talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Suicide, Alcohol, Transphobia, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Possession, overriding of bodily autonomy.darthbingus's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sashkello's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the start, enjoyed the middle, got completely let down by the final act.
The book feels split in three parts which have very little to do with each other. The world which the author is building in the first part is interesting and intriguing, but instead of going gradually deeper and understanding more about it the second act switches to mostly chase scenes and action. Then the action suddenly stops and we are introduced to a completely new part of the world and suddenly... spirits and magic, and a plethora of new characters. I felt like the author started to build a new world when the book should have already be in its final chapters, and it felt undercooked. A slow-burning 200-page deus-ex-machina, culminating in completely nonsensical ending.
Last 1/3 of the book just completely broke my belief in the story... There are 4-5 characters which are briefly mentioned throughout the novel, and some of them have literally one paragraph worth of interactions with the hero. And it makes sense - she/he's a loner and spend most of the time by themselves. But why on earth then towards the end they all turn out to be so extremely important to them, like they are best friends with long history? It just comes out of nowhere - "oh, yes, this guy who was mentioned once on page 32, we go way back together, can't stop thinking about him, and that other woman who you probably forgot about completely, now I want to risk my life for her, it's not worth living without her anyway" and stuff like that.
Eh, it's not a horrible book, and I can see why some might enjoy it, but it wasn't worth the time. Should have finished with the first show-off with the main baddie and be done with it.
The book feels split in three parts which have very little to do with each other. The world which the author is building in the first part is interesting and intriguing, but instead of going gradually deeper and understanding more about it the second act switches to mostly chase scenes and action. Then the action suddenly stops and we are introduced to a completely new part of the world and suddenly... spirits and magic, and a plethora of new characters. I felt like the author started to build a new world when the book should have already be in its final chapters, and it felt undercooked. A slow-burning 200-page deus-ex-machina, culminating in completely nonsensical ending.
Last 1/3 of the book just completely broke my belief in the story... There are 4-5 characters which are briefly mentioned throughout the novel, and some of them have literally one paragraph worth of interactions with the hero. And it makes sense - she/he's a loner and spend most of the time by themselves. But why on earth then towards the end they all turn out to be so extremely important to them, like they are best friends with long history? It just comes out of nowhere - "oh, yes, this guy who was mentioned once on page 32, we go way back together, can't stop thinking about him, and that other woman who you probably forgot about completely, now I want to risk my life for her, it's not worth living without her anyway" and stuff like that.
Eh, it's not a horrible book, and I can see why some might enjoy it, but it wasn't worth the time. Should have finished with the first show-off with the main baddie and be done with it.
eoghann's review against another edition
4.0
A challenging blend of science fiction and fantasy with a unique protagonist. It took me a while to get into the story, which is why it took me so long to read. But once I gave it a chance, the characters and the problems they faced really gripped me.
In many ways this is your classic post-apocalyptic setting, although the author is careful not to fully explain the details of the disaster, but the story is not about survival. Humanity has already gotten past that point. I'm reluctant to say too much more about the book, because it would ruin several key plot twists.
Well worth a read though.
In many ways this is your classic post-apocalyptic setting, although the author is careful not to fully explain the details of the disaster, but the story is not about survival. Humanity has already gotten past that point. I'm reluctant to say too much more about the book, because it would ruin several key plot twists.
Well worth a read though.
astorreinhardt's review against another edition
2.0
Great concept but what a slog to get through. The writing is extremely vague and confusing. It's like stuff trails off and new things start without being explained.
I wanted to like this book because of the concept but the writing was so poor that I ended up hating this book.
I wanted to like this book because of the concept but the writing was so poor that I ended up hating this book.
object_object's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
mar's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
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
literally i love this strange little book. the lovely, often gut-wrenching prose, the hard-hitting themes of identity and trauma and bodily autonomy, the uniquely bizarre worldbuilding that combines post-apocalyptic cyberpunk and urban fantasy, and the incredibly lovable intersex&nonbinary (at least that's how i think i'd describe Sparrow in modern terminology) protagonist make for SUCH a captivating read.
it's definitely imperfect - for one thing, it does conflate sex&gender, as older books by cis people tend to (though it still gave me plenty Big Trans Feelings); from a more technical standpoint, it's got some seriously rough pacing and a deux-ex-machina problem; also, i feel like it should be noted this is a novel by a white author that heavily features hoodoo mysticism, and i don't know enough about it to tell if it's represented accurately/respectfully.
honestly, though, the flaws are completely overshadowed by just how enamoured i was with the prose and the main character in particular. i am wrapping Sparrow in a blanket and making them tea ❤️
it's definitely imperfect - for one thing, it does conflate sex&gender, as older books by cis people tend to (though it still gave me plenty Big Trans Feelings); from a more technical standpoint, it's got some seriously rough pacing and a deux-ex-machina problem; also, i feel like it should be noted this is a novel by a white author that heavily features hoodoo mysticism, and i don't know enough about it to tell if it's represented accurately/respectfully.
honestly, though, the flaws are completely overshadowed by just how enamoured i was with the prose and the main character in particular. i am wrapping Sparrow in a blanket and making them tea ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism and Homophobia
megapolisomancy's review against another edition
3.0
A neo-noir post-cyberpunk faux-apocalyptic urban fantasy. The first two kind of go hand in hand but the latter two... let's just say that I, as a sucker for post-apocalyptic nonsense and a... whatever the opposite of a sucker is for urban fantasy, find myself pretty indifferent to this book.
Why "faux-apocalyptic?" We are reminded over and over again that this takes place about 50 years after "the Bang" destroyed civilization in the Western hemisphere, and yet everything seems to play out exactly like in all the other delightfully outdated cyberpunk novels from the period, only without cyberspace. You know what I mean: the protagonist's social circle exists on the edges and in the frayed cracks of the city, thumbing their noses at The Establishment and throwing off-the-grid underground raves and repurposing artifacts and using crazy street lingo and what have you. I guess instead of cyberspace here we have voodoo as a metaphor for social systems, which is unfortunate (and, honestly, particularly uninteresting to me as fodder for a story by a white woman). Everyone seems to pretty much have what they need (and the characters are, I think, supposed to be part of the less privileged class?), there's a functioning government and even a border patrol between the US and Canada... the less things change, the more they stay the same.
This Bang was caused by the Horsemen, mind-controlling soldiers created by the US government for use in their war against the nations of South America. You might think that Bull would relate this somehow to the voodoo spirits/gods active in this world (deus ex machinas abound), but... she does not. The narrative here concerns a confluence of the surviving horsemen and the pawns they manipulate (who are also being manipulated by the voodoo spirits and who are, the protagonist especially, basically just a bunch of chumps), and something about a power monopoly in the City (Minneapolis), which isn't mentioned until about 2/3rds of the way through the book, and which doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything, frankly.
Also the much-lauded gender stuff here basically boils down to pronouns/semantics, which is cool I guess but not really thought-provoking or as deep as I expected.
Why "faux-apocalyptic?" We are reminded over and over again that this takes place about 50 years after "the Bang" destroyed civilization in the Western hemisphere, and yet everything seems to play out exactly like in all the other delightfully outdated cyberpunk novels from the period, only without cyberspace. You know what I mean: the protagonist's social circle exists on the edges and in the frayed cracks of the city, thumbing their noses at The Establishment and throwing off-the-grid underground raves and repurposing artifacts and using crazy street lingo and what have you. I guess instead of cyberspace here we have voodoo as a metaphor for social systems, which is unfortunate (and, honestly, particularly uninteresting to me as fodder for a story by a white woman). Everyone seems to pretty much have what they need (and the characters are, I think, supposed to be part of the less privileged class?), there's a functioning government and even a border patrol between the US and Canada... the less things change, the more they stay the same.
This Bang was caused by the Horsemen, mind-controlling soldiers created by the US government for use in their war against the nations of South America. You might think that Bull would relate this somehow to the voodoo spirits/gods active in this world (deus ex machinas abound), but... she does not. The narrative here concerns a confluence of the surviving horsemen and the pawns they manipulate (who are also being manipulated by the voodoo spirits and who are, the protagonist especially, basically just a bunch of chumps), and something about a power monopoly in the City (Minneapolis), which isn't mentioned until about 2/3rds of the way through the book, and which doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything, frankly.
Also the much-lauded gender stuff here basically boils down to pronouns/semantics, which is cool I guess but not really thought-provoking or as deep as I expected.
jshorton's review against another edition
3.0
I think I need to re-read this to grasp everything. Definitely not a good read for the airplane.
zannetastic's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. Amazing stuff. Read it years ago, and it's just... fabulous.