A review by magdie
Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to dnf several times, the most at the worm prison. I finished it only because it was recommended and borrowed from a friend. Potential spoilers although nothing specific.
To me, the characters felt pretty flat, the plot either dragging or extremely rushed, the translation (Slovak) was pretty mediocre if not outright bad. I must admit this is not my usual genre but it's not like I can't enjoy a good apocalypse story. This one, however, was not quite it for me. At around the Great Worm time I got pretty bored by the Artom gets in trouble, almost dies but by plot armor or Deus-ex-machina-like device is saved by absolutely no effort or merit of his own. It felt like a lazy story structure. It also quite destroyed the attempt at tension since I knew that mc WILL survive and the others probably won't. The world building was pretty nice and interesting in global although in some places (mostly society) still didn't feel quite real. But I liked the contrast and tension between old and young characters and their outlook at the world that the author managed to create.
Also, probably just a pet peeve of mine, but where were all the women? If I remember correctly there were altogether 2 named female characters, both with maybe half a page of screentime (if that)....
But the ending was pretty good, really made for that Humans will destroy everything given the chance.
291, 332, 340
To me, the characters felt pretty flat, the plot either dragging or extremely rushed, the translation (Slovak) was pretty mediocre if not outright bad. I must admit this is not my usual genre but it's not like I can't enjoy a good apocalypse story. This one, however, was not quite it for me. At around the Great Worm time I got pretty bored by the Artom gets in trouble, almost dies but by plot armor or Deus-ex-machina-like device is saved by absolutely no effort or merit of his own. It felt like a lazy story structure. It also quite destroyed the attempt at tension since I knew that mc WILL survive and the others probably won't. The world building was pretty nice and interesting in global although in some places (mostly society) still didn't feel quite real. But I liked the contrast and tension between old and young characters and their outlook at the world that the author managed to create.
Also, probably just a pet peeve of mine, but where were all the women? If I remember correctly there were altogether 2 named female characters, both with maybe half a page of screentime (if that)....
But the ending was pretty good, really made for that Humans will destroy everything given the chance.
291, 332, 340
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, War, Gun violence, Murder, and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide