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3.5 AVERAGE


I'm not generally a fan of short stories, because I often feel that too much is left unsaid, or that I don't get enough time to understand the world or bond with the characters.

However, Veronica Roth did an amazing job with these 6 short stories. I felt deeply all of the emotions the characters felt and loved the complicated beauty of the situations they found themselves in.

These stories were thought-provoking and left you with just enough of a taste to keep you wanting more.
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: Yes
adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective fast-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: No

Excellent short stories in a dystopian future that each guild in human rights, interesting and quirk characters, love accomplishments and the purpose of life in these diverse stories
adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

my ratings for the individual stories:
Inertia 5/5
The Spinners 4/5
Hearken 3/5
Vim and Vigor 2/5
Armored Ones 3/5
The Transformationist 4/5
dark emotional reflective sad

I absolutely enjoyed my reading experience and read this collection of science fiction stories in one sitting. The writing style worked really well for me, and I immediately fell into an agreeable reading rhythm. I felt immersed through the entirety of my reading experience; my attention was captured from the first lines and didn't wane. I felt each of the short stories were compelling. I found the characters and the events of the story interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future. It's a new favorite, and I felt it was wonderful written. I would highly recommend it to other science fiction readers who enjoy reading collections of short stories [ That being said, I would be mindful of the heavy topics touched therein and I have included a content guide below. ].

Content Guide: self harm, severe depression, alcoholism, absent parent, grief, violence, abuse, parasitic being
adventurous emotional funny sad 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: Complicated

I liked it. Pretty interesting stories. Some would've been better fleshed out but the premises were unique.

It’s hard to rate a book based on short stories as some are better than others, so here’s my ratings for the individual stories.

Inertia 4/5
The Spinners 3/5
Hearken 5/5
Vim and Vigor 5/5
Armored Ones 2/5
The Transformationist 2/5

Inertia - 4
The Spinners - 1
Hearken - 5
Vim and Vigor - 2
Armored Ones - 3
The Transformationist - 4

Meh, not worth the read unless you want to read two obscure novellas from the Carve The Mark world. The problem with Veronica Roth is that she tries too hard to appease the woke police. Once she decides to just tell the story without tons of swearing and inserting her stereotypical moralizing at every turn, she writes a decent story. The other problem with these stories is that there is no coherent cohesive thread other than "future!" Most anthologies I enjoy reading have a common thread that is woven throughout the stories, whether it is an object or character, etc. The reader just gets intrigued by a world when they are abruptly pushed into a new story and new world. I liked the Divergent series and wish she would stop trying so hard and return to the way she wrote before.