mazza57's review
1.0
i received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest reveiw
It should be called A strange and largely unreadable book. The writing is awful, there is no world building for something that obviously takes place in a fantasy world that world largely remains a strange and unwieldy mystery.
The characters were plastic fantastic and I lost interest around 30 %. I read every word but my POV was not altered.
It should be called A strange and largely unreadable book. The writing is awful, there is no world building for something that obviously takes place in a fantasy world that world largely remains a strange and unwieldy mystery.
The characters were plastic fantastic and I lost interest around 30 %. I read every word but my POV was not altered.
gentlyreads's review against another edition
2.0
A Strange and Brilliant Light follows the story of three wildly different women and the way their lives are affected by the rise of artificial intelligence within society. It presents lots of moral questions about governments, class inequality and the state of society.
I got Black Mirror-y vibes from this one, although it was a little heavier on the theoretical side so can be a bit difficult to sink your teeth into at first. It's worth sticking around for though, and brings up some interesting moral questions throughout which really get you thinking about the way our real society is heading!
The characterisation is something I wasn't a massive fan of - Lal is immediately unlikeable and seems to be completely void of human nature. Whilst I was really happy to see some LGBT+ rep with Janetta, she seems quite spineless, and Rose doesn't feel that interesting either. I would've much preferred this book if I had felt more invested in the characters, but unfortunately they are the let down in this case.
Overall, this is an interesting work of fiction focusing on the social narrative of AI and would be great for strongly political/theoretical sci-fi fans.
{gifted by netgalley and the publisher}
I got Black Mirror-y vibes from this one, although it was a little heavier on the theoretical side so can be a bit difficult to sink your teeth into at first. It's worth sticking around for though, and brings up some interesting moral questions throughout which really get you thinking about the way our real society is heading!
The characterisation is something I wasn't a massive fan of - Lal is immediately unlikeable and seems to be completely void of human nature. Whilst I was really happy to see some LGBT+ rep with Janetta, she seems quite spineless, and Rose doesn't feel that interesting either. I would've much preferred this book if I had felt more invested in the characters, but unfortunately they are the let down in this case.
Overall, this is an interesting work of fiction focusing on the social narrative of AI and would be great for strongly political/theoretical sci-fi fans.
{gifted by netgalley and the publisher}
kpletscher's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
2.0
treestan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
heloise_h's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leni4's review against another edition
1.0
The idea of a world with artificial intelligence felt like more of a sub-plot rather than the main focus of the book until the last few chapters. Many details about the characters were never explored or developed, therefore making a lot of the book feel like filler.
Lal was extremely unlikeable, which isn't necessarily a negative thing, however her actions and way of thinking wasn't justifiable, and she went through little to no character development.
Rose had a lot of potential, however fell flat, and the mystery around her family that was alluded to be of significance was never really mentioned again and felt completely unnecessary, rather than something that's actually integral to the plot. Not everything has to have meaning, however it was difficult to find anything in the book that actually progressed the story, and with the end being the only interesting part, it felt very rushed, as if the painstakingly long 250 pages previous meant nothing.
Janetta had little substance as a character,
However, I did like the ending, but I was disappointed in the wasted potential that this book had, as I really liked the philosophy and economic concerns relating to AI, and the theoretical solutions for people loosing their jobs to AI that were brought up.
Lal was extremely unlikeable, which isn't necessarily a negative thing, however her actions and way of thinking wasn't justifiable, and she went through little to no character development.
Spoiler
Her relationship with Los could have never been mentioned and it would have in no way effected her character or the plot, and it felt like a poor excuse for a sex scene.Rose had a lot of potential, however fell flat, and the mystery around her family that was alluded to be of significance was never really mentioned again and felt completely unnecessary, rather than something that's actually integral to the plot. Not everything has to have meaning, however it was difficult to find anything in the book that actually progressed the story, and with the end being the only interesting part, it felt very rushed, as if the painstakingly long 250 pages previous meant nothing.
Janetta had little substance as a character,
Spoiler
and I wish that her thought process when trying to create conscious AI was explained rather than it just suddenly happening.However, I did like the ending, but I was disappointed in the wasted potential that this book had, as I really liked the philosophy and economic concerns relating to AI, and the theoretical solutions for people loosing their jobs to AI that were brought up.
analogn's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lilyofthevalley's review against another edition
3.0
**2.75**
[This ARC was provided by NetGalley.]
this novel is a piece of speculative fiction that explores three women, in a similar world to ours, and their reactions to the rapidly growing influence of AI technology upon its society.
this book is a lot less science-fiction focused than i was initially expecting - instead, it explores the economic and political philosophy side of the impact of technology upon humanity, and discusses themes of autonomy, class, and freedom in an interesting way.
the three different perspectives provided three unique insights into how people might feel about "auts" - the main AI technology within the novel - and the impact they have upon the women's relationships and wellbeing.
however, the three different perspectives of lal, rose, and janetta ultimately felt like flat, two-dimensional characters to me, which meant i unfortunately wasn't as invested in this novel as i wanted to be; their different perspectives felt distinguishable, sure, but they just didn't feel interesting, sadly. the pacing was also all over the place, making the novel hard to follow in some areas.
[This ARC was provided by NetGalley.]
this novel is a piece of speculative fiction that explores three women, in a similar world to ours, and their reactions to the rapidly growing influence of AI technology upon its society.
this book is a lot less science-fiction focused than i was initially expecting - instead, it explores the economic and political philosophy side of the impact of technology upon humanity, and discusses themes of autonomy, class, and freedom in an interesting way.
the three different perspectives provided three unique insights into how people might feel about "auts" - the main AI technology within the novel - and the impact they have upon the women's relationships and wellbeing.
however, the three different perspectives of lal, rose, and janetta ultimately felt like flat, two-dimensional characters to me, which meant i unfortunately wasn't as invested in this novel as i wanted to be; their different perspectives felt distinguishable, sure, but they just didn't feel interesting, sadly. the pacing was also all over the place, making the novel hard to follow in some areas.
samsearle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25