alliebookworm's review
3.0
I love the premise, and I love the snark. Some truly clever turns of phrase are littered throughout the book. However, sometimes there was too much snark, even for me (and I’m full of snark myself). It’s a bit on the nose to have a sidekick in a book who is a mental patient for believing he is a character in a book. Also, this book is long. It’s fun, but it is long.
usbsticky's review
2.0
2 stars = it was ok. This is a neutral rating from me.
526 pages. This is very wordy, too wordy. I got a few chuckles out of it but I think the writer could have chopped off 100+ pages to make it a much better book. The author took something that could have been written in a sentence, made it into a paragraph and repeated that throughout the book.
I don't often choose books of this type to read so maybe it just wasn't my thing. I give it a neutral rating because though others might enjoy it but it was too lengthy for me.
I got this book as a free ARC.
526 pages. This is very wordy, too wordy. I got a few chuckles out of it but I think the writer could have chopped off 100+ pages to make it a much better book. The author took something that could have been written in a sentence, made it into a paragraph and repeated that throughout the book.
I don't often choose books of this type to read so maybe it just wasn't my thing. I give it a neutral rating because though others might enjoy it but it was too lengthy for me.
I got this book as a free ARC.
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
ashleylm's review against another edition
2.0
Don't let my two stars detain you. This was simply not for me. Others seem to have enjoyed it. I'm told it's a funny book, but I did not find it so, and since it was unlike to pay off in other respects (a thrilling page-turner, a deeply-moving character study, etc.) I stopped reading.
What especially turned me off, though, was the sheer illogicality of it. In a fantasy, one has to be Very Logical (somewhat paradoxically) or you lose readers like me, in droves. If the world into which Ian was re-born believed former lives were a delusion, then why refer to the delusion as "memory?" At one point the matron suggests that his belief in a prior body is silly since where did his new body come from then? (I would suggest, like all bodies, from the river that purportedly creates them for the first time).
And who cares what one's belief about prior-to-the-river is? It makes no difference now. In our world, whether you think your soul is new, or re-incarnated, or isn't a thing and doesn't exist, we don't lock you up one way or the other, and it makes little difference to living our lives.
So, that irked. And if I'm irked, and not laughing at supposedly humorous books, I stop. I got more giggles out of Jane Austen's Sanditon. (And that's not a dig--it's hilarious--and Beforelife wasn't).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
What especially turned me off, though, was the sheer illogicality of it. In a fantasy, one has to be Very Logical (somewhat paradoxically) or you lose readers like me, in droves. If the world into which Ian was re-born believed former lives were a delusion, then why refer to the delusion as "memory?" At one point the matron suggests that his belief in a prior body is silly since where did his new body come from then? (I would suggest, like all bodies, from the river that purportedly creates them for the first time).
And who cares what one's belief about prior-to-the-river is? It makes no difference now. In our world, whether you think your soul is new, or re-incarnated, or isn't a thing and doesn't exist, we don't lock you up one way or the other, and it makes little difference to living our lives.
So, that irked. And if I'm irked, and not laughing at supposedly humorous books, I stop. I got more giggles out of Jane Austen's Sanditon. (And that's not a dig--it's hilarious--and Beforelife wasn't).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
swalk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
alhalpern's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
tessakath's review
2.0
This author MUST have been being paid by the word, there’s no other justification for this writing style
kaypat23's review
I couldn't really stand the writing style. The author uses 10 words when there should have been 6. Spends a lot of time trying to be meta and witty but the humour in this book wasn't to my taste.
bmahaffy's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
madhurirm23's review
4.0
I listened to the audiobook and absolutely enjoyed it! There are quirky characters, a creative plot, the crazy “Detroit” city/universe and its rules and many witty dialogues.
My favourite character is the hilarious Rhinnick Feynman, and I looked forward to his parts in the story.
It was so great to see that he is finally getting to be the “Hero” in second book. :D