Scan barcode
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
I read this for a book club. It was hard for me to get into, but I did eventually get there. The part I liked best about this book was the worldbuilding. I especially enjoyed the author's approach to imagining tech that really doesn't work the way you want it to, or that you have to McGyver to make useful, or that wasn't made with you in mind. Even in other dystopias involving inadequate technology, I feel that Onyebuchi's approach is uniquely nuanced.
All of the big emotional inflections in the book definitely hit, for example, "Chinelo's death, Agu's death, finding out that Onyii killed Ify's mother and lied about where she came from . Even so, there were a lot of characters, in my opinion, and I kept forgetting who was who.
All of the big emotional inflections in the book definitely hit, for example, "
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Colonisation
goblingirlreads's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a really difficult book for me to review. After thinking for awhile I've decided to go with the solid 4/5 rating.
Let's talk about what makes this book amazing: This is a sci-fi is based on a real conflict: The Biafran War, also known as the Nigerian Civil War. The book has incredible world-building. I had a complete picture of how war was waged in this world through the use of droids, child soldiers that are fully synth, soldiers having augmented parts that replace what human parts they've lost in battle and of course the mecha that are piloted in huge epic battles. I grew to really love the characters. The world was incredibly bleaI but I felt it gave a clear picture of how war affects people, soldiers, children, entire countries, the planet
That said, I had a huge issue with the pacing in the book. The first section of the book was absolutely perfect to me but the second section jumped back and forth between two characters in two different locations. The chapters were so short that it felt a little whiplashy and like I couldn't get really excited about one story before it jumped back to another. Finally, the third section could have been its own book and felt extremely rushed. I wish this book had spent a little more time in the editing phase to smooth out some of these pacing issues because overall it's incredible and has so much to offer.
Let's talk about what makes this book amazing: This is a sci-fi is based on a real conflict: The Biafran War, also known as the Nigerian Civil War. The book has incredible world-building. I had a complete picture of how war was waged in this world through the use of droids, child soldiers that are fully synth, soldiers having augmented parts that replace what human parts they've lost in battle and of course the mecha that are piloted in huge epic battles. I grew to really love the characters. The world was incredibly bleaI but I felt it gave a clear picture of how war affects people, soldiers, children, entire countries, the planet
That said, I had a huge issue with the pacing in the book. The first section of the book was absolutely perfect to me but the second section jumped back and forth between two characters in two different locations. The chapters were so short that it felt a little whiplashy and like I couldn't get really excited about one story before it jumped back to another. Finally, the third section could have been its own book and felt extremely rushed. I wish this book had spent a little more time in the editing phase to smooth out some of these pacing issues because overall it's incredible and has so much to offer.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death and Drug use
More...