Scan barcode
clearlybones's review
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
4.5
mar's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I... don't really know what to make of this book. There's so much going on here.
First, there's the epistolary format (chat logs, emails, diary entries) that doesn't take that long to get used to but that does unfortunately make the erotica very awkward to read - it feels like reading someone's cringy roleplay sexts. no thank you. Also, the book drags quite a bit in the first half, the plot - when it does finally start to pick up - is fairly simplistic and naive, and the theme of "the importance of freedom of expression online" isn't particularly groundbreaking these days (though I'm sure it was very fresh in 1996).
Then, there's the fact that the novel takes place primarily on the internet, making it feel, unsurprisingly, pretty dated (it's SO funny reading a book that feels the need to explain to you what "email" stands for). And I genuinely can't tell if it was actually meant to be a cyberpunk novel, or just comes across/gets labelled as such because of its setting/subject, considering it doesn't actually have any major sci-fi elements, as far as I can tell? Oh well.
(Also, speaking of dated, there's some questionable things in the novel as well - there's a couple weird comments about race, and I'm still not clear as to why the 2 adult main characters are constantly sharing the details of their online sex lives with a teenager???)
And yet, finally, wrapped in all that, there are conversations about gender that were more genuine and radical than I ever could've expected. It's the book's strongest aspect - its redeeming quality, I'd say, even. Trans womanhood, non-binary gender, butch/femme identities, trans-exclusionary feminism - it went so much deeper than the Gender 101 I was expecting! The two protagonists' IRL identities are actively held secret for a solid half of the book (as a fun little bit of gender fuckery they both use ze/hir pronouns and switch between variously gendered personas online), but i think it's the point where we (and the characters) find out said identities where things get really interesting - because it turns out they have very different perspectives on gender and reasons for being critical of it, which kicks off some fascinating and honestly shockingly relevant (I was definitely reminded of modern TERFs a lot) discussions. The book might be worth a read just for that.
First, there's the epistolary format (chat logs, emails, diary entries) that doesn't take that long to get used to but that does unfortunately make the erotica very awkward to read - it feels like reading someone's cringy roleplay sexts. no thank you. Also, the book drags quite a bit in the first half, the plot - when it does finally start to pick up - is fairly simplistic and naive, and the theme of "the importance of freedom of expression online" isn't particularly groundbreaking these days (though I'm sure it was very fresh in 1996).
Then, there's the fact that the novel takes place primarily on the internet, making it feel, unsurprisingly, pretty dated (it's SO funny reading a book that feels the need to explain to you what "email" stands for). And I genuinely can't tell if it was actually meant to be a cyberpunk novel, or just comes across/gets labelled as such because of its setting/subject, considering it doesn't actually have any major sci-fi elements, as far as I can tell? Oh well.
(Also, speaking of dated, there's some questionable things in the novel as well - there's a couple weird comments about race, and I'm still not clear as to why the 2 adult main characters are constantly sharing the details of their online sex lives with a teenager???)
And yet, finally, wrapped in all that, there are conversations about gender that were more genuine and radical than I ever could've expected. It's the book's strongest aspect - its redeeming quality, I'd say, even. Trans womanhood, non-binary gender, butch/femme identities, trans-exclusionary feminism - it went so much deeper than the Gender 101 I was expecting! The two protagonists' IRL identities are actively held secret for a solid half of the book (as a fun little bit of gender fuckery they both use ze/hir pronouns and switch between variously gendered personas online), but i think it's the point where we (and the characters) find out said identities where things get really interesting - because it turns out they have very different perspectives on gender and reasons for being critical of it, which kicks off some fascinating and honestly shockingly relevant (I was definitely reminded of modern TERFs a lot) discussions. The book might be worth a read just for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Self harm, Racism, and Blood
thegayngelgabriel's review
4.0
Goofy, naive, messily plotted at best, definitely ~~~problematic. Written in the year of my birth, so it's about an era of the Internet that seems almost unreachably distant to me, but. There are conversations in this book I've had nearly verbatim; there's sex (cyber and otherwise) that I've had and never seen written anywhere else until this book. To be fair I am also goofy, naive, messy and problematic. I felt seen, and I can't help but say thank you to the authors, for being brave enough to write this and publish it, in all its glory.
readmeup's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
More...