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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
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:
Complicated
I read an egalley. I will likely remember this as the doughnuts book. There was some interesting world building and a decent plot, but the main character never quite felt real for me.
It's that high because once I made it past the first third, I finished it in one sitting. But I found the story unable to decide if it was not-quite-magical-realism and gritty comic book, which is sad because I liked the concept but was put off by the execution.
SPECTACULAR. Diverse, clever, and full of geekery. It takes a special kind of book to make me fond of paperwork. Somehow Flex made it look easy.
I found myself having many "driveway moments." I simply didn't want to stop listening. The characters are well-written and interesting, and the story... just engrossing. I was envisioning this story on the big screen - i think it'd make a great movie someday.
I finally picked this book up again more than a year after putting it down, and I'm glad I did! The stupid misunderstanding that I got stuck on a third of the way through got resolved non-stupidly (it must have overstayed its welcome by mere pages) and from there it was pure, fascinating, emotional, good storytelling. The one upside of taking so long: I can finish the trilogy now!
I am going to start with a minor spoiler (which is revealed by page 20): the guy from the epilogue is not the main character. I mentioned this because between the repugnant guy and the heavy cyberpunk slang load, I put the book down before page 20 and almost didn't finish it. And I own [b:Snow Crash|15778631|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420466735s/15778631.jpg|493634] and still recommend it to people.
Once you get past that you get to much more human characters (including multiple females ones - I'm pretty sure this passes the Bechdel test). And the story was interesting. Not just because I have known the real-life Valentine for a number of years (I thought so as I was reading, and the acknowledgments confirmed my hunch). Magic, confusion, government oppression of a feared minority, what's not to love?
It's an interesting world, and I'm interested to watch how the story evolves in the next book.
Once you get past that you get to much more human characters (including multiple females ones - I'm pretty sure this passes the Bechdel test). And the story was interesting. Not just because I have known the real-life Valentine for a number of years (I thought so as I was reading, and the acknowledgments confirmed my hunch). Magic, confusion, government oppression of a feared minority, what's not to love?
It's an interesting world, and I'm interested to watch how the story evolves in the next book.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, I had to take a while to think about what I would rate this book. I was impressed by the concept of this book. Magic inspired by our passions and loves made for an impressive, original idea that I was instantly drawn to. And yet, I ended up a bit disappointed. From the very beginning, I felt like I had been dropped into a world that I didn't understand, and it didn't become a whole lot clearer as the book went on. Rules are essential when dealing with a Fantasy of magic-filled world. Here rules are introduced and then broken or bent. A lot. I find myself constantly bewildered at the fact that sometimes the characters could easily do things, while at others they struggled with something simple. It made things feel a little too convenient plot-wise. I didn't really like the characters either. Paul's constant self-loathing put quite a depressing spin on the story as he constantly reminded the reader that he was a terrible Father and person, lonely and isolated, and his ex-wife (who was the least likeable person in the book) was probably right about everything as she constantly put him down. Valentine I liked a lot more, while everyone else (including the villain) I felt pretty underdeveloped. In terms of plot, there were some really nice moments in this book but half the time I had next to no clue what was happening. The fact that Valentine could pull them into a game world at any point only served to confuse me even more. Overall, a really neat idea that wasn't executed very well.
For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/book-review-flex-ferrett-steinmetz.html
For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/book-review-flex-ferrett-steinmetz.html
DNF'd at 30%.
Go to Netflix. Pick a random show you've never watched. Go to season 2, episode 3, and tell me how much of it you understand.
That's what reading this book was like. The author has a great idea but has no idea how to tell it.
If you use your magic, it has to be offset. Okay. Magic can be used by a non-magical person in short bursts. Got it. The world doesn't like magic and the people caught using it get punished. Makes sense. These rules are established but then a bunch more get added on without explanation just to move the plot along.
I gave up reading after Paul and his his geeky manic pixie dream girl go into a deserted cabin with a pile of hematite, copper wire, and a bingo machine.
Go to Netflix. Pick a random show you've never watched. Go to season 2, episode 3, and tell me how much of it you understand.
That's what reading this book was like. The author has a great idea but has no idea how to tell it.
If you use your magic, it has to be offset. Okay. Magic can be used by a non-magical person in short bursts. Got it. The world doesn't like magic and the people caught using it get punished. Makes sense. These rules are established but then a bunch more get added on without explanation just to move the plot along.
I gave up reading after Paul and his his geeky manic pixie dream girl go into a deserted cabin with a pile of hematite, copper wire, and a bingo machine.
Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/03/02/review-flex-by-ferrett-steinmetz/
Reading Flex is like ingesting a solid dose of some seriously bad-ass magic. The world comes to life, possibilities that you hadn’t thought of suddenly present themselves, you find yourself immersed in words that portray a familiar, but yet much more magical world. Flex is in some ways, reminiscent of Breaking Bad with a Ready Player One slant but with an added twist all it’s own.
Our protagonist, Paul, is an interesting character. He is a rule abiding, ex-cop who was injured in the line of duty against a ‘mancer. There are definite shades of grey morality as he is forced to make some very hard choices and re-evaluate his previously black and white view of the world.
I debated about how much plot detail to go into with this. There are some stories that I think are much better experienced straight from the author, and I suspect this is one of them. So, I am going to focus on the world and magic in this review and hope you get a good enough feel for what makes this story such a great read.
Imagine magic that that does not go to a predetermined set within the population, but a magic that stems from the pain of being isolated and the obsessions that people take on to cope with it. Magic that centers around whatever a person focuses on most to ground themselves, magic that comes from that one thing they have found to immerse themselves in to find some level of joy or sanity in their otherwise lonely or painful life. It creates a fascinating world where magic can stem from anything, and each users abilities and limitations are determined by what brings them magic.
These individuals that manifest these powers are called ‘mancers. The first part of it is determined by their unique ability (obsession). There are videogamemancers, deathmetalmancers, crazy cat ladies can become catmancers (or something like that). You get the idea. A videogamemancer’s capabilities must follow the rules from a video game. The only catch is that there are two sides to the magic. The flex (the good stuff you want to happen) and the flux (the bad stuff that is the price of the flex). So, you can’t just magic yourself something great, like winning the lottery, without something horrible happening (like getting run over by a bus) to balance it out. Karma is a bitch, and so is Flux.
The Flux has put people on high alert to fear all ‘mancers. When they are found, they are sent to be Refactored, where they are pretty much brainwashed to operate within a hive mind of other ‘mancers. They work for the government, and are really just shells of their old selves. They seem like brainwashed zombies, just taking orders.
It makes you wonder why anyone would want to do it, but greed and lack of foresight often wins out in life, this world is no different. But then there is motivation that can sometimes make you take the risk of flux, a motivation that is not at all selfish but comes from a need to help, like the love a parent has for a child that is in dire need of medical help. It’s hard to imagine someone with the ability not trying to help (and just cross your fingers that the Flux doesn’t come back and bite you in the ass, undo all the good, plus).
Now, to make it even more interesting, imagine being able to channel this magic into a material that can be sold, distributed and used like a drug. Anyone can experience the thrill of Flex. Seriously, some very cool things going on in Flex.
Just don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a shallow, just for thrills book. There is more there than just a surface level action story. The very nature of how abilities manifest, the fact that ‘mancers tend to be lonely people with some sort of problems in their life, the cost of the magic, the balance of flex and flux, and the stigma of being ‘mancer in a society where magic is feared and loathed, all of these things speak at a deeper level if the reader chooses to go there. Flex is raw magic with a deep soul. Highly recommend.
Reading Flex is like ingesting a solid dose of some seriously bad-ass magic. The world comes to life, possibilities that you hadn’t thought of suddenly present themselves, you find yourself immersed in words that portray a familiar, but yet much more magical world. Flex is in some ways, reminiscent of Breaking Bad with a Ready Player One slant but with an added twist all it’s own.
Our protagonist, Paul, is an interesting character. He is a rule abiding, ex-cop who was injured in the line of duty against a ‘mancer. There are definite shades of grey morality as he is forced to make some very hard choices and re-evaluate his previously black and white view of the world.
I debated about how much plot detail to go into with this. There are some stories that I think are much better experienced straight from the author, and I suspect this is one of them. So, I am going to focus on the world and magic in this review and hope you get a good enough feel for what makes this story such a great read.
Imagine magic that that does not go to a predetermined set within the population, but a magic that stems from the pain of being isolated and the obsessions that people take on to cope with it. Magic that centers around whatever a person focuses on most to ground themselves, magic that comes from that one thing they have found to immerse themselves in to find some level of joy or sanity in their otherwise lonely or painful life. It creates a fascinating world where magic can stem from anything, and each users abilities and limitations are determined by what brings them magic.
These individuals that manifest these powers are called ‘mancers. The first part of it is determined by their unique ability (obsession). There are videogamemancers, deathmetalmancers, crazy cat ladies can become catmancers (or something like that). You get the idea. A videogamemancer’s capabilities must follow the rules from a video game. The only catch is that there are two sides to the magic. The flex (the good stuff you want to happen) and the flux (the bad stuff that is the price of the flex). So, you can’t just magic yourself something great, like winning the lottery, without something horrible happening (like getting run over by a bus) to balance it out. Karma is a bitch, and so is Flux.
The Flux has put people on high alert to fear all ‘mancers. When they are found, they are sent to be Refactored, where they are pretty much brainwashed to operate within a hive mind of other ‘mancers. They work for the government, and are really just shells of their old selves. They seem like brainwashed zombies, just taking orders.
It makes you wonder why anyone would want to do it, but greed and lack of foresight often wins out in life, this world is no different. But then there is motivation that can sometimes make you take the risk of flux, a motivation that is not at all selfish but comes from a need to help, like the love a parent has for a child that is in dire need of medical help. It’s hard to imagine someone with the ability not trying to help (and just cross your fingers that the Flux doesn’t come back and bite you in the ass, undo all the good, plus).
Now, to make it even more interesting, imagine being able to channel this magic into a material that can be sold, distributed and used like a drug. Anyone can experience the thrill of Flex. Seriously, some very cool things going on in Flex.
Just don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a shallow, just for thrills book. There is more there than just a surface level action story. The very nature of how abilities manifest, the fact that ‘mancers tend to be lonely people with some sort of problems in their life, the cost of the magic, the balance of flex and flux, and the stigma of being ‘mancer in a society where magic is feared and loathed, all of these things speak at a deeper level if the reader chooses to go there. Flex is raw magic with a deep soul. Highly recommend.