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justwanna2read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition
2.75
Read Completed 3/16/24 | 2.75 stars
When I saw the description for this book, I immediately jumped on it and wondered why I hadn't seen it talked about before now. Black Mirror meets Ready Player One!? How was this not buzzier? But eventually, I knew why.
Look, this wasn't a bad book. It was entertaining, but it lost some steam at the end for me. The synopsis did deliver, but it was the tone that I didn't connect with. Maybe it would have been better as a physical book and not with a higher-pitched female audiobook narrator because it just had this tone of being lighter and sillier than I thought it was going to be. It was still plenty dark (I mean, hello, murder Disneyland...) but it just felt a little campier and not as gritty and dark as I was hoping it would be.
I liked the characters and the found family they gathered from each other. There was a fun V.E. Schwab book/name drop that had absolutely nothing to do with this book whatsoever but I appreciated the author's taste 😅
Overall, I just really lost steam with this story. Things started to get weirder and even more campy, taking some weird turns where I think I just wanted the story to be more grounded and focusing more on some nitty gritty plot. It just never really got under my skin like I wanted it to, but it was fast, easy to read, and still entertained me. I checked out a little at the end so I didn't rate it as high as three stars, but I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it.
When I saw the description for this book, I immediately jumped on it and wondered why I hadn't seen it talked about before now. Black Mirror meets Ready Player One!? How was this not buzzier? But eventually, I knew why.
Look, this wasn't a bad book. It was entertaining, but it lost some steam at the end for me. The synopsis did deliver, but it was the tone that I didn't connect with. Maybe it would have been better as a physical book and not with a higher-pitched female audiobook narrator because it just had this tone of being lighter and sillier than I thought it was going to be. It was still plenty dark (I mean, hello, murder Disneyland...) but it just felt a little campier and not as gritty and dark as I was hoping it would be.
I liked the characters and the found family they gathered from each other. There was a fun V.E. Schwab book/name drop that had absolutely nothing to do with this book whatsoever but I appreciated the author's taste 😅
Overall, I just really lost steam with this story. Things started to get weirder and even more campy, taking some weird turns where I think I just wanted the story to be more grounded and focusing more on some nitty gritty plot. It just never really got under my skin like I wanted it to, but it was fast, easy to read, and still entertained me. I checked out a little at the end so I didn't rate it as high as three stars, but I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it.
abbuelita's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Likes: the world building, the main character, the detailed explanations into how all of the new technology works in this world, the underlying commentary on the morality of profiting off of a crime
Dislikes: some of the dialogue was cheesy and repetitive, some of the twists were kind of predictable, a few things were left unexplained, and there were several continuity errors related to timing towards the back half of the story that were irritating and hard to ignore
3.5 stars and extra points for the well-thought out details of how this world works. This book was different from what I was expecting it to be but I think it mostly does what it sets out to do. A bit scary because it feels like our world is not too far off from being a lot like how this world is portrayed in the book.
Dislikes: some of the dialogue was cheesy and repetitive, some of the twists were kind of predictable, a few things were left unexplained, and there were several continuity errors related to timing towards the back half of the story that were irritating and hard to ignore
3.5 stars and extra points for the well-thought out details of how this world works. This book was different from what I was expecting it to be but I think it mostly does what it sets out to do. A bit scary because it feels like our world is not too far off from being a lot like how this world is portrayed in the book.
encgolsen's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
The concept here was promising: a near future where most of life takes place in virtual reality, personal data is just another commodity, and true crime simulations are a profit-making machine. Unfortunately, clunky dialogue, unnecessary repetition and a few distracting continuity errors made it hard to enjoy the plot. A lot of the novel felt like exposition--a subtler approach might have made for a more engaging read.
dreamingofbookpages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
thebstandsforbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A dystopian sci fi thriller with a cult and faux true crime?! Um yes, absolutely.
I don’t even know how to explain this book. Jump in blind and enjoy. This is a fun one!
I don’t even know how to explain this book. Jump in blind and enjoy. This is a fun one!
clawzzz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.0
meebo's review against another edition
3.0
I’m unsure what to rate this yet. I really enjoyed the world, I enjoyed the story. I’m unsure about the ending.
Edit: I still really like the world, and I think this was a decent book. I’m going with 3⭐️ because it was good, I enjoyed it, but I probably won’t think about it much more after this. I also wish the ending was better and didn’t try to have an outrageous “gotcha” twist at the end if that makes sense.
10/100
Edit: I still really like the world, and I think this was a decent book. I’m going with 3⭐️ because it was good, I enjoyed it, but I probably won’t think about it much more after this. I also wish the ending was better and didn’t try to have an outrageous “gotcha” twist at the end if that makes sense.
10/100
slbaker1107's review against another edition
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Earlier this week, I finally got around to listening to Jason Pinter’s newest novel: Past Crimes.
In a world so consumed by true crime and the virtual world comes Cassie West, a crime licensor for one such agency making money from past crimes. When her world is rocked and she is connected to a horrible crime it also comes with her becomes a target herself. Trying to survive, Cassie works to discover and unveil the truth in a race against time.
“Action-packed, satirical and beyond compelling, Past Crimes examines our obsession with true crime and how the pain of others has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, while also exploring the sinister possibilities of the virtual world.”
-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
I received this audiobook in advance of the initial publication release.
As someone who was SUPER into sci-fi growing up and is just getting back into it, this was a great read. There was character development, a solid plot, and a fast pace. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in an easy sci-fi read and wants a storyline that is semi realistic.
+ Found Family
+ Fast Pace
+ Low Barrier to Entry for Understanding
+ Easy listen, some thought required but not a lot
- Political commentary was strong
- Room for greater character development on “bad guy”
- Big moment was pretty predictable
- Seemed to leave off with room for more…not sure if there is a second but could be good.
“There weren’t enough 1s and 0s to replicate what was in front of them.”
Happy reading!
In a world so consumed by true crime and the virtual world comes Cassie West, a crime licensor for one such agency making money from past crimes. When her world is rocked and she is connected to a horrible crime it also comes with her becomes a target herself. Trying to survive, Cassie works to discover and unveil the truth in a race against time.
“Action-packed, satirical and beyond compelling, Past Crimes examines our obsession with true crime and how the pain of others has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, while also exploring the sinister possibilities of the virtual world.”
-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
I received this audiobook in advance of the initial publication release.
As someone who was SUPER into sci-fi growing up and is just getting back into it, this was a great read. There was character development, a solid plot, and a fast pace. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in an easy sci-fi read and wants a storyline that is semi realistic.
+ Found Family
+ Fast Pace
+ Low Barrier to Entry for Understanding
+ Easy listen, some thought required but not a lot
- Political commentary was strong
- Room for greater character development on “bad guy”
- Big moment was pretty predictable
- Seemed to leave off with room for more…not sure if there is a second but could be good.
“There weren’t enough 1s and 0s to replicate what was in front of them.”
Happy reading!
barksbeachesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0