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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
2.5 rounded up to 3. It was a good unique concept but it didn't meet my expectations. The second part of the book just fell apart. Some editing was needed for the overall story
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was better than I expected it to be when I started it! I love where it ended up and I loved the journey it took me on
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was super excited to read Followers. I love Black Mirror, loved The Truman Show, and enjoy dystopias in general as well as cautionary tales about technology. This seemed poised to be a huge favorite for the year.
I don’t want to say that I didn’t enjoy Followers, but I also can’t say that it was all that great. The beginning was promising and the two alternating time frames were intriguing because I wasn’t sure how they would connect. We had Marlow living in 2051 with her every move broadcasted to her followers and Orla in 2015 who was a struggling writer trying to make her mark on the world. We knew there was something called The Spill, the government controlled all of the internet in 2051, and that people who were addicted to social media on screens before the Spill often suffered a condition called the fog.
Even typing out my review, I feel like I should have enjoyed this more. It was so up my alley!
Despite the premise, I feel like it just fizzled out and never really went anywhere. The second Marlow escaped her world and tried to look up information and received the 404 Not Found error code, the story took a strange direction for me and didn’t really seem to deal with the issue of the society they lived in. Who caused The Spill? What is the fog? Why would the government allow people to live in complete privacy off the coast of the US? Can someone please just murder Floss?
I needed more from the book. It had so much potential to really hit hard like a Black Mirror episode, but it just felt like there wasn’t really a point to any of it when I was finished. It was obvious that social media influencers were being made a point of in the book, yet it still didn’t carry a message that seemed shocking or hard hitting. And if it was really a story about Marlow, Orla, and Floss, it could have been more about relationships, love, family, and coping with selfishness or fame, but it didn’t go there, either.
It was interesting to read, but it ultimately fell short for me. I read this hoping that I could recommend it for my book club, but I don’t think there’s much more to discuss after reading the book than there is just by reading the synopsis.
I don’t want to say that I didn’t enjoy Followers, but I also can’t say that it was all that great. The beginning was promising and the two alternating time frames were intriguing because I wasn’t sure how they would connect. We had Marlow living in 2051 with her every move broadcasted to her followers and Orla in 2015 who was a struggling writer trying to make her mark on the world. We knew there was something called The Spill, the government controlled all of the internet in 2051, and that people who were addicted to social media on screens before the Spill often suffered a condition called the fog.
Even typing out my review, I feel like I should have enjoyed this more. It was so up my alley!
Despite the premise, I feel like it just fizzled out and never really went anywhere. The second Marlow escaped her world and tried to look up information and received the 404 Not Found error code, the story took a strange direction for me and didn’t really seem to deal with the issue of the society they lived in. Who caused The Spill? What is the fog? Why would the government allow people to live in complete privacy off the coast of the US? Can someone please just murder Floss?
I needed more from the book. It had so much potential to really hit hard like a Black Mirror episode, but it just felt like there wasn’t really a point to any of it when I was finished. It was obvious that social media influencers were being made a point of in the book, yet it still didn’t carry a message that seemed shocking or hard hitting. And if it was really a story about Marlow, Orla, and Floss, it could have been more about relationships, love, family, and coping with selfishness or fame, but it didn’t go there, either.
It was interesting to read, but it ultimately fell short for me. I read this hoping that I could recommend it for my book club, but I don’t think there’s much more to discuss after reading the book than there is just by reading the synopsis.
I’m sorry to say that I found this book to be a chore. I really did like the premise, which is why I struggled through, but my positive regards end there. The writing was so messy and the storyline itself was inconsistent. The book had a lot of potential but fell short. You ever make up a sentence with the suggest words that pop up in imessage and it makes zero sense? That’s what this entire book reminded me of. 1 star is generous.
This started as a four star for me! It's very well-written and fast-paced. I liked the idea a lot and it was a good choice for the midst of a pandemic (and at a time when I somehow went over my data plan so my phone didn't work while I was reading this book outside). And I found most of the characters annoying yet not totally horrible. And I thought the fake community that's always on TV was believable. This book is kind of The Truman Show meets The Hills meets Y2K.
I got a kick out of the future mayor of New York City being Chelsea Clinton's daughter, but was confused that the president of the U.S. in 2016ish was clearly Trump yet not identified as him. He spoke in Trump cadences and the words seemed to be his. Here are a few quotes from "the president" who is not named Trump:
- "...it used to be a great town, Atlantic City, it was a fantastic town when i was there..."
- "We are deporting thousands of illegals. We're getting them out of America, folks. And now we're going to build that wall--I always said we'd have a beautiful wall, didn't I?"
- "The internet, our tremendous new internet--it scares them. They're losers."
Also he blames Mexico when Russia was culpable. But the book never mentions the 2016 election or names Trump, which I get stylistically but was confusing. But I got a kick out of this anyway.
My biggest quibbles came near the end of the book, so they're all terrible spoilers. So please don't read any further if you haven't yet read the book, because I like how the book evolves and I wouldn't want to mess that up for you.
- The biggest issue that I have is that everyone seems to completely freak out -- to the degree that there are hundreds of suicides -- when their secrets are revealed. Not everyone has such embarrassing secrets! Sure, we don't want our secrets exposed to the world, but if everyone's trash is being laid out to bear, I'm sure they'd be less devastating when everyone's in the same boat. And I bet hundreds of white people's would be that they wore blackface at a party...But shared experiences lesson tragedies to some degree.
- How does a bot determine what is most embarrassing? Embarrassment is such a complicated human emotion. I struggled with believing that a bot could measure this. But then again, it is fiction and I need to learn how to better suspend disbelief. Also, so many of our worst secrets were from a pre-internet age in 2016, so a bot would have to work pretty hard to find that terrible music video I made in 1992 that's on VHS.
- I'm also confused how the U.S. government would take over the internet but the book avoids discussion of any other countries. Wouldn't more internet free countries be places to escape to? How would the U.S. control the entire internet? The book mentions that Russia is to blame, but what was the goal? Were they just 2016 election meddlers that got far more sophisticated? Would have liked some comparisons to places like China which already severely restrict internet usage. I think if a character mentioned something like this I would have found it more believable.
- What changes Ashton's personality? He is this fame-hungry, Justin-Bieber-like character who becomes this soulful human later in life. I know that's possible, but it would be nice if his character was given the ability to evolve. Yes, we see some streaks of kindness in the Before Time, but it's hard to believe he made such a stark adjustment.
I got a kick out of the future mayor of New York City being Chelsea Clinton's daughter, but was confused that the president of the U.S. in 2016ish was clearly Trump yet not identified as him. He spoke in Trump cadences and the words seemed to be his. Here are a few quotes from "the president" who is not named Trump:
- "...it used to be a great town, Atlantic City, it was a fantastic town when i was there..."
- "We are deporting thousands of illegals. We're getting them out of America, folks. And now we're going to build that wall--I always said we'd have a beautiful wall, didn't I?"
- "The internet, our tremendous new internet--it scares them. They're losers."
Also he blames Mexico when Russia was culpable. But the book never mentions the 2016 election or names Trump, which I get stylistically but was confusing. But I got a kick out of this anyway.
My biggest quibbles came near the end of the book, so they're all terrible spoilers. So please don't read any further if you haven't yet read the book, because I like how the book evolves and I wouldn't want to mess that up for you.
- The biggest issue that I have is that everyone seems to completely freak out -- to the degree that there are hundreds of suicides -- when their secrets are revealed. Not everyone has such embarrassing secrets! Sure, we don't want our secrets exposed to the world, but if everyone's trash is being laid out to bear, I'm sure they'd be less devastating when everyone's in the same boat. And I bet hundreds of white people's would be that they wore blackface at a party...But shared experiences lesson tragedies to some degree.
- How does a bot determine what is most embarrassing? Embarrassment is such a complicated human emotion. I struggled with believing that a bot could measure this. But then again, it is fiction and I need to learn how to better suspend disbelief. Also, so many of our worst secrets were from a pre-internet age in 2016, so a bot would have to work pretty hard to find that terrible music video I made in 1992 that's on VHS.
- I'm also confused how the U.S. government would take over the internet but the book avoids discussion of any other countries. Wouldn't more internet free countries be places to escape to? How would the U.S. control the entire internet? The book mentions that Russia is to blame, but what was the goal? Were they just 2016 election meddlers that got far more sophisticated? Would have liked some comparisons to places like China which already severely restrict internet usage. I think if a character mentioned something like this I would have found it more believable.
- What changes Ashton's personality? He is this fame-hungry, Justin-Bieber-like character who becomes this soulful human later in life. I know that's possible, but it would be nice if his character was given the ability to evolve. Yes, we see some streaks of kindness in the Before Time, but it's hard to believe he made such a stark adjustment.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
The Real World meets 1984. Loved this concept, though the last 10% felt a bit rushed.
Interesting and great read! Not missing much for me! Different from what I normally drift to but really enjoyed it!