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drymice's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Car accident
wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
I enjoyed Flux and thought it was an interesting debut, but I think the pacing was rather off and wanted to get into more of the spec-fic and interconnectedness much sooner than the book got there.
I really liked the exploration of being mixed race, and the complicated feelings of being diaspora, specifically around language. I related so strongly to the portrayal of anger and isolation of grief after losing a parent, along with how the MC latches onto this one tv show so much that it is simultaneously embarrassing and heartbreaking. The nuance of his relationship with that fictional TV show was so good, and I saw so much of myself looking desperately for representation and connection in the media of a place that so often felt like it tolerated me at best. The last 40% or so is a whirlwind of time loop chaos, and Chong's writing really lends itself to the cinematic style there and in the TV show "recaps."
Onto the downsides. The pacing is rather choppy and slow. Some of that's on purpose but also obvious information is withheld for way too long and I think Chong could have gone further into the spec fic elements a lot sooner. There are some elements in this that felt very "written by a man," especially when it comes to Min and their relationship. Side characters overall are flat, although ymmv on how much of that is purposeful because of the MC's self-absorbtion and disconnects from reality. The main company in this book is a thinly-veiled Theranos, complete with renamed Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani. The plot hinges on the specific consequences of their actions much more than the overarching ones, and I wanted a lot more from the Blue storyline on that front.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author, with the hope that it gets a blurb that much better fits the actual contents.
Recommended for people who enjoy a character-driven scifi that explores grief and how much that can warp a person's life, and fans of movies like Vanilla Sky or David Lynch.
I really liked the exploration of being mixed race, and the complicated feelings of being diaspora, specifically around language. I related so strongly to the portrayal of anger and isolation of grief after losing a parent, along with how the MC latches onto this one tv show so much that it is simultaneously embarrassing and heartbreaking. The nuance of his relationship with that fictional TV show was so good, and I saw so much of myself looking desperately for representation and connection in the media of a place that so often felt like it tolerated me at best. The last 40% or so is a whirlwind of time loop chaos, and Chong's writing really lends itself to the cinematic style there and in the TV show "recaps."
Onto the downsides. The pacing is rather choppy and slow. Some of that's on purpose but also obvious information is withheld for way too long and I think Chong could have gone further into the spec fic elements a lot sooner. There are some elements in this that felt very "written by a man," especially when it comes to Min and their relationship. Side characters overall are flat, although ymmv on how much of that is purposeful because of the MC's self-absorbtion and disconnects from reality. The main company in this book is a thinly-veiled Theranos, complete with renamed Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani. The plot hinges on the specific consequences of their actions much more than the overarching ones, and I wanted a lot more from the Blue storyline on that front.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author, with the hope that it gets a blurb that much better fits the actual contents.
Recommended for people who enjoy a character-driven scifi that explores grief and how much that can warp a person's life, and fans of movies like Vanilla Sky or David Lynch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Racism and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse
mirandyli's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This was a great, trippy, dystopian read with a bisexual Korean male lead. Confusing at times but quick to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you know the movie Groundhog Day (1993) you will be familiar with the order of some events within this book. It is particularly easy to lose your place during the audiobook and then be confused until the events start to wrap up. There are some really poignant moments between characters, especially towards the end of the book. It may be easy to predict how certain characters are connected together throughout the events of the story, and the 'villain' is also very apparent well before the big reveal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Bo has a scene where there is a stick stuck in his hand and his wrist is also broken. Brandon and his boss have a toxic faux friendship where drug use is common. Blue and his family have a history of verbal aggression, if not abuse, and he struggles to maintain/fix his connection to his family- there is a tense Christmas Dinner scene. Blue is nonverbal but this is "fixed" with some sort of implant in his neck.queergoth_reads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Absolutely not what I expected but I think I had a good time. I think I wanted a big more of the sci-fi element but I thought it was well crafted (even if it did lag at points). Thought it was great as an audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content and Car accident
hamstringy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.5
This is definitely a really powerfully written book about grief, fandom, and tech-politics. The narrator was excellent. I don’t quite know how I feel about the ending or most of Blue’s parts—I feel like I’m missing fulfillment here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Car accident
kell_xavi's review
2.0
Intriguing, eerily luscious setting and tantalizingly strange occurrences that stay vague, piecemeal, aesthetic more than meaning. Too everyday in its personal drama, too distant and inarticulate in its speculative elements. Didn’t come together for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I honestly feel so mindfucked right now. Time travel has never really been my thing because it’s so easy for my brain to lose it. I’ve never been great at conceptualizing high-level mathematics of physics, and when someone tries to be confusing about time travel, they usually pull from those subjects.
My feelings about this book wavered as I kept reading it. Sometimes it dragged and felt stupid, but other times it was riveting. I liked how many tidbits tied into each other. I liked the subtle and informative world building. I even enjoyed how much of an asshole the protagonist was.
The writing was really fascinating. I love second person, and the use of that perspective was really good in this novel. There were many plot choices that felt kind of janky, but I like experimentation. Not everything landed, but I’ve never read a book like this before. It was new and exciting. I had fun.
I think what really pushed this book from a 3.75 to a 4 for me was that it was ultimately about a boy who wanted to save his mother. The through line of this book was people trying to fix things, to save people who were gone. I just found it sweet.
My feelings about this book wavered as I kept reading it. Sometimes it dragged and felt stupid, but other times it was riveting. I liked how many tidbits tied into each other. I liked the subtle and informative world building. I even enjoyed how much of an asshole the protagonist was.
The writing was really fascinating. I love second person, and the use of that perspective was really good in this novel. There were many plot choices that felt kind of janky, but I like experimentation. Not everything landed, but I’ve never read a book like this before. It was new and exciting. I had fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction
tigger89's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was one of those books that I read, and then had to spend a few days deciding if I'd liked or not. There's a lot going on here, and despite the brisk pace of the narrative I think most readers will require a bit of processing time to work through the various connections. Something important to note is that the book summary is marketing lies, specifically the part where it teases a cover up for violent crimes. It's technically true, in that violent crimes did take place and I suppose there must have been a cover up, but it was all off-screen and it wasn't what the characters were primarily concerned with. Rather, this novel is about identity, and spends a great deal of time investigating the fallout resulting from trauma. I sympathize with the author(who doesn't really get a say in the cover copy) on this, and try not to hold it against the story.
But describing it that way makes it sound like a sad book, which it wasn't. It read like the kind of thriller where you've got all the puzzle pieces almost from the start, and the tricky bit is putting them together in a way that makes sense to get from A to Z. I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the reveals, but I also didn't mind; I was invested in uncovering the how and the why, rather than the who and the what, if that makes sense.
One thing I really appreciated about this book was the depiction of Brandon as not only bisexual, but as an unapologetically messy bisexual. He doesn't have his anything together, and as the narrative unfolds it begins to make sense as to why. If you're looking for a competent, well-put-together protagonist, this isn't the book for you. But his bad decisions are the journey, and I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for this disaster of a man, even if I didn't agree with many of the actions he chose to take. I also had a lot of thoughts about whether or not he did the right thing, in the end. I'm still not sure I've reached a decision on that.
Something I didn't mind but that will be a dealbreaker for some is the technology. It's definitely closer to the "reverse the polarity!" end of the sci-fi spectrum, which is to say it's barely explained and doesn't even pretend to be plausible. I though it suited the novel that way, but if you're someone who likes fictional technology — or magic pretending to be technology — to be explained to you, be warned this is not that kind of story. You kind of have to just accept it for what it is.
I enjoyed this debut, and would be interested to see what the author might come out with next. And hopefully the marketers leave his summaries alone in the future, because no reader likes getting to the end of a book only to realize they've been mislead!
But describing it that way makes it sound like a sad book, which it wasn't. It read like the kind of thriller where you've got all the puzzle pieces almost from the start, and the tricky bit is putting them together in a way that makes sense to get from A to Z. I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the reveals, but I also didn't mind; I was invested in uncovering the how and the why, rather than the who and the what, if that makes sense.
One thing I really appreciated about this book was the depiction of Brandon as not only bisexual, but as an unapologetically messy bisexual. He doesn't have his anything together, and as the narrative unfolds it begins to make sense as to why. If you're looking for a competent, well-put-together protagonist, this isn't the book for you. But his bad decisions are the journey, and I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for this disaster of a man, even if I didn't agree with many of the actions he chose to take. I also had a lot of thoughts about whether or not he did the right thing, in the end. I'm still not sure I've reached a decision on that.
Something I didn't mind but that will be a dealbreaker for some is the technology. It's definitely closer to the "reverse the polarity!" end of the sci-fi spectrum, which is to say it's barely explained and doesn't even pretend to be plausible. I though it suited the novel that way, but if you're someone who likes fictional technology — or magic pretending to be technology — to be explained to you, be warned this is not that kind of story. You kind of have to just accept it for what it is.
I enjoyed this debut, and would be interested to see what the author might come out with next. And hopefully the marketers leave his summaries alone in the future, because no reader likes getting to the end of a book only to realize they've been mislead!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism