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funcharge's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mixxie67's review against another edition
2.0
I got about half-way through this before I gave up. I did enjoy parts of it but not enough to sustain my interest to the end.
rpmirabella's review against another edition
5.0
People love this book. People hate this book. I loved it, but it wasn't perfect love. This is a flawed book, but after a while I began to enjoy it on a character level. There is real emotion here among the oddness. The politics, as usual, escaped me. I don't have the mind for philosophy or politics. What interests me is character, motivation, love, art,inventiveness. I don't read a lot of SF, so I can't comment on whether or not this is good science fiction or spec fiction, but at the time I read it, I was starved for something complex and a little crazy. I agree with those who've said that Ryman didn't seem to know what he wanted this book to be, but because I'm often not sure of what I'm writing, I could forgive him. If your book can make me cry, I can forgive a lot of things.
hannahisabel's review against another edition
3.0
This book was interesting - it's not really dystopian, it's not really artificial intelligence, it's not really sci-fi. But it kind of is. I guess it's kind of a believable exploration of where science could take society and what that could mean. It's funny that the way we live now is held up as being so fantastic compared to where they end up in the book, especially since our current way of life is so flawed and unsustainable.
prehensile's review against another edition
4.0
Bounced off this as a teenager, but I remembered it as being very strange and vivid and melancholy and much deeper than the res of the SF it was lumped in with. Coming back to it years later, it's still all of those things.
It does have its more preposterous stretches, but it's worth sticking through those for the next amazing, surprising bit, and they do keep coming. A book which had me looking forward to commuting and staying up past bedtime because I was enjoying spending time in it so much. Imagination and feels.
It does have its more preposterous stretches, but it's worth sticking through those for the next amazing, surprising bit, and they do keep coming. A book which had me looking forward to commuting and staying up past bedtime because I was enjoying spending time in it so much. Imagination and feels.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1071719.html[return][return]It is a visionary tale of a future world where life is short, set in the London theatrical community where the central character has managed to escape the absorption into the collective unconsciousness undergone by all her contemporaries. I especially liked its rootedness in the future geography of London, and the exploration of art, creativity and personality. I wasn't quite so sure about the characterisation or plot.
lottpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
keary's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I found it a bit of a slog.
I'm giving it 4 stars overall but the first third was very difficult. I almost gave up. It was 2 stars at most, but after that, it got better and better, and the last third flew past. The last part of the book was a solid 5 stars,
Worth it in the end but be prepared to have to persevere through some tedium.
My opinion only, YMMV.
I'm giving it 4 stars overall but the first third was very difficult. I almost gave up. It was 2 stars at most, but after that, it got better and better, and the last third flew past. The last part of the book was a solid 5 stars,
Worth it in the end but be prepared to have to persevere through some tedium.
My opinion only, YMMV.
nutti72's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure I completely understand this book. I enjoyed reading it, but would have a hard time explaining it tp anyone else.
rachell37's review against another edition
3.0
The editing in the ebook edition is horrendous and made it barely readable at times, which was a shame because the basic concept was great. I also felt a little let down by the way the lesbian relationship was dealt with.