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goobdiddy's review
4.0
This was really hard to find, but worth the search, in my opinion. I really liked it. The setting of the book reminded me a lot of William Gibson's work, which helped to sell it for me. The central premise of the book (the polymorphing) was handled in a very interesting way, and the main character of the book was quite complex.
I would have liked to learn more of the back story on the big bad, since the end of the story came a bit quickly, but overall quite a good first novel.
I would have liked to learn more of the back story on the big bad, since the end of the story came a bit quickly, but overall quite a good first novel.
tani's review
3.0
Eh. You could kind of see the roots of the Uglies series in this, but it wasn't nearly as good. I didn't really care for the main character, and the ending was a bit of a turn-off, even though I probably should have expected it.
chandleratk's review
3.0
Scott Westerfeld is one of my all-time favorite authors, so I was very excited to finally get my hands on a copy of his first book. While the story is interesting, it leans too much into heavy descriptions which take you out of the reading. I also found the gender essentialism/transphobia pretty hard to swallow,
Also a heads up - theres quite a violent rape scene near the end that I was not prepared for.
Also a heads up - theres quite a violent rape scene near the end that I was not prepared for.
mjfmjfmjf's review
4.0
Scott Westerfeld's first book. And kind of a doozy. Definitely not ya. In your face sex and violence and a bit more obvious with gender fluidity. Dark. Cyberpunky. Not a lot of explanations. But cool world. And didn't fall into too many rat traps considering the age. I really wished he'd go back to adult sf at least every so often.
valhecka's review
4.0
TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR EVERYTHING: hamfisted handling of LGBT, gender, dis/ability, and race issues - I mean, you can see he's generally decent and has thought carefully about things for at least five minutes or so - probably a lot more, I am not giving him enough credit as I am writing this review at 3AM having just finished the book - but his overwhelming straight white dude-ness nevertheless manifests somewhat unpleasantly every so often. Also, sexual assault.
This book outshines everything else Westerfeld has written aside from maybe [b:Peeps|186103|Peeps (Peeps, #1)|Scott Westerfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327892877s/186103.jpg|1641139]. Dude should rock out with the cyberpunk/biopunk/horror/erotica thing a little more.
This book outshines everything else Westerfeld has written aside from maybe [b:Peeps|186103|Peeps (Peeps, #1)|Scott Westerfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327892877s/186103.jpg|1641139]. Dude should rock out with the cyberpunk/biopunk/horror/erotica thing a little more.
ephemerily's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I think probably this is a good book but just not for me.
It was too graphic for me right from the start, but I kept going because it was Scott Westerfeld and I've loved all his other books. The violence calmed down after a few chapters, and I enjoyed the story—I couldn't put it down. I also began to like Lee, the protagonist, as the story progressed—she became more human when she formed relationships with Freddie and Sam, and she was admirably endangering herself to save the lives of others.
Toward the end, whenLee terrorizes the opera writer and tells Freddie she was doing it to get them out of the building safely (which didn't make any sense), I started to dislike her again. She continued to be harsh and mean. I thought that maybe it was just poor writing, to have a character suddenly acting different. But then the ending came and I realized it did make sense, because Lee really is going to turn into a horrible monster. After scenes ten times as graphic as the initial ones (torture! mutilation! violence! rape!), the bad guy is finally defeated, and I breathed a sigh of relief, glad I only had one chapter to go, thinking it would be easy... and then I read the last page, in which it is revealed that Lee will terrorize Freddie and, I presumed, use her new-found power to do evil. I felt horrible.
I put the book down but couldn't stop thinking about it. It makes me feel ill each time I remember the ending. I can't decide if I should keep it on the shelf with all my other Westerfeld books, or pass it on so I never have to see it again. I felt kind of betrayed, but it's probably my fault because I wanted to read everything by Scott Westerfeld and hunted down this early book, which is out of print.
So I hated it, but I rated it as average because I thought the plot was satisfying, and also because I have trouble giving lower ratings. On the down side, there were hints of an interesting history and world, but never enough information to make it truly interesting—at first a hint might be enough, but by the end I was tired of the hints never developing into anything more substantial. I wondered if there was a complete world built behind the story or not. I think it is worth reading, but only if the violence will not upset you.
It was too graphic for me right from the start, but I kept going because it was Scott Westerfeld and I've loved all his other books. The violence calmed down after a few chapters, and I enjoyed the story—I couldn't put it down. I also began to like Lee, the protagonist, as the story progressed—she became more human when she formed relationships with Freddie and Sam, and she was admirably endangering herself to save the lives of others.
Toward the end, when
I put the book down but couldn't stop thinking about it. It makes me feel ill each time I remember the ending. I can't decide if I should keep it on the shelf with all my other Westerfeld books, or pass it on so I never have to see it again. I felt kind of betrayed, but it's probably my fault because I wanted to read everything by Scott Westerfeld and hunted down this early book, which is out of print.
So I hated it, but I rated it as average because I thought the plot was satisfying, and also because I have trouble giving lower ratings. On the down side, there were hints of an interesting history and world, but never enough information to make it truly interesting—at first a hint might be enough, but by the end I was tired of the hints never developing into anything more substantial. I wondered if there was a complete world built behind the story or not. I think it is worth reading, but only if the violence will not upset you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
lauraslibrarycard's review
1.0
Read this book because it was Westerfeld, but really didn't like it compared to his other works. There wasn't enough background information for me. I wanted to know more of the main character's life story (though I understand how he may be making a point of not giving her a backstory to emphasize her lack of identity and her feelings that identity aren't important).
I also wanted to understand better the setting; it seemed like it was a futuristic NYC, but what happened to get to that point and when in time is the story happening? These were questions that I think could have been answered in relatively little time/space that would have clarified more of what was going on for my personal edification.
This one just wasn't for me.
I also wanted to understand better the setting; it seemed like it was a futuristic NYC, but what happened to get to that point and when in time is the story happening? These were questions that I think could have been answered in relatively little time/space that would have clarified more of what was going on for my personal edification.
This one just wasn't for me.
chalicotherex's review
2.0
It’s a sci-fi novel about a slacker shapeshifter who only uses her/his power to find one night stands and commit welfare fraud. If I could shapeshift I think I’d be a little bit more inventive. Massive identity theft carried out against my enemies. At the very least, I’d rob a bank or something. Or slander famous people by turning into them and doing something awful. I don’t know. It sort of backs away from the implications of what it would be like to change gender and ethnicity at will. Also there was way too much cyberpunk in this novel, which is objectively the worst sci-fi subgenre.
katfeete's review
2.0
Clever, well-written, and imaginative... but the book lost me a bit, especially at the end. It seemed like it couldn't decide whether to be a fast-paced adventure or a gritty, depressingly noir bit of cyberpunk. I like both, but indecision is a turn-off.
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