You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
4 stars
This is like Cinder on steroids. Seriously.
It's got cyborgs but it's also got robots and different level of sentient, engineered beings and it's like Cinder, but way more gritty and intense and science-y. In comparison to LIFEL1K3, Cinder looks like a fantasy novel.
I was vacillating between 3.5 and 4 stars for this, but ultimately I feel like this gets the full four stars.
There were things that I loved, and things that I was pretty apathetic to, but there wasn't really anything that I disliked per se, just that I wished some things could have been done better.
But let's start with the good, yes?
First off, how awesome is it that YA is finally getting super hard-core sci-fi?
Seriously, I feel like YA sci-fi leans more towards the romantic and the more "gentle" sci-fi. In my opinion, this is because the audience is mostly female and that whoever the people who decide what books get published are somewhat influenced by the (wrong) idea that women don't like super hard-core sci-fi.
Because I like hard-core sci-fi. And a ton of other people do too. But it's something that's a lot more common in adult sci-fi and movies, not YA books.
So having this be like a hard-core sci-fi novel was really really cool. There's all sorts of gritty, stereotypically masculine things in this novel (robots and cybernetic implants and all sorts of epic). If I had to summarize this aesthetic in one photo, it wouldn't be that beehive hexagon pattern, it'd be gritty sheet metal. Like this:
The whole novel screams gritty sheet metal (maybe even the one with the hash pattern on it) and I LOVE IT. This aesthetic is soooo cool and just because the audience is mostly female, doesn't mean we can't appreciate or love sheet metal aesthetics.
So yeah, that's positive thing #1.
This does come with some detrimental aspects to it. I feel like historically, it's been really hard for any hard-core sci-fi author to really reach that emotionally pulling aspect as well as the grittiness. And similarly, the more emotionally based sci-fi writers don't really reach that amount of gritty awesomeness that I'm looking for.
The closest I've seen to a good balance between these is Emily Suvada's This Mortal Coil. This book is sooo good, yo. Y'all should definitely read it.
And with LIFEL1K3, I feel like the emotional aspect of the novel wasn't really played on to the potential it could have been done. I think Kristoff definitely tried, but it felt like he didn't really succeed.
One of the main selling points of the novel is how it makes you question what humanity means and in some ways, I feel like Kristoff set this up, but it never really got anywhere in this book.
It's more like he introduced the topic that "oh yeah, engineered people or engineered sentient beings might be people," but after reading that ending, it felt like he hasn't really dived into all that moral greyness yet.
This part of the novel has a lot more potential and I wish we saw more of it in this book, but of course because of that ending, it sets up the next book very nicely. I really hope Kristoff works a lot on shaping this idea within the series because I think it's something that's a really good moral debate and something that deserves to be executed well.
But for now, in this book, it's not really talked about as much as it's introduced. Which I get, but I was still hoping for a little more.
This book is action-packed, quick-paced, and full of twists and turns. I think the whole plot was fantastic. It was interesting and Kristoff pulled off a lot of sneaky moves. Plus, I think that the there's still a lot more science-fiction goodness in store for us in future books.
The other thing I really liked was the friendships and all the friendship dynamics in this book. I love the connection Eve had with her cyborg dog Kaiser (ok, y'all know what's going to happen when there's a dog in a book. or a pet in general.) and her sentient robot buddy Cricket and her best friend Lemon Fresh. I felt like all the friendship dynamics were written well and that the issues that arise between friends were valid and interesting and always evolving.
The thing I wasn't too fond of between the characters was the romance. Ehh. Meh. [insert a bunch more apathetic words.] I just wasn't really into the romance and mostly ignored it. Because there were so many better things going on.
I kind of wish that there was no romance in this novel because not every YA book needs a romance. It felt forced and instalovey because it was based on something that had happened in the past. Because of this, I feel like we didn't really get that or chemistry between the characters that we should have gotten.
This book was so edgy that I couldn't help but give it 4 stars. It probably in reality deserves a 3.5, but I really appreciate Kristoff writing us some solid hard-core sci-fi, so it's a 4 in my book.
I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a hard-core sci-fi novel, but I feel like this definitely won't really click with a lot of traditional YA readers. If you're looking for fluff or cuteness, you won't find it here (except in Cricket who's adorable). This book isn't sunshine and daisies and unicorns, it's death, and destruction, and giant, hulking robots.
Thank you so much to Random House & Netgalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
This is like Cinder on steroids. Seriously.
It's got cyborgs but it's also got robots and different level of sentient, engineered beings and it's like Cinder, but way more gritty and intense and science-y. In comparison to LIFEL1K3, Cinder looks like a fantasy novel.
I was vacillating between 3.5 and 4 stars for this, but ultimately I feel like this gets the full four stars.
There were things that I loved, and things that I was pretty apathetic to, but there wasn't really anything that I disliked per se, just that I wished some things could have been done better.
But let's start with the good, yes?
First off, how awesome is it that YA is finally getting super hard-core sci-fi?
Seriously, I feel like YA sci-fi leans more towards the romantic and the more "gentle" sci-fi. In my opinion, this is because the audience is mostly female and that whoever the people who decide what books get published are somewhat influenced by the (wrong) idea that women don't like super hard-core sci-fi.
Because I like hard-core sci-fi. And a ton of other people do too. But it's something that's a lot more common in adult sci-fi and movies, not YA books.
So having this be like a hard-core sci-fi novel was really really cool. There's all sorts of gritty, stereotypically masculine things in this novel (robots and cybernetic implants and all sorts of epic). If I had to summarize this aesthetic in one photo, it wouldn't be that beehive hexagon pattern, it'd be gritty sheet metal. Like this:
The whole novel screams gritty sheet metal (maybe even the one with the hash pattern on it) and I LOVE IT. This aesthetic is soooo cool and just because the audience is mostly female, doesn't mean we can't appreciate or love sheet metal aesthetics.
So yeah, that's positive thing #1.
This does come with some detrimental aspects to it. I feel like historically, it's been really hard for any hard-core sci-fi author to really reach that emotionally pulling aspect as well as the grittiness. And similarly, the more emotionally based sci-fi writers don't really reach that amount of gritty awesomeness that I'm looking for.
The closest I've seen to a good balance between these is Emily Suvada's This Mortal Coil. This book is sooo good, yo. Y'all should definitely read it.
And with LIFEL1K3, I feel like the emotional aspect of the novel wasn't really played on to the potential it could have been done. I think Kristoff definitely tried, but it felt like he didn't really succeed.
One of the main selling points of the novel is how it makes you question what humanity means and in some ways, I feel like Kristoff set this up, but it never really got anywhere in this book.
It's more like he introduced the topic that "oh yeah, engineered people or engineered sentient beings might be people," but after reading that ending, it felt like he hasn't really dived into all that moral greyness yet.
This part of the novel has a lot more potential and I wish we saw more of it in this book, but of course because of that ending, it sets up the next book very nicely. I really hope Kristoff works a lot on shaping this idea within the series because I think it's something that's a really good moral debate and something that deserves to be executed well.
But for now, in this book, it's not really talked about as much as it's introduced. Which I get, but I was still hoping for a little more.
This book is action-packed, quick-paced, and full of twists and turns. I think the whole plot was fantastic. It was interesting and Kristoff pulled off a lot of sneaky moves. Plus, I think that the there's still a lot more science-fiction goodness in store for us in future books.
The other thing I really liked was the friendships and all the friendship dynamics in this book. I love the connection Eve had with her cyborg dog Kaiser (ok, y'all know what's going to happen when there's a dog in a book. or a pet in general.) and her sentient robot buddy Cricket and her best friend Lemon Fresh. I felt like all the friendship dynamics were written well and that the issues that arise between friends were valid and interesting and always evolving.
The thing I wasn't too fond of between the characters was the romance. Ehh. Meh. [insert a bunch more apathetic words.] I just wasn't really into the romance and mostly ignored it. Because there were so many better things going on.
I kind of wish that there was no romance in this novel because not every YA book needs a romance. It felt forced and instalovey because it was based on something that had happened in the past. Because of this, I feel like we didn't really get that or chemistry between the characters that we should have gotten.
This book was so edgy that I couldn't help but give it 4 stars. It probably in reality deserves a 3.5, but I really appreciate Kristoff writing us some solid hard-core sci-fi, so it's a 4 in my book.
I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a hard-core sci-fi novel, but I feel like this definitely won't really click with a lot of traditional YA readers. If you're looking for fluff or cuteness, you won't find it here (except in Cricket who's adorable). This book isn't sunshine and daisies and unicorns, it's death, and destruction, and giant, hulking robots.
Thank you so much to Random House & Netgalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
the slang was a little weird at times but i get excited about any anastasia retelling so i was more than happy to plow through this fast read
The Anastasia Romanov/Pinnochio post-apocalyptic scifi you didn't know you needed! This has all the witty banter of the Illuminae Files (which Jay Kristoff co-authored), and the dialogue has a Firefly-esque feel. Very cool worldbuilding and set-up. I genuinely didn't see the last twist coming either, which is nice for a novel in the oft-trope-ridden, predictable YA category. Good fun with a surprising amount of pathos. I'm looking forward to checking out the next book!
Have you ever been in a world with so much intensity you want to leave but that intensity also triggers your desire for adventure and discover? If so, this book is the right one for you!
The concept of the book is really interesting. I wouldn't say unique since plenty of stories have tackled about cyborgs and machinas. But the story is well-equipped with its ideas and its own reality that makes it stand atop others.
In almost every book, what I look for is great characters. Characters are the pillar of a good book. They make or break your interest in ever continuing or finishing what you've read. This book did not disappoint. I adore each characters, especially Crick and Lem, two side-characters that I think well compliment our protagonist, Eve.
The world they are in, is no different than where we are. It is just that their world has become more complex with the advancement of their technology. The limitations given to the world and the rules and new laws implemented are very well thought of.
When it comes to the pacing and continuity of the chapters. It is extremely smooth.
The writing style is also amazing! You can definitely feel Jay Kristoff in each and every word.
The ending... let's not even talk about it. Really, let's not.
Full review on my blog: www.wanderwithjon.wordpress.com
The concept of the book is really interesting. I wouldn't say unique since plenty of stories have tackled about cyborgs and machinas. But the story is well-equipped with its ideas and its own reality that makes it stand atop others.
In almost every book, what I look for is great characters. Characters are the pillar of a good book. They make or break your interest in ever continuing or finishing what you've read. This book did not disappoint. I adore each characters, especially Crick and Lem, two side-characters that I think well compliment our protagonist, Eve.
The world they are in, is no different than where we are. It is just that their world has become more complex with the advancement of their technology. The limitations given to the world and the rules and new laws implemented are very well thought of.
When it comes to the pacing and continuity of the chapters. It is extremely smooth.
The writing style is also amazing! You can definitely feel Jay Kristoff in each and every word.
The ending... let's not even talk about it. Really, let's not.
Full review on my blog: www.wanderwithjon.wordpress.com
I powered through Lifel1k3 fairly quickly as the story was quite engaging. However there were also some parts that I skimmed through as I wanted to find out answers more than I was enjoying the ride. So my rating is three stars, but I might upgrade later. I did like the world Kristoff created though the language did take some time to grow on me. The suspense was well done and the moments of sadness were pretty awful. I was a bit surprised by Eve’s decision in the final chapter/coda; it felt like she made it quickly. But then maybe that makes sense given the circumstances. Anyway, I’ll probably check out the rest of the series, but there are other works by this author that I liked more.
Μμμμμ αρκετά νεανικό,δεν συγκρίνεται με τα προηγούμενα του που έχω διαβάσει!
Για να δούμε η συνέχεια πως θα είναι!
Για να δούμε η συνέχεια πως θα είναι!
I really enjoyed this book.
This is about a girl by the name Eve. She fights robots in order to get money to get medication for her grandfather. Eve and her friend Lemon Fresh find a lifelike named Ezekiel who seems to know something that Eve can't remember. So they try to figure why he knows this as some other lifelikes are coming after them. Eve and her friends have to get Eve's grandfather back from them.
I really liked this story and the characters.
It was fun to see all that they figure things out and to help Eve. Lemon Fresh was an awesome character.
Can't wait to see what happens in the next books.
This is about a girl by the name Eve. She fights robots in order to get money to get medication for her grandfather. Eve and her friend Lemon Fresh find a lifelike named Ezekiel who seems to know something that Eve can't remember. So they try to figure why he knows this as some other lifelikes are coming after them. Eve and her friends have to get Eve's grandfather back from them.
I really liked this story and the characters.
It was fun to see all that they figure things out and to help Eve. Lemon Fresh was an awesome character.
Can't wait to see what happens in the next books.
“Better to rule in hell,” the beautiful man smiles, “than serve in heaven.”
lifel1k3 follows Eve, in a post nuclear winter world, who battles against robots in a homebuilt mech in WarDome along her best friend, Lemon, so she can pay for his grandpa's meds. during one of these battles, something happens that endangers their life, so she has no choice but run with her companions, including a scavenged lifelike who seemingly knows her.
unfortunately, this didn't work for me. i definitely think that this book is going to be everything to some people, because it's truly unique, but i didn't click with it for a couple of reasons. right off the bat, i felt like this is going to be my new favorite thing, because it's basically a retelling of
Spoiler
Anastasiasadly, i didn't care for what was happening in the rest of the book to be quite honest, and there were a few things i straight up disliked(will elaborate on that later). somehow i just didn't feel anything during action-scenes or emotional ones, i felt like there was no substance to them. the twists were interesting, one of them i spoiled for myself unfortunately, but otherwise it would have been quite surprising, and the other two main ones... one of them was really shocking but the other was something i have been kinda expecting, because it has been done a thousand times. however, the villain was amazing and actually well-rounded.
the world and themes of the book were actually interesting, it was like a bunch of overused sci-fi tropes with a new spin to them, so it was actually fresh. and there was some cool set-up for something greater for later in the trilogy. like, there are different types of machines, and they follow Asimov's laws of robotics, and two big corporations that use very different kinds of methods. but, there used to be a third one, which was destroyed after the revolt of the lifelikes. and there are gangs, deviates, who got powers because of the radiation, and a Brotherhood, who are basically witchhunters going after deviates. it wasn't as developed yet, but i'm sure we'll see more of that in the second book. thinking about that tho, it kinda reminds me of his other work, Stormdancer, where people with abilities were also hunted and executed by a religious group...
okay, so i think it's slowly time to get to what i disliked
the other thing i couldn't stand, the thing that made me want to jump off a cliff everytime was the romance. there was a lot of fucking romance in this book, and i just hated this couple. i felt like they had no chemistry or even personality to begin with, and reading pages of just Zeke being so in love made me threw up in my mouth. i liked the friendship between Eve and Lemon a lot more, so if the scenes with Eve and Zeke had been replaced with these two being friends, i'd have given the book four stars without question. however, i appreciated how the romance was resolved, that actually made a lot of sense.
i unfortunately didn't get invested in any of the characters, because they didn't feel real to me at all, which is sad, considering that i'm a character over plot person.
♠Eve: she is tough, loyal, brave, she has been through some shit and now her whole life gets turned upside down. and basically the shit she goes through this book makes her arc actually interesting.
♠Lemon: her best friend who has been living with them for a while. we only get a glimpse of her past, and she is a great, loyal friend who deserved better. i'm sorry but i'm ready to fight over that ending.
♠Ezekiel: the most boring person i have seen. he is the lifelike they find, and it's almost told in every page that he is perfect/pretty/has blue eyes... do i look like i fucking care if he is as interesting as a piece of wood? he has no personality whatsoever and nothing going for him besides so in love with Eve.
♠Cricket: a logika programmed to protect Eve. he is there for comedic relief and unfortunately i wasn't having it. his loyalty is cool and all, but it's all programming.
♠Kaiser: the cyborg doggo. aka my favorite character. love him. best boy.
the last 2-3 chapters... it's kinda standard sci-fi stuff, but it's a trope i live for, so i wasn't mad or disappointed, but i felt like the things after were kinda out of the blue. like, there should have been more internal conflict in my opinion and not just
Spoiler
going to the dark side straight up. i mean, yes, her life was a lie, but she still had people caring about her and protecting her, especially because she was living her life for two years as Eve, as basically her own person.anyways, even though i'm disappointed, the second book sounds promising, so i'll definitely pick it up, but i'm unsure if it's gonna happen right upon release.
other books by Jay Kristoff
The Nevernight Chronicle
1, Nevernight ★★★ and 3/4
The Lotus Wars
0.5, Praying for Rain ★★★★★
1, Stormdancer ★★★★ and ½
2, Kinslayer ★★★ and ¾
3, Endsinger ★★★★ and ¼
The Illuminae Files (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Illuminae ★★★★ and ½
2, Gemina ★★★★
3, Obsidio ★★★
The Aurora Cycle (cowritten with Amie Kaufman)
1, Aurora Rising ★★
