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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Oh my god
It was... good.
Some thoughts, in no particular order:
If America has a second Civil War, I highly doubt that fossil fuels are going to be the spark. I mean, just read the news.
Is it me, or did the book move almost painfully slow until after? (don’t want to spoil anything)
Maybe the lack of racial descriptors was deliberate, and maybe this is my bias as a white person, but were there any other POC besides the Chestnuts? And Karina?
I liked the historical documents interwoven with the story, but that’s becoming a trope now (see World War Z).
Some thoughts, in no particular order:
If America has a second Civil War, I highly doubt that fossil fuels are going to be the spark. I mean, just read the news.
Is it me, or did the book move almost painfully slow until after? (don’t want to spoil anything)
Maybe the lack of racial descriptors was deliberate, and maybe this is my bias as a white person, but were there any other POC besides the Chestnuts? And Karina?
I liked the historical documents interwoven with the story, but that’s becoming a trope now (see World War Z).
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
An interesting thought experiment about a second Civil War that mirrors the first one in many ways, but is set in a world ravaged by climate collapse and a new global power dynamic in which what's left of the country in the midst of internal conflict is further undermined and destabilized by an overseas empire.
The horrors described in this story have been perpetrated by US empire for so long that I really enjoyed reading a story in which all of that violence has come home to roost.
I didn't feel super connected with Sarat or the narrator so the book wasn't as emotionally impactful as it could have been, but it was a solid read that provided great food for thought.
The horrors described in this story have been perpetrated by US empire for so long that I really enjoyed reading a story in which all of that violence has come home to roost.
I didn't feel super connected with Sarat or the narrator so the book wasn't as emotionally impactful as it could have been, but it was a solid read that provided great food for thought.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Grief
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I started reading this before the 2024 election and shit just got too real for me…10/10 would continue reading if the dystopian world depicted in the book didn’t remind me so much of the long-term effects of corrupt US politics.