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ajediprincess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This world is so dark and harsh, but Takeshi Kovacs is a good guy in a world of scum, yet he's not too good that he himself doesn't have flaws. Ortegas is also a fantastic supporting character and they make a great detective duo, being at first skeptical of one another and somewhat antagonistic, but eventually learning to trust each other and work together. It was a really intriguing tension and despite covering so many ugly, distasteful topics, this book manages to emphasize the depravity of its setting without rubbing the reader's face in it.
This being said, I actually think I prefer the changes they made to the story in the television series over the book. This review would be impossible to write without spoilers, so I apologize for spoiling things in advance, but I will keep them brief.
The difference between the hotel personified and colored as The Raven and manned by an AI of Edgar Allan Poe himself was so delightful in the show, and I was very disappointed to see that the hotel Kovacs stays at is not called The Raven, but rather The Hendrix and it doesn't even really have a characterized AI to befriend Kovacs. This was just not as fun in the book as it was in the show. Poe was one of the best supporting characters.
Another huge change the show made that is absent from the book is the relationship between Rei and Kovacs.
These small gripes aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this gritty sci-fi, cyberpunk novel set in the far future of our Earth and I hope that others will too.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, and Murder
abby_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nightingale's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
The sci-fi is really good. The world is really well designed and created but it's hectic it's a 18+ not for sensitive readers.