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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
fast-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
Jurassic Park injected with (d)20 cc’s of nerdiness and a whole lot of heart.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For fans of Dungeons & Dragons, Tolkien, King Arthur and everything fantasy. This book grabs your attention and runs with it through a world of wonder, magick, and a bit of danger. I haven't had this much fun trying to guess what was going to happen next in a long time!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Grief
Minor: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
A Westworld meets Jurassic Park fantasy is right up my alley and a dream premise and while this was a fun romp I think the premise ended up being better than the characters or plot could deliver.
Fun read. Vaughan takes the cosplay culture of the moment into a Jurassic Park-like entertainment complex where something has gone terribly wrong. The plot is fast-paced and the lead character is interesting and makes odd, but believable decisions. Sometimes, the writing is clunky and Vaughn skips ahead too fast sometimes, and in other places lingers too long. But an original, interesting read.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disappointing, frustrating, infuriating... Not at all what I expected.
As much as I would LOVE to visit a safe, working version of Insula Mirabilis, this was nothing like the adventure that would be.
I was hoping for a thrilling escape-room-D&D-island adventure story, and found far too much trauma, military, asshole billionaires, and gatekeeping gamers instead. I understand where the author was coming from, but Addie's narration and characterization pissed me off too - Her choices were not only ridiculous and put everyone in danger, but also baffling...
This book felt a bit like it was having an identity crisis, and I kept being taken out of the story - much like the way Addie could see the breaks in the illusions of the island.
Not impressed. I will, however, go to Vaughn's island if she makes one. (Years after it's been successfully opened, of course.)
As much as I would LOVE to visit a safe, working version of Insula Mirabilis, this was nothing like the adventure that would be.
I was hoping for a thrilling escape-room-D&D-island adventure story, and found far too much trauma, military, asshole billionaires, and gatekeeping gamers instead. I understand where the author was coming from, but Addie's narration and characterization pissed me off too - Her choices were not only ridiculous and put everyone in danger, but also baffling...
Spoiler
I mean WHY would you sleep with your creepy, obsessive, out-of-touch-with reality, DANGEROUS, condescending, arrogant, naive, EX-BOYFRIEND WHO TOOK OVER AN ISLAND AND GOT PEOPLE KILLED. What the actual fuck.This book felt a bit like it was having an identity crisis, and I kept being taken out of the story - much like the way Addie could see the breaks in the illusions of the island.
Not impressed. I will, however, go to Vaughn's island if she makes one. (Years after it's been successfully opened, of course.)
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
This is just one of those fun books that you breeze through with a smile on your face the whole time. Is it the best thing ever written? No, but that's not to say it's bad.
I grew up reading all the same books, playing all the same games (absolute bonus points for the mention of RoleMaster!), going to the ren fairs, etc., etc. The experience of reading this book was like wrapping yourself in your favorite blanket on a rainy day and painting minis. Or something like that. :)
I know this book won't be for everyone, but it was for me and that's enough.
This is just one of those fun books that you breeze through with a smile on your face the whole time. Is it the best thing ever written? No, but that's not to say it's bad.
I grew up reading all the same books, playing all the same games (absolute bonus points for the mention of RoleMaster!), going to the ren fairs, etc., etc. The experience of reading this book was like wrapping yourself in your favorite blanket on a rainy day and painting minis. Or something like that. :)
I know this book won't be for everyone, but it was for me and that's enough.
My book club was going to read this book, but one of them got started and asked if we could switch books. I read it anyway…
My mistake.
This book is dissatisfying and I recommend not reading it. Thumbs down. It could have been really good given the premise, but instead it got stuck in a really crappy space between sci-fi and fantasy. The plot felt rushed in places and overwhelmed by technology in others, only to end with next to no closure. All the characters were MASSIVELY underdeveloped, leaving the impression that they were all stuck in some sort of manic, drug-induced dream. Maybe that was intentional, but I think this book would have fared much better had the author spent more time developing the characters and had made a decision between focusing either more on reality or on fantasy- not straddling the two. As it stood, we had a professor of literature with PTSD reading more like a scared teenager. Topping that off, the protagonist’s view on her surroundings failed to contextualize the faux fantasy world in a way that was appealing to the reader.
In a way, the first line of the story could be re-written to be the thesis of this book: “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism by demonstrating its repercussions in an immersive fantasy world controlled by warring factions of corrupt individuals.” Or, more simply, “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism.”
Ugh.
My mistake.
This book is dissatisfying and I recommend not reading it. Thumbs down. It could have been really good given the premise, but instead it got stuck in a really crappy space between sci-fi and fantasy. The plot felt rushed in places and overwhelmed by technology in others, only to end with next to no closure. All the characters were MASSIVELY underdeveloped, leaving the impression that they were all stuck in some sort of manic, drug-induced dream. Maybe that was intentional, but I think this book would have fared much better had the author spent more time developing the characters and had made a decision between focusing either more on reality or on fantasy- not straddling the two. As it stood, we had a professor of literature with PTSD reading more like a scared teenager. Topping that off, the protagonist’s view on her surroundings failed to contextualize the faux fantasy world in a way that was appealing to the reader.
In a way, the first line of the story could be re-written to be the thesis of this book: “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism by demonstrating its repercussions in an immersive fantasy world controlled by warring factions of corrupt individuals.” Or, more simply, “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism.”
Ugh.