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emmagee's review against another edition
Needed to return to library, May revisit.
leari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
This short story collection includes six different stories, all of them around 40 pages long. They read like young adult stories and they all feature a lot of illustrations to accompany the plot. The illustrations (as well as the overall design of the book) are truly breathtaking and possibly the best part! We follow both female and male point of views throughout the book and the science fiction elements are varied and unique. However, the stories seem to be more character-driven, focusing on self-improvement, relationships, growing up, etc., your typical young adult themes and motifs. The synopsis mentions this as well:
"And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems."
It sometimes felt like reading a self-help book and the plot seemed non-existent at times. I only enjoyed one story unfortunately, but it was still worth it for this one exceptionally good story!
Overall rating: 2.5/5 🌟
Individual ratings:
Inertia: 2 🌟
A story about music and art that is set in what seems like the near future or an alternative contemporary world. It's about a girl going to a boy's last visitation.
Overall rating: 2.5/5 🌟
Individual ratings:
Inertia: 2 🌟
A story about music and art that is set in what seems like the near future or an alternative contemporary world. It's about a girl going to a boy's last visitation.
"It was about [...] the last moments that we would likely share with each other, given that he was about to die." (p. 26)
Apart from death, this is also about depression. I was hoping for more sci-fi elements since this basically reads like a contemporary romance novel set at a hospital and at school.
The Spinners: 2 🌟
Different alien species are co-existing with humans on planet Earth, but some of them, some form of parasite, are a little more dangerous. Enter a bounty hunter set on revenge, trying to find a certain parasite who killed someone from her family. I liked the setting and the different aliens. I am generally not a fan of revenge plots or crime. The story also ended quite abruptly and did not feel finished.
Hearken: 4.5 🌟
This one is about music again. Bio-bombs exude a deadly gas that will kill humans who inhale it for just a short amount of time. A quarantine is supposed to prevent a worldwide pandemic. (This has been first published in 2013, so it is not inspired by Covid whatsoever.) The story follows a girl who develops a musical gift. She can hear slight shifts in musical chords and has no trouble in learning to play an instrument in a short time. This leads to her being enrolled in a school to study music. The end goal is to get an implant, which filters out the vibrations of human cells to make you hear the sound of a person's life or death (p. 107) which is basically a song and every person has a different one. This whole concept is based on the scientific string theory, which was very interesting. I wish this was a full-length novel. I would have loved to read more about the theory and the whole school concept, since the actual studying part was pretty much skipped over through time-jumps. The musical descriptions were very vibrant and it felt like you could really hear the sounds and songs.
Vim and Vigor: 1 🌟
Again a rather contemporary book about fanart, fan fiction, comics and superheroines. The main character is struggling to choose a prom date and envisions the different ways that the prom night could go with the help of a new tech gadget. Very much character-driven and not much of a plot in sight. Prom, superheroes and fan fiction are also topics that I just do not gravitate towards personally.
Armored Ones: 2.5 🌟
This one is about two characters' backstories from a book series by the author that I have not read. Thus, the plot and the world felt super confusing and I have no idea where it was even set or what currentgifts are or who these characters were. It is definitely set on a different planet but that is all I could fathom. The first half focused on a revenge plot again. A girl is trying to assassinate someone who is slowly but surely killing off her family. The second half is about the other character who is a prisoner in some soldier camp and he finds a creature called Armored One, who are said to be quite aggressive and dangerous. I liked what I understood but I was mostly just confused and did not understand what I was reading. 😂
The Transformationist: 1.5 🌟
This one is also set in the same world as the previous short story and I was even more confused with this one. Again mentioning currentgifts and some kind of planet. It is also about a male prisoner again, who is in jail for something he did not do and he is just walking around and having conversations. I really have no idea what the point of this was, but there were some weird birds in the story, who eat their own flesh, liquefy and return as adult birds with razorsharp feathers? That was cool I guess.
I really need to revisit the last two stories after having read the book series that they are set in. I am pretty sure that they will be more enjoyable this way.
The Spinners: 2 🌟
Different alien species are co-existing with humans on planet Earth, but some of them, some form of parasite, are a little more dangerous. Enter a bounty hunter set on revenge, trying to find a certain parasite who killed someone from her family. I liked the setting and the different aliens. I am generally not a fan of revenge plots or crime. The story also ended quite abruptly and did not feel finished.
Hearken: 4.5 🌟
This one is about music again. Bio-bombs exude a deadly gas that will kill humans who inhale it for just a short amount of time. A quarantine is supposed to prevent a worldwide pandemic. (This has been first published in 2013, so it is not inspired by Covid whatsoever.) The story follows a girl who develops a musical gift. She can hear slight shifts in musical chords and has no trouble in learning to play an instrument in a short time. This leads to her being enrolled in a school to study music. The end goal is to get an implant, which filters out the vibrations of human cells to make you hear the sound of a person's life or death (p. 107) which is basically a song and every person has a different one. This whole concept is based on the scientific string theory, which was very interesting. I wish this was a full-length novel. I would have loved to read more about the theory and the whole school concept, since the actual studying part was pretty much skipped over through time-jumps. The musical descriptions were very vibrant and it felt like you could really hear the sounds and songs.
Vim and Vigor: 1 🌟
Again a rather contemporary book about fanart, fan fiction, comics and superheroines. The main character is struggling to choose a prom date and envisions the different ways that the prom night could go with the help of a new tech gadget. Very much character-driven and not much of a plot in sight. Prom, superheroes and fan fiction are also topics that I just do not gravitate towards personally.
Armored Ones: 2.5 🌟
This one is about two characters' backstories from a book series by the author that I have not read. Thus, the plot and the world felt super confusing and I have no idea where it was even set or what currentgifts are or who these characters were. It is definitely set on a different planet but that is all I could fathom. The first half focused on a revenge plot again. A girl is trying to assassinate someone who is slowly but surely killing off her family. The second half is about the other character who is a prisoner in some soldier camp and he finds a creature called Armored One, who are said to be quite aggressive and dangerous. I liked what I understood but I was mostly just confused and did not understand what I was reading. 😂
The Transformationist: 1.5 🌟
This one is also set in the same world as the previous short story and I was even more confused with this one. Again mentioning currentgifts and some kind of planet. It is also about a male prisoner again, who is in jail for something he did not do and he is just walking around and having conversations. I really have no idea what the point of this was, but there were some weird birds in the story, who eat their own flesh, liquefy and return as adult birds with razorsharp feathers? That was cool I guess.
I really need to revisit the last two stories after having read the book series that they are set in. I am pretty sure that they will be more enjoyable this way.
rain_97's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
lexi_stark's review against another edition
2.0
2.5...I mean it was a collection of short stories, so I don't know what I was expecting. It was suprisingly good. I wish the first two stories were their own books, because I was actually very invested in them and the first one even made my eyes tear. (not cry, I'm not that weak) I was into the first story in the Carve the Mark universe but halfway though I was kind of done. Good overall though.
vgorin's review against another edition
2.0
6 short stories and only one of them didn’t bore me to death. Wish there was an entire book about the Harkeners.
harvestlockwood's review against another edition
3.75
Did CAWPILE for each individual short story, then did the average for all of them combined.
Story 1 = 4 stars
Story 2 = 4
Story 3 = 4
Story 4 = 2
Story 5 = 4
Story 6 = 4
Total = 3.7 = 4 stars
Story 1 = 4 stars
Story 2 = 4
Story 3 = 4
Story 4 = 2
Story 5 = 4
Story 6 = 4
Total = 3.7 = 4 stars
lmbartelt's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
jordyn_alexx's review against another edition
4.5
Reading this reminded me of how much I like Veronica Roth. With each story I was left wanting more. It has a good variety, and I liked returning to the world of Carve the Mark.
locolibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of short stories written by the famous author of the Divergent series as well as I Am Number Four.
I liked most of the stories. They are all written in a futuristic time period where there is advanced technologies and/or different species of beings besides just humans. The stories were all wonderful because they didn’t just upfront tell you everything you wanted to know, you had to finish the story to completely get an understanding of what was going on. Some stories definitely left you wanting more. Most stories would get a five star from me, with two of them getting only four stars just because they didn’t completely grip me. Overall; however, I very much enjoyed the entire collection and had a hard time putting the book down. A fast, entertaining read! Thank you, Veronica Roth for some amazing short stories!
I liked most of the stories. They are all written in a futuristic time period where there is advanced technologies and/or different species of beings besides just humans. The stories were all wonderful because they didn’t just upfront tell you everything you wanted to know, you had to finish the story to completely get an understanding of what was going on. Some stories definitely left you wanting more. Most stories would get a five star from me, with two of them getting only four stars just because they didn’t completely grip me. Overall; however, I very much enjoyed the entire collection and had a hard time putting the book down. A fast, entertaining read! Thank you, Veronica Roth for some amazing short stories!
jonathan_lee_b's review against another edition
4.0
The End and Other Beginnings is a sampler of flavor-filled chocolates.