Reviews

I finished this book in one sitting. That was not my intention, but it grabbed me from page one and I simply could not put it down. I went into this fairly blind and think everyone should, so I am not going to discuss the plot, rather the writing and construction, both of which were genius.

Bazterrica drops us into a very unfamiliar world. People do things that most of us would never even consider, and while it seems the norm, it's also made clear that our MC has reservations, angst and some guilt about what the world has come to accept. I admit that the first 20 or so pages I couldn't buy into the concept. There are definitely other options, but when I thought about the world's governments response to Covid, and the populations reaction... it felt a bit more believable. As Bazterrica dropped clues that my theory could be correct I felt quite a bit of sadness. Sadness that what had seemed at first glance to be completely ridiculous and out of the question, slowly became more likely and believable. You have only to look at the religious zealots in our own country and their involvement in current affairs to see how plausible it all is.

Bazterrica did a beautiful job of lulling me into sympathizing with the MC. Page one I thought that could not happen, but a few pages from the end and I realized how invested and emotional I had become. Then... wham! She made me hate that motherhumper in less than four paragraphs!

Absolutely amazing idea, executed with such skill that this should be required reading for some.

abiofpellinor's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

seabroom's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

binzpr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

alwaysneedher's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

turnip28's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ahahhaha what did i just read
the ending was shocking and certainly thought provoking, although if you remove the brutality and the goriness the book doesn't have much substance

i especially loved how the book tricked us into believing our main character was this heroic being compared to the other horrible characters, and at the end pull a painful 180 where he was indeed utilizing jasmine, proving that he is "one of them", or maybe even the worst of them, with a good dose of hypocrisy

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