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fourestxx's review
2.0
A Strange and Brilliant Light focuses on three main characters: Lal, Janetta and Rose who are living in a time of technological development and advancement, with AI (Auts) gradually replacing humans within the workforce leading to high levels of unemployment, discontent and social upheaval.
The three perspectives are all very different and I found Rose the most relatable – an ordinary worked wanting to see change in her society but unsure how best to approach it.
Lal on the other hand is a huge fan of innovation and is seeking to better herself in the corporate world of AI. While Janetta, the hardest of the three to connect with in my opinion, is a genius level student of AI but seems to spend much of the story wallowing in her failed relationships.
I didn’t find the three girls to be particularly strong characters and they each seemed to maintain relationships with or pander to the feelings of other more obnoxious characters (i.e.: Malin, Taly, Alec, etc).
The concept of human jobs being replaced by AI is really interesting and I liked the sci-fi approach with a political twist. I did, however, find the book a bit meandering in places and I couldn’t tell whether it was actually going anywhere or just offering a brief glimpse of a potential future society.
The final few chapters felt a little rushed with no real resolution for any of the characters and the open ending was unsatisfying.
Unfortunately not for me!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The three perspectives are all very different and I found Rose the most relatable – an ordinary worked wanting to see change in her society but unsure how best to approach it.
Lal on the other hand is a huge fan of innovation and is seeking to better herself in the corporate world of AI. While Janetta, the hardest of the three to connect with in my opinion, is a genius level student of AI but seems to spend much of the story wallowing in her failed relationships.
I didn’t find the three girls to be particularly strong characters and they each seemed to maintain relationships with or pander to the feelings of other more obnoxious characters (i.e.: Malin, Taly, Alec, etc).
The concept of human jobs being replaced by AI is really interesting and I liked the sci-fi approach with a political twist. I did, however, find the book a bit meandering in places and I couldn’t tell whether it was actually going anywhere or just offering a brief glimpse of a potential future society.
The final few chapters felt a little rushed with no real resolution for any of the characters and the open ending was unsatisfying.
Unfortunately not for me!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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.
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.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,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.
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.
jgwc54e5's review against another edition
3.0
A novel about automation and AI replacing humans in all areas of work. Centred around three women, Rose who works in a Slurpee store, her friend Lal who used to be the store manager and goes to work for Tekna, the parent company that is busy automating all its workers and Lal’s sister, Janetta working on a PhD studying conscious AI. There’s lots of interesting ideas here, but many of them have been done better elsewhere. I think I would’ve preferred the book to be set in the real world somewhere and not a made up place, more obvious social satire for example.(I did get some [b:The Circle|18302455|The Circle|Dave Eggers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376419833l/18302455._SX50_.jpg|25791820] vibes later in the book as Lal gets promoted at Tekna). There’s nothing about the type of government or wider society that they live in, though later there is some nods to the way capitalism throws people on the scrapheap so easily in the name of profit. Overall I felt it was too long and the relationships overdone, I found Janetta an unbelievable character particularly. But it’s not bad, I just wanted more.
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
charlotteadshead's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Unfortunately this book was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I was expecting a story with a little more of a science focus however instead this was a very character driven story in which the character's lives and beliefs had been massively shaped by the presence of AI in the world. The story is told between three different perspectives and sadly I didn't find that I really connected to any of them. I also found that there was little to no plot which meant that the focus was constantly on our main characters. Right up until the very end I felt that this story had a very negative tone to it and that really hampered my motivation when it came to picking the book up. When I did start to read it however I thought that the writing style was fairly light and easy to read so I didn't find myself too bogged down with it. Ultimately I went into this book with very different expectations to those that I met and unfortunately that meant that this book just didn't hit the mark for me.