Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

A Strange and Brilliant Light by Eli Lee

1 review

mar's review

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I... have very mixed feelings about this book, because the premise was really promising, and I think it covers some really fascinating concepts and themes, but the execution of it is... hm. well! Not Great, imo. Like, I don't think I would've finished it if it weren't an ARC from Netgalley - and I AM glad I did, bc I think the ending of the novel is actually really solid and narratively satisfying, concluding the character arcs quite well (though it could've been build up to more in Lal's case, honestly). Still, that doesn't make up for how I spent the majority of the book alternating between bored and frustrated.

The idea of a transition point between current society and a world where most jobs are done by auts and the societal&economic tensions that would arise in such a transition? SUPER fascinating in theory. As is the potential introduction of conscious AIs. But the book never really delved into those as much as I wished except maybe at the very end, and I was rly disappointed how little auts actually featured in the story. Seriously, for the majority of the novel all the interesting stuff just got sidelined for the sake of things like irrelevant romantic drama I could NOT bring myself to care about. Especially since none of the characters are particularly likeable, which, considering this is a primarily character-driven book, is Not Ideal. And they weren't even unlikeable in an interesting way, they just felt... kinda flat and boring and passive.

(Also, I kept waiting for the fact that Lal
essentially got all her ex-coworkers and friends fired (and then had the audacity to have sex with one of them? and proceed to ghost him???)
to come up, but it somehow... never... did? like. i am genuinely baffled there was never any sort of repercussions for that, no narrative follow-up?? NOTHING? bruh. okay.)

So. Yeah. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations 😔

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC) 

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