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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've tried many mystery books before, and have always felt so unsatisfied by their endings. I thought the genre just wasn't for me, but I always found another to try out, to keep seeing that maybe this time would be it.
And Glass Houses was finally IT. I finally get it.
It threw down actual breadcrumbs, and I picked them up going. Huh, how interesting and odd. I wonder if this means something, and then it did. The mystery was set there all along and wove together in the end, heck even with a small twist! And it was so so satisfying.
On top of that it was wrapped in a little bow of near future sci-fi. A world where I absolutely could see us hurtling towards and showing all the horrors and abuse that the rise in AI and technology could do to us. A world where the earth has been burning, and will continue to do so.
I adored the characters, bless Kristine and Anton. What an absolute dynamic.
If you want an absolute blast of a time, this to me is the mystery, sci-fi, horror book that does it. *chefs kiss*
And Glass Houses was finally IT. I finally get it.
It threw down actual breadcrumbs, and I picked them up going. Huh, how interesting and odd. I wonder if this means something, and then it did. The mystery was set there all along and wove together in the end, heck even with a small twist! And it was so so satisfying.
On top of that it was wrapped in a little bow of near future sci-fi. A world where I absolutely could see us hurtling towards and showing all the horrors and abuse that the rise in AI and technology could do to us. A world where the earth has been burning, and will continue to do so.
I adored the characters, bless Kristine and Anton. What an absolute dynamic.
If you want an absolute blast of a time, this to me is the mystery, sci-fi, horror book that does it. *chefs kiss*
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Solid horror book with a complex main character and a lot of other characters that you love to hate. Scathing rage at the moral bankruptcy and sexism of the tech industry is kind of common nowadays, but the book uses it well.
I hesitate to say much more, as figuring out who is trustworthy and what they're capable of is part of the fun, but the nonspoilery version is that I actually liked Kristen's character more than I thought I would, given how reviewers gave her mixed reviews. And through the first half to three-quarter mark, I WAS kind of frustrated with how close to the vest the author was writing her - it was obvious from the beginning that she was different and did not react like the usual person, and she knew this and thought about it often, but never in enough words to clue you in on why. Her secrets were all slow reveals, doled out as the author wanted them to come out. In the end, though, I felt like she was a complex and interesting protagonist, and watching her take apart this mystery was satisfying. The ending felt a bit of a let-down, but then usually the ends of these sorts of books do to me - it was very good at ramping up the tension, and there's very few ways to bring out the villain and explain their dastardly plan that doesn't give me a "that's it?" sort of response. But still...highly enjoyable.
Some spoilery talk:
This very much reminded me of Dexter. I liked Kristin because she was so resilient and saw through so many things and took action when she was done taking everyone's shit. She's not a hero, really, since it was unclear exactly why she was choosing certain people to kill and thus it was unclear if she'd ever just killed someone who was completely innocent of anything. I liked that her coworker at least pointed out that Kristin's manipulations were not actually helpful to the people being hurt, but honestly I don't think that was really Kristin's motive. I think she THINKS she's doing it for good reasons, but she's broken enough to not really be a good judge of what is "good". She THINKS she's doing it to help people, but really she's just punishing those she thinks is evil, with no application of her considerable intellect to the consequences on anyone else.
I hesitate to say much more, as figuring out who is trustworthy and what they're capable of is part of the fun, but the nonspoilery version is that I actually liked Kristen's character more than I thought I would, given how reviewers gave her mixed reviews. And through the first half to three-quarter mark, I WAS kind of frustrated with how close to the vest the author was writing her - it was obvious from the beginning that she was different and did not react like the usual person, and she knew this and thought about it often, but never in enough words to clue you in on why. Her secrets were all slow reveals, doled out as the author wanted them to come out. In the end, though, I felt like she was a complex and interesting protagonist, and watching her take apart this mystery was satisfying. The ending felt a bit of a let-down, but then usually the ends of these sorts of books do to me - it was very good at ramping up the tension, and there's very few ways to bring out the villain and explain their dastardly plan that doesn't give me a "that's it?" sort of response. But still...highly enjoyable.
Some spoilery talk:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Medical content
Moderate: Sexism
Expected me to read between the lines more than I’m capable of. Surprisingly creepy.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A tech centered desert island mystery, that is light on the mystery and heavy on the critique of surveillance technology. How does 'smart' tech designed by men and companies without user testing from all sorts of people work for everyone? Or not work? These are questions that are hopefully being asked more and more of tech developers, though it really doesn't feel like it. It is already well known that AI fed biased information will feed back biased information. This novel takes it a step further and asks what happens when these biased smart tech devices are used maliciously rather than carelessly.
I found most of the characters unlikeable, which in this book is fine, since they're all dropping like flies anyway. Unfortunately I found the the 'tech bro' characters very believable, especially the ways they performed at diversity and inclusion practices, while at the same time revealing their racist and misogynistic beliefs without ever seeming to realize that they were doing so. The fragility of their egos if their integrity was questioned was definitely taken from real life examples.
I found most of the characters unlikeable, which in this book is fine, since they're all dropping like flies anyway. Unfortunately I found the the 'tech bro' characters very believable, especially the ways they performed at diversity and inclusion practices, while at the same time revealing their racist and misogynistic beliefs without ever seeming to realize that they were doing so. The fragility of their egos if their integrity was questioned was definitely taken from real life examples.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
2.5 ⭐️
I'm glad this was a quick read bc it simply was not good. The reader is dropped in a setting that is vague with quite a few characters that have zero depth. There are flashbacks giving the main character's history, which take the long way to understanding that she is unhinged. But not really? Even though there are flashbacks, I feel that even then, the character development was severely lacking. The plot makes very little sense and the ending is just weird. And it never explains how anyone got out of their predicament, only that they do. I would not recommend this to anyone.
I'm glad this was a quick read bc it simply was not good. The reader is dropped in a setting that is vague with quite a few characters that have zero depth. There are flashbacks giving the main character's history, which take the long way to understanding that she is unhinged. But not really? Even though there are flashbacks, I feel that even then, the character development was severely lacking. The plot makes very little sense and the ending is just weird. And it never explains how anyone got out of their predicament, only that they do. I would not recommend this to anyone.
here I am, once again, only caring about the romance in a thriller
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes