought the ending would be much more apocalyptic then it ended up being, but it turned out to be a very sweet and heartfelt book! The Silicon Valley and tech zingers just added to the fun. And despite me assuring my husband that he should definitely read this one because it's not a queer romance for a change... um... it's a little queer and there's a little romance 🥰
I also ended up finishing it during a long zoom meeting at work (which I ignored) during which my work besties provided a live commentary over Slack via our private channel (which I ignored a little less) which seemed extremely fitting. And I made our head of IT read it 😂
Highly recommended! :thumbsup: :dusty_stick: (ifykyk)
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, and Excrement
philippmk's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
trips's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book is so odd to write about because on one hand, I read it over the span of 2 days, which indicates I really enjoyed it. And I did! But I also think the way its written is just inherently compulsive, reading text-logs from some company in NYC where one employee unfortunately gets stuck in the messaging application (Slack).
Honestly, it has some good messages about interacting with technology in our post-capitalist environment but at the end of the day, its just a really entertaining read that made me smile many times. Would easily recommend to many.
I actually think this helped me over come my reading slump as I feel more motivated than ever to read again, so hooray for this book!
Honestly, it has some good messages about interacting with technology in our post-capitalist environment but at the end of the day, its just a really entertaining read that made me smile many times. Would easily recommend to many.
I actually think this helped me over come my reading slump as I feel more motivated than ever to read again, so hooray for this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Excrement
withlivjones's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-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? No
4.5
Wtf did I just read - in the best way. This is bizarre, funny, horrifying, and tender all at the same time. I read it in one day because I absolutely couldn’t put it down. Plus an unexpected romantic subplot that is rather sweet, and an AI that is simultaneously menacing and incredibly goofy. :thumbsup:
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
allindjesste's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal death and Excrement