jakobitz's review against another edition
5.0
Think Blade Runner meets Money Ball… and Deckard’s a baseball scout for a pharmaceutical company. The Body Scout, a cyberpunk detective noir, is beautifully written, full of interesting characters and clever world-building. The story reads like a noir mystery, but the strength of the novel lies in the journey you take through this near future world, and less on solving a mystery (although that was well executed as well). Maybe it’s just a case of reading the right book at the right time, but this was a fun smart sci-fi read that was truly enjoyable (and if you are an audiobook reader, the performance was excellent and enhanced the story).
cyberbb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
mariposaazul21's review against another edition
3.0
There are two ways to judge this story. The first is simply as a novel. Seen through this lens, I would say it was good not great. The world building didn't do a lot for me. It felt a lot like a cyber punk Harry Potter. The main character was not particularly like able but not overly unlikable. Overall the as a story it was just *meh*.
The second way is as an indictment of modern politics, technology and finance. In this aspect, I found the treatment to be a bit ham fisted. This lens too was simply *meh*.
In summary, I don't regret having read this but I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
The second way is as an indictment of modern politics, technology and finance. In this aspect, I found the treatment to be a bit ham fisted. This lens too was simply *meh*.
In summary, I don't regret having read this but I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
jeremyanderberg's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun ride! Baseball, murder mystery, organ transplants and body upgrades — what a unique combination of subjects. The characters were done well enough but not terribly memorable; it's the storyline itself — which got better as the book went on — that brought it up from a 3.5 to a 4 for me.
jaydoncornell's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There were so many great ideas in this book but I felt the author was trying too hard, trying to include every single thing he could think of to add to the world building or plot but without really adding any depth. It seemed superficial and like he was checking off a list of what sounded good.
It was hard to like any of the characters; the main character wasn’t particularly sympathetic and other important characters seemed likable up until they really weren’t. The only really sympathetic character was Lila and she wasn’t fully developed.
The whole feeling was of smarminess. I know this was intentional but it didn’t make it enjoyable. I’m very liberal but this was just too strong an analogy of how the white conservatives are stifling and crushing anything non-white and non-conservative. More subtlety would have been more effective.
I found the issue of cloning better developed in Richard K Morgan’s book Altered Carbon, and body swapping more creatively shown in Kathryn Bigelow’s movie Strange Days. As I said, lots of good ideas here but I didn’t care for the presentation.
It was hard to like any of the characters; the main character wasn’t particularly sympathetic and other important characters seemed likable up until they really weren’t. The only really sympathetic character was Lila and she wasn’t fully developed.
The whole feeling was of smarminess. I know this was intentional but it didn’t make it enjoyable. I’m very liberal but this was just too strong an analogy of how the white conservatives are stifling and crushing anything non-white and non-conservative. More subtlety would have been more effective.
I found the issue of cloning better developed in Richard K Morgan’s book Altered Carbon, and body swapping more creatively shown in Kathryn Bigelow’s movie Strange Days. As I said, lots of good ideas here but I didn’t care for the presentation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, Body horror, and Classism
rlrichards's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.25
This book was a ride. The world building was so interesting and tone setting. It felt like there were so much hidden behind every tiny detail. I got just enough to be fascinated and not so much as to be overwhelmed or to see the seams. The mystery itself was relatively interesting but the characters and world were what kept me reading.
bamabooknerd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0