missdandyreads's review against another edition
4.0
3,5 Sterne. Eine interessante, spannende Zukunftsvision, die allerdings auch ziemlich erschreckend ist. Genau genommen möchte ich so eine Welt im Jahr 2100 nicht haben. (Mal davon abgesehen, dass ich es nicht erleben würde). Als Leser hab ich mich hier allerdings gefragt, welche Zielgruppe angesprochen werden soll. Es war locker geschrieben wie ein Jugendbuch (die Heldin ist 15), aber gleichzeitig waren auch viele Szenen enthalten, die ich in einem Buch für junge Leser nicht erwarten würde (insbesondere Gewaltszenen einer sehr mitleidslosen, kindlichen Figur und Tierquälerei).
caronmonster's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic novel from Matt Haig. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Audrey and Daniel's story.
naiapard's review against another edition
Mi-a plăcut cartea în ciuda reticenței mele față de conceptul de iubire dintr-un om și un robot. E greu să te abții să nu-ți placă odată ce realizezi ce bine construită este lumea cărții. De asemenea, se ating unele idei esențiale despre ce înseamnă să fi om.
Lumea construită de Matt Haig este de-a dreptul atrăgătoare. E un concept de posibil viitor foarte bine pictat. Mi-au plăcut detaliile solide și explicațiile treptate pentru tehnologiile ce existau în jurul personajelor, ca de exemplu sinele magnetice ce făcea posibilă deplasarea pe distanțe mari în câteva minute. A fost o plăcere să descopăr puțin câte puțin din acest viitor.
Un alt aspect pe care nu-l pot ignora sunt personajele. În special, relația dintre cele două personaje principale. Deși nu mi-a plăcut ideea ca cei doi să dezvolte iubire între cei doi nu m-am putut abține în a nu aprecia caracterele fiecăruia. Audrey și Daniel au personalitate bine conturate. Audrey străduindu-se să înțeleagă lumea din jurul ei și în cine să aibă încredere. Daniel cel care cunoștea informații vaste despre mediul extern., dar care se luptă pentru a se înțelege pe sine.
Lumea construită de Matt Haig este de-a dreptul atrăgătoare. E un concept de posibil viitor foarte bine pictat. Mi-au plăcut detaliile solide și explicațiile treptate pentru tehnologiile ce existau în jurul personajelor, ca de exemplu sinele magnetice ce făcea posibilă deplasarea pe distanțe mari în câteva minute. A fost o plăcere să descopăr puțin câte puțin din acest viitor.
Un alt aspect pe care nu-l pot ignora sunt personajele. În special, relația dintre cele două personaje principale. Deși nu mi-a plăcut ideea ca cei doi să dezvolte iubire între cei doi nu m-am putut abține în a nu aprecia caracterele fiecăruia. Audrey și Daniel au personalitate bine conturate. Audrey străduindu-se să înțeleagă lumea din jurul ei și în cine să aibă încredere. Daniel cel care cunoștea informații vaste despre mediul extern., dar care se luptă pentru a se înțelege pe sine.
_malin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
danajumuga's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
magis1105's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
skyegbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Matt Haig is an expert at making you imagine scenarios from a warped society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death of parent
paperbacksandpaws's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
4.5/5 🌟
........................
" 'I've had a dream,' she said. 'I've had this dream for years. A dream of creating something so close to being alive it would be impossible to know the difference. And my dream has just come true. And sometimes there is nothing more terrifying in this life then having a dream come true.' "
"The pain I was feeling was the pain of a world where I would never belong."
"Yes, it was frightening. But I was fed up with being frightened... Maybe you could only live life by heading towards the things that frightened you."
........................
Somewhere between YA and adult fiction is "Echo Boy," a great sci-fi read. After a young teen's parents are shockingly murdered by an "Echo"/ human-like AI (her father was well known to be against such technology), young Audrey is forced to go live with her uncle, the CEO of a company that creates the "Echos." This is also where she meets Daniel, an echo unlike the others, who tries to save her from danger.
Also, there's an interesting topic throughout the book that is nice to see in books... mental illness. Audrey grapples greatly with PTSD, anxiety, panic, and depression from the horrific murders. She isn't sure about anything or anyone. She is afraid of life in general, but she slowly learns to overcome anxiety and finds the strength within to seek justice for her parents.
Matt Haig painted a clear picture of a very possible future where AIs come to be common and how it affects humans as well as the treatment of said AI's. I enjoyed all the futurist tech and imaginings and the fact that he makes us contemplate what makes one human, an individual and what rights do/will AIs have and just the thought of "should" we even have such technology?
........................
" 'I've had a dream,' she said. 'I've had this dream for years. A dream of creating something so close to being alive it would be impossible to know the difference. And my dream has just come true. And sometimes there is nothing more terrifying in this life then having a dream come true.' "
"The pain I was feeling was the pain of a world where I would never belong."
"Yes, it was frightening. But I was fed up with being frightened... Maybe you could only live life by heading towards the things that frightened you."
........................
Somewhere between YA and adult fiction is "Echo Boy," a great sci-fi read. After a young teen's parents are shockingly murdered by an "Echo"/ human-like AI (her father was well known to be against such technology), young Audrey is forced to go live with her uncle, the CEO of a company that creates the "Echos." This is also where she meets Daniel, an echo unlike the others, who tries to save her from danger.
Also, there's an interesting topic throughout the book that is nice to see in books... mental illness. Audrey grapples greatly with PTSD, anxiety, panic, and depression from the horrific murders. She isn't sure about anything or anyone. She is afraid of life in general, but she slowly learns to overcome anxiety and finds the strength within to seek justice for her parents.
Matt Haig painted a clear picture of a very possible future where AIs come to be common and how it affects humans as well as the treatment of said AI's. I enjoyed all the futurist tech and imaginings and the fact that he makes us contemplate what makes one human, an individual and what rights do/will AIs have and just the thought of "should" we even have such technology?
marie_marie101's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
sarahrara's review against another edition
4.0
Also published on my blog.
Audible version, narrated by Jane Collingwood and Thomas Judd.
This story is set in an imagined not too distant future, in the year 2115. A lot of scientific advancements have been made, including ECHOs. ECHO stands for Enhanced Computerised Humanoid Organism, and they’re essentially very advanced androids. They look human, they are built from flesh and blood, but they also have an operating system. They are stronger and faster than humans, they have no emotions and no capacity for critical thought or curiosity – at least they’re not supposed to. They are basically designed to be slaves.
Audrey Castle is a teenage girl who lives in a relatively low-tech environment for the time, with her parents. Her father is very critical of all the technological advancements that have been made, and cautions his family as well as the world at large against implicitly trusting technology. He’s also adamantly against the resurrection zone – which is a sort of zoo with de-extinct species, including Neanderthals. This has caused some tension in the family as his brother, Alex Castle, is the owner of Europe’s leading tech company and also the man behind the resurrection zone.
One day Audrey emerges from her pod after class and finds her parents murdered (this is not a spoiler, it’s one of the first things mentioned in the book). She flees and is rescued by her uncle. In Alex Castle’s house Audrey quickly gets the feeling that something is not quite right, and she meets an unusual ECHO boy, Daniel, who frightens her with his intensity.
I won’t say more on the plot as I don’t want to spoil it, but suffice it to say that Audrey tries to get to the bottom of what happened with her parents, and things escalate.
I really enjoyed this and it sucked me right in. The world building was great and I could easily envision the world being described. It’s sort of believable even, though I personally take a less cynical view of mankind. In addition to an exciting and fast-paced story, the book also raises some interesting moral questions about what defines us as humans.
I did think that the plot was very obvious though, and it annoyed me how long it took for Audrey to catch on. And while it does ask interesting questions I found it on the whole a little simplistic. A lot of “maybe being human is just xyz”, “maybe love just means xyz” and similar “deep thoughts”. I know it’s YA but I think teenagers are intelligent enough to be interested in delving a little deeper into questions of morality and humanity.
I also expected more from the ending. It’s hard to say in what way without giving anything away, but lets say that it didn’t fulfil the expectation that it would be about broader themes rather than individual characters.
Haig is definitely a good writer though and this was an engaging story that had me hooked, and I would recommend it particularly to YA and sci-fi fans. I just feel like it could have been more.
Audible version, narrated by Jane Collingwood and Thomas Judd.
This story is set in an imagined not too distant future, in the year 2115. A lot of scientific advancements have been made, including ECHOs. ECHO stands for Enhanced Computerised Humanoid Organism, and they’re essentially very advanced androids. They look human, they are built from flesh and blood, but they also have an operating system. They are stronger and faster than humans, they have no emotions and no capacity for critical thought or curiosity – at least they’re not supposed to. They are basically designed to be slaves.
Audrey Castle is a teenage girl who lives in a relatively low-tech environment for the time, with her parents. Her father is very critical of all the technological advancements that have been made, and cautions his family as well as the world at large against implicitly trusting technology. He’s also adamantly against the resurrection zone – which is a sort of zoo with de-extinct species, including Neanderthals. This has caused some tension in the family as his brother, Alex Castle, is the owner of Europe’s leading tech company and also the man behind the resurrection zone.
One day Audrey emerges from her pod after class and finds her parents murdered (this is not a spoiler, it’s one of the first things mentioned in the book). She flees and is rescued by her uncle. In Alex Castle’s house Audrey quickly gets the feeling that something is not quite right, and she meets an unusual ECHO boy, Daniel, who frightens her with his intensity.
I won’t say more on the plot as I don’t want to spoil it, but suffice it to say that Audrey tries to get to the bottom of what happened with her parents, and things escalate.
I really enjoyed this and it sucked me right in. The world building was great and I could easily envision the world being described. It’s sort of believable even, though I personally take a less cynical view of mankind. In addition to an exciting and fast-paced story, the book also raises some interesting moral questions about what defines us as humans.
I did think that the plot was very obvious though, and it annoyed me how long it took for Audrey to catch on. And while it does ask interesting questions I found it on the whole a little simplistic. A lot of “maybe being human is just xyz”, “maybe love just means xyz” and similar “deep thoughts”. I know it’s YA but I think teenagers are intelligent enough to be interested in delving a little deeper into questions of morality and humanity.
I also expected more from the ending. It’s hard to say in what way without giving anything away, but lets say that it didn’t fulfil the expectation that it would be about broader themes rather than individual characters.
Haig is definitely a good writer though and this was an engaging story that had me hooked, and I would recommend it particularly to YA and sci-fi fans. I just feel like it could have been more.