Reviews with content warning for Torture - Do błyskawicy podobne

Not an easy read and a bit of a slog at times. Mostly unlikable characters. You will get the most out of this book if you have a background in a liberal arts education--history, philosophy, Latin, comparative religious study and theology are all major themes--which may come off as elitist to some. Even having such a background myself I admit I found it somewhat indulgent. The greats of 20th century science fiction and anime/Japanese culture are touchstones as well. The author is truly a nerd among nerds.

And yet the ideas presented in this book are wholly intriguing and oddly compel you to keep reading. This book is part of a series and I'm hoping book 2 has the payoff for all the world building and setup in this one.

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radinsh's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Intelligent, creative bordering on pretentious and tedious.

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jmcgillicuddy's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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agavemonster's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"Would you destroy a better world to save this one?"

Brilliant! I absolutely loved the presumptive pronouns assigned by the narrator, the explorations of Life's Big Questions through the lenses of multiple characters and their priest-cum-therapists, the wild experimentations with form, genre, and tone, and the slowly unraveling realization that this "utopia" (still wildly surveilled and a dystopia by many of our current standards of living) has many, many darknesses wrapped at its core. Three-quarters stars off for what I perceived as a clumsy characterization and dialogue of both children and what are meant to be "charming" characters, but I must say, now that I've read the whole book, I can appreciate what the author was intentionally doing with those more juvenile sections. Contra many other reviewers, I appreciated the

sudden turn into sexuality and violence, as when we discover Mycroft's crimes and when Mycroft was first accosted by Saladin, as the embodiment of the characters in this future world seemed to be a little missing in previous chapters. I was ultimately surprised, relieved, and amused by the knowledge that the author can do "adult" topics, as many in SFF can't or won't, and was choosing not to use them (by having the narrator choose not to use them) until the moment they would cause the most shock. Clever turnaround!!!

The only part of the world I still want to see revealed is the sexual/romantic dynamics of the "accepted" mainstream genderless society, as we get a good look at every type of relationship in this future world (familial, friendly, rivalry, servitude, taboo "genderful" brothel) other than that.

Still slightly less elegant overall than I think the author was striving for, especially since I got lost so much in all the plurality of nicknames different characters have for one another, but it is a first novel. Would recommend, absolutely.

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gracefully_jk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This book was… an experience to read. In many ways it was fascinating and the world building was incredibly interesting. I personally have great difficulty with graphic violence and so I struggled a bit with this book even though I had had someone read it before me and block out certain parts with sticky notes! That being said, its approach to gender, sex, religion, and politics was very interesting, even though I didn’t always agree with it. Very cool! An amazing debut book!

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kms80's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A strange and interesting read. This is a complicated world and the reader doesn't get much help understanding it. The ending is quite abrupt, but probably picks up in the sequel.

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ryn_k's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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