Reviews

World Running Down by Al Hess was such an interesting exploration of identity, friendship, artificial intelligence, and what a peri-apocalyptic future might look like, and left me with a lot to think about.

There is the archetype of the gated city of splendour and the surrounding communities of struggle and strife, but both are shown with care I think. On that note, I was intrigued by some of the settings of the story - and I thought the world building was brilliant:
- Salt Lake City as a gated city of plenty, run by artificial intelligences called Stewards, and a human council.
- Several outer communities in varied states of anti-technology, stealing from travellers, but in a way that was implied to be subsistence based rather than just based around cruelty like some of the city based "respectable" criminals. There is a designated queer community.

There is a love story, some unexpected allies, a mystery, ADHD rep, and queer, trans rep. It's got a great combination of cozy and adventure - and just some deep conversations. I think there is a lot going on in this book, and I think for the most part, it was really well done.

Content Warnings

becinneverland's review against another edition

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4.0

a solid 4.5 read

it’s cozy but adventurous and god i loved Osric and Valentine’s conversations about feeling wrong in their bodies. i loved the questions of morality and human/AI rights. i just wish they explored the religion more because i get that we had Mormons but why does Valentine say “gods”? that would have pushed it to a 5 star for me

fuckitupvato's review

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challenging funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A wild, Mad Max-esque ride that I really enjoyed! I love, love, love the idea of using robots and AI to parallel Valentine's journey with his own body.

Just a really interesting and thought provoking read that still made me laugh and had an absolutely adorable romance at the center of it.

danata's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

sterrenkijker's review

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I knew going in that this was going to be a sci fi adventure romance, but I still expect romance books to engage with its themes in an interesting and engaging way (especially a queer dystopia), and that's not what I got - at least not from the first quarter of the book. Right off the bat, the pace felt off, and the characters felt flat. The recurring themes of existing in a queer body and what that means for an individual were literally spelled out for the reader, leaving seemingly nothing for the rest of the book to chew on or do something with that isn't painfully unsubtle.

wickedwitchofthewords's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

I liked Valentine and Osric and was very intrigued by their story. The pages just turned on their own because I wanted to spend time with these two beautiful men.
I also think it was a good story on trans lives/experiences , the toxic environment they end up in and the lack of support they receive.
However, Ace’s existence was just unnecessary and annoying. And I just couldn’t get along well with Valentine’s inability to tell Ace where she could go, ya know? It wasn’t too complicated.

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