Reviews

Universal Love by Alexander Weinstein

toryhallelujah's review against another edition

5.0

[ARC] Fuck yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah Black Mirror short stories!!!!!!!!!!

nerzola's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

georgiably's review

reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

An interesting book full of short futuristic stories. It was very reflective and made me think deeply about the future and what could come. 
Each story seemed very dystopian and not very hopeful, so I think you’d need to be in a certain mood to read it. 

asunnybooknook's review against another edition

4.0

Black Mirror esque definitely

bookalong's review against another edition

4.0

This is an engaging and thought provoking story collection set in the near future. A facinating premis on technologies that radically alter our ability to love one another.

Technology is so easily accessible and always evolving, so the idea behind these stories was an instant draw for me, very futuristic, they didn't dissapoint!

My favorite story was about two sisters seeking to comfort their father in the wake of their mothers death. The "Nostalgia App" takes their old feeds and creates a hologram of their mother. This takes the one sister on a journey to knowing her mother better and unearth a new revelation.

All these stories are well written, sharing similar themes and tones, of lonliness and loss of personal connections, and they all hit hard emotionally. I think what captured me the most was how realistic these almost scifi storylines were and could one day be a reality, like eerie cautionary tales. Some technology helps us and some hurts us. It can already limit our personal face to face interactions, relationships and intimacies so where do we draw a line and find balance?

This is a collection I will not soon forget!
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Thank You to the tagged publisher for sending me this book opinions are my own.
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nejlepsihouba's review against another edition

4.0

Love is weird. With a backdrop of a dying planet and rapidly advancing technology, love is plain terrifying. From recreating lost loved ones through archived memories to surviving a toxic relationship in unbreathable air, Weinstein explores how one of the strongest forces in human existence adapts to our future, whatever that may look like.

raintaxi's review against another edition

2.0

-disatisfying
-why does a book called "Universal Love", lack hope and actual love
-sure, there's cool tech but the writing lacks heart
-just because it's sad and depressing, doesn't mean it's nuanced
-maybe this was not the right time to read this book?
-i dont think tech "ruins" lives, i think unbridled capitalism and incompetent, unfair structures of power do
-so this felt a lil cheapening

fauningoverbooks's review against another edition

3.0

I originally picked up this book because the description sounded like Black Mirror in story form and boy was I not wrong. Almost every story is based in the near future where technology has made a big impact on our lives. There were some stories I liked more than others, i.e. The Year of Nostalgia, I found the ending really funny. But most of them there was this underlying sadness, some bittersweet, some just plain bitter, that makes you stop and think about what the world could come to, if we keep heading down the path we’re on. 3.5 stars for this one!

eitakbackwards's review

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Found the audiobook on BorrowBox, had never heard of the author and went into it having only read a short but intriguing blurb. The result: I was presently surprised!

This is just my vibe: thought experiment type stories about near future tech’s effect on existing life and society.

I think it made me realise that I love spec fiction to be well developed (I.e. not a short story) so the author can fully explain HOW the idea works and demonstrate multiple eventualities/consequences- but these were still solid premises.
This is also how I feel about Black Mirror eps tbf - great idea but then execution doesN’t always dive deep enough.

Topics covered: Online Vs. organic reality boundary blurring and how that affects adults, children and the dilemmas of parenting; loss, identity and privacy; sex, relationships and loneliness in a world where authenticity and physical connection are increasingly absent and m o r e.

A few of the stories reminded me a bit of Ted Chiang and books like ‘love and other thought experiments’ (or yeah, a black mirror episode lol.)

Wasn’t a fan of the ‘alien insect species seeking refuge in the online sphere’ tale as I thought the comparisons it was ???trying to make were really odd and unsubtle. Also wasn’t wild for the one about parallel universes either as thought the characters weren’t great and think you maybe need a whole book to meat out a concept like that so it sounds reasonable - but you’re not gonna LOVE every story in a collection.

I will deffo look into reading his other book!

themanicuredshelf's review

inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0