Reviews with content warning for Murder - 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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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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mishnah's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective fast-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

4.25

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bigmouthsass's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely fantastic. Challenging and cerebral, but this book has stuck in my mind more than any other I've read. So smart and thought provoking. Plot is great, world building is very fresh, but honestly the real star in this novel are the ideas the author puts forth about gender, culture, religion, government, technology, history. And these ideas all fit together so neatly within a very complex and compelling plot. It's definitely one of those books where I was in awe of how the author managed to keep all the info organized and on the page, let alone coming up with all of in the first place! When I found out she is a Harvard professor, I can't say I was surprised!

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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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