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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
alienguy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism and Toxic friendship
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I like the way the narrative is layered, and the commentary on the role of media in the formation of identity, especially when that media was not ideal representation, all of that was very interesting, and is part of why I kept reading for as long as I did. but either most of what’s in the description for the book doesn’t come in to play until the second half, or I’m missing something huge in the story. I’m not sure which, and I’m ultimately ended up not finishing it. I think this is the first DNF that I might want to revisit later when I’m in a better headspace, that time just isn’t right now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent
anxiousnachos's review
4.5
4.5 stars. I do so love books that play with structure. This was very very cool!! This is a topsy-turvy scifi time-travel literary thriller (though heavier on the more experimental, literary side of things). It follows the story of three people: a child whose mother just died, a man who was just made redundant, and a man giving a tell-all TV interview about a tech company; interspersed with a snippets of an 80s noir TV show. It’s queer and explores Asian American identity and has such a brilliant depiction of the way grief and trauma haunt your entire life that made my currently very tender heart absolutely crumple. It’s a very difficult book to summarise and it’s absolutely one of those books you should go in knowing as little about the plot as possible, so if a queer, Asian, sci-fi literary thriller sounds like your thing, definitely check this out!!
Content warnings: death of a parent, grief, mild blood/injury detail, dementia, sexual content, drug and alcohol use
Content warnings: death of a parent, grief, mild blood/injury detail, dementia, sexual content, drug and alcohol use
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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