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localqueerlibrarian's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sunnybopeep's review
2.5
I never want to read another description of a hyper-specific shade of blue eyes ever again. I am SICK AND TIRED of blue eyes.
Bro: This part started off strong. I really liked the discovery of the ice, with its weird extraterrestrial mysticism. It started losing me around the point when WWII was gearing up to break out. By the end, I felt like everything was so pointlessly repetitive.
Ice: This part honestly SUCKED. I don’t think there was a single moment that I enjoyed. It was just miserable people doing the same things over and over in a more contemporary setting from the events of Bro.
23,000: This was by far the most interesting part, and reading through it was a breeze because the plot was really plotting. I read it in a single sitting! The characters were consistent (with a bit more character development than in the previous parts), lots of secrets were unraveled, and it was full of action! Unfortunately, it was tainted by the foul racist vibes. Like, it was SO RACIST. Everything from slurs to chinky eyes to eating cats to warmed up toilet seats to schoolgirl fetishes. Even our “heroes” were unbearably racist. Also, it is clear that Sorokin has never had a Japanese woman (if you can even call a 10th grader a “woman”). They don’t shave their pubes.
Content Warnings
This book will make u hate blue eyes.
t0nym3atballs's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
2.0
I waited so long for this book to get good. All reviews said the last third got better but this whole book just wasn’t interesting.
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
I read the first book, and I just wasn't impressed. It wasn't bad, exactly. Sorokin came up with an interesting way to parody the communist revolution, but while it was interesting the first time, he just kept doing the same thing over and over again. It was alright, and then I started the second book, which was significantly less audacious and a bit less streamlined, and I just lost faith in the project.
kiri_johnston's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
2.5
chamblyman's review
5.0
Whoa. Not for everyone. But definitely for me! Relates the epic destructiveness of human culture in the 20th century to our drive towards transcendence (be that religious or scientific/technological). It asks the reader to try to understand the viewpoint of essentially in-human beings, and an order to the universe that may not ideally include people. Tough stuff, but utterly fascinating and grandly entertaining to those that have a dark, philosophical bent.
funcharge's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: Violence
mishnah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
samypants35's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
It's a wild ride. The books in the series are not in the order of being published. I think that meant there was some retconning and overexplanation in the first book . That said, despite the lack of diversity and the graphic sex scenes (just not a fan) there was a lot of really cool and complex ideas in the book. I'll say that I wasn't even sure who I was rooting for even by the end.
cruelspirit's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
The year of reading Sorokin continues. When I read Day of the Oprichnik in January I wasn't blown away but I was still intrigued as to what else Sorokin had to offer. While I definitely think I would have appreciated Day of the Oprichnik more if I had waited a month and read it after February 24, 2022 I did sense there was more to Sorokin that what just what one, sub 200 page, story had to offer, and I was right.
Going in the opposite direction, I decided to read Ice Trilogy next. This is mainly due to its availability. I hadn't really heard much about this book going into it, which helped with my enjoyment of it. Ice Trilogy is a three book sci fi series with a large scope in mind. This book shifts genre, style, and perspective rapidly; if you don't look closely you can get left behind, wondering what happened. I wasn't expecting this but it was one of the more enjoyable parts of this book.
Bro, book one of Ice Trilogy, starts as a classic russian tale about the end of the Russian Empire and the revolution. I think this is a great way to start a book like this. Many people are familiar with this point in history and other Russian books that utilize this setting. This offers a good starting point for readers before they are too deep in the ideas of Sorokin. Soon after, the book shifts to Socialist Realism as we are now into the 1920s and 1930s and the Soviet Union has been established. This genre might not be as familiar to western audiences but it is a more traditional one that still has you in a familiar place.
This is pretty much book one. During the plot we are given lots of information about the Children of Light, Ice, and their goals going forward. This book was actually written second but I can't imagine enjoying this trilogy reading this after Ice; as I would think you'd be too lost in what is happening during Ice to really understanding the importance of what is going on. I found Bro to be the weakest of the three books. The information you get from it is important for appreciating the other two but it was the slowest and most repetitive of the books. Most of the negative reviews I've seen of this book are from people who never finished the trilogy and I can see this being a roadblock for many people.
Ice, book two, might be the strongest of the three. That being said, I don't think any of these books really stand strong on their own. Ice shifts to the early 2000s. The gritty lives of those living in metropolitan Moscow are a stark contrast from the sprawling narrative of mid 20th Century in Bro. I found that this is really where the pace picked up for the rest of the trilogy and once is sped up it didn't slow down. In this book you get elements of cyberpunk as well as more occult and spiritualism. The end of this book has a very strong Phillip K Dick feeling to it that was quite enjoyable.
The third book, 23,000, moves at an even faster pace. This book focuses on more of an action thriller story. There's a lot of international espionage, mystery solving, parts that feel very in line with other stories of the 2000s; almost like a Tom Clancy novel at times. Towards the end you get into the prison break genre as well as more of the occultism that we've been following throughout.
While reading this I was often reminded of The Illuminatus Trilogy! with it's blending of the surreal and conspiratorial with our real world. This genre hopping is a really fun experience and one that I think Sorokin succeeds at more than he fails but I will say it didn't fully satisfy me. There are plenty of sections I wish were further embelished and others that were heavily repetitive or dull. This made for a very inconsistent reading experience as a whole.
The last 100 pages move very fast; I'd argue more happens here than most of the rest of the trilogy. At times it feels like Sorokin is rushing to get everything in. It's not a complete mess but I felt more could have been expanded on at this point. Considering I had just finished reading nearly 700 pages I think the way Sorokin tied up the mystery and plot of the entire trilogy could have offered more.
Overall, I liked this much more than Day of the Oprichnik. Unlike Day of the Oprichnik, I didn't feel like my understanding of Russian culture and history was lacking. Maybe this just fit more into what I was familiar with but I think anyone with an undertanding of Russian history of the 20th Century could easily understand the world Sorokin creates. There are lots of comments Sorokin makes on Russian culture but this book is more about human culture than Russian culture. While not a favorite of mine, I am impressed with what Sorokin did achieve here and I'm still excited for the next book of his I read.
Going in the opposite direction, I decided to read Ice Trilogy next. This is mainly due to its availability. I hadn't really heard much about this book going into it, which helped with my enjoyment of it. Ice Trilogy is a three book sci fi series with a large scope in mind. This book shifts genre, style, and perspective rapidly; if you don't look closely you can get left behind, wondering what happened. I wasn't expecting this but it was one of the more enjoyable parts of this book.
Bro, book one of Ice Trilogy, starts as a classic russian tale about the end of the Russian Empire and the revolution. I think this is a great way to start a book like this. Many people are familiar with this point in history and other Russian books that utilize this setting. This offers a good starting point for readers before they are too deep in the ideas of Sorokin. Soon after, the book shifts to Socialist Realism as we are now into the 1920s and 1930s and the Soviet Union has been established. This genre might not be as familiar to western audiences but it is a more traditional one that still has you in a familiar place.
This is pretty much book one. During the plot we are given lots of information about the Children of Light, Ice, and their goals going forward. This book was actually written second but I can't imagine enjoying this trilogy reading this after Ice; as I would think you'd be too lost in what is happening during Ice to really understanding the importance of what is going on. I found Bro to be the weakest of the three books. The information you get from it is important for appreciating the other two but it was the slowest and most repetitive of the books. Most of the negative reviews I've seen of this book are from people who never finished the trilogy and I can see this being a roadblock for many people.
Ice, book two, might be the strongest of the three. That being said, I don't think any of these books really stand strong on their own. Ice shifts to the early 2000s. The gritty lives of those living in metropolitan Moscow are a stark contrast from the sprawling narrative of mid 20th Century in Bro. I found that this is really where the pace picked up for the rest of the trilogy and once is sped up it didn't slow down. In this book you get elements of cyberpunk as well as more occult and spiritualism. The end of this book has a very strong Phillip K Dick feeling to it that was quite enjoyable.
The third book, 23,000, moves at an even faster pace. This book focuses on more of an action thriller story. There's a lot of international espionage, mystery solving, parts that feel very in line with other stories of the 2000s; almost like a Tom Clancy novel at times. Towards the end you get into the prison break genre as well as more of the occultism that we've been following throughout.
While reading this I was often reminded of The Illuminatus Trilogy! with it's blending of the surreal and conspiratorial with our real world. This genre hopping is a really fun experience and one that I think Sorokin succeeds at more than he fails but I will say it didn't fully satisfy me. There are plenty of sections I wish were further embelished and others that were heavily repetitive or dull. This made for a very inconsistent reading experience as a whole.
The last 100 pages move very fast; I'd argue more happens here than most of the rest of the trilogy. At times it feels like Sorokin is rushing to get everything in. It's not a complete mess but I felt more could have been expanded on at this point. Considering I had just finished reading nearly 700 pages I think the way Sorokin tied up the mystery and plot of the entire trilogy could have offered more.
Overall, I liked this much more than Day of the Oprichnik. Unlike Day of the Oprichnik, I didn't feel like my understanding of Russian culture and history was lacking. Maybe this just fit more into what I was familiar with but I think anyone with an undertanding of Russian history of the 20th Century could easily understand the world Sorokin creates. There are lots of comments Sorokin makes on Russian culture but this book is more about human culture than Russian culture. While not a favorite of mine, I am impressed with what Sorokin did achieve here and I'm still excited for the next book of his I read.