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badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
I'm feeling very ambivalent about this novel. I liked the plot, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed the dark path this novel followed. The book ended without a feeling of resolution, which tends to drive me a tad crazy. This was an interesting read, but I'm not sure how I would recommend this book to.
smolhandsdan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Drug use, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
11corvus11's review against another edition
4.0
I wonder if Mook knows he got turned into a cyber tagger in the post apocalyptic future
jnowal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
untyingmyself's review against another edition
4.0
This was an engaging book, although it took a little while for me to get used to the writing style. If you read this book, prepare for a fair amount of violence and some profanity. It was a little more violence than I'm used to. But the technology in this book, especially the idea of the Archives, is interesting. The author takes our recognizable modern-day technology and adapts it. It isn't a "feel-good" book, but it is a captivating story.
ryandk's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5 Stars) This was a rollercoaster of a book, with an interesting yet bleak take on what the future could look like. With an exciting mechanic in ‘The Archive’ and an intriguing mystery, Tomorrow and Tomorrow is worth taking a trip through.
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
Modern dystopian/science fiction done really well. I disagree with reviewers who found this book difficult to follow. Maybe I read enough of this type of thing to get it right away, but I found this book pretty accessible. The content on the other hand I can see being off-putting to some. This book is dark. Very dark. The bleak future presented in this book is pessimistic enough to avert many readers eyes, and that isn't even touching on the brutal amount of sexual violence that furnishes this tech noir thriller. For these reasons I can totally understand why this book is not for everyone, but maybe it should be. These things happen in today's society way more than is talked about, but I digress. The writing is concise and emotive, even if not quite as beautiful as some other genre fiction; still a standout novel for sure. Read it if you are in a good place and have a strong stomach.
sitnstew's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that ends up not being what most readers originally expected it to be. Whether that is a failing or a triumph seems to depend on the reader. I can certainly say that Tomorrow and Tomorrow isn't what I expected it to be... but it ended up being much much more complex and interesting. The story is a potpourri of genres. It is a dystopian post-apocalypse of sorts but is also crime fiction and romance and tragedy. Thomas Sweterlisch created such a complex story with a terrifyingly realistic future of brain-implanted ad-ware and privacy invasion. His description of the future is only a slightly stretch from what is already a part of our everyday lives that it is completely believable and horrifying.
The story itself is not going to make everyone happy. I'll admit that it is kind of a dreary tale. I liked it for that fact but many readers will feel beat down by it. I thought it was fantastic though! The writing was impeccable and the narrator was incredible (I listened to the audiobook).
The story itself is not going to make everyone happy. I'll admit that it is kind of a dreary tale. I liked it for that fact but many readers will feel beat down by it. I thought it was fantastic though! The writing was impeccable and the narrator was incredible (I listened to the audiobook).
kaylielongley's review against another edition
5.0
Finally, this is the sci-fi thriller standalone book I've been searching for: Tomorrow and Tomorrow tells an unabashed, poignant story of personal identity and crisis in an overstimulated world. Author Sweterlitsch has developed a world just close enough to reality, it's terrifying. 10 years ago, Pittsburg was demolished. Though the specifics of its destruction are minimal, most of the world moves on, besides survivor Dominic, whose pregnant wife Theresa died as a result of the chaos. He becomes disenchanted with the present, reliving his last days with her on a digital stream called the Archive, composed of past memories, recorded via surveillance cameras, tagged content, and neural imaging. He knows he must move on yet the data allows him to continue reliving memories, over and over again.
Though this is the heart of the story, the setting is the star. Dominic's life is saturated with slogans, sex, drugs, and violence. The little details compose the larger setting, making this future not too distant, as Beach Boys still play on the radio, cocaine is still consumed (along with brown sugar), and social networking still manages to reign supreme. Marketing has gotten smarter, though, as ads now adjust based on emotional response. Mass media have turned. CNN offers spots to "buy, sell, f*** America." The porn star-turned-president regularly represents the turn of values. Each of these pieces of the story are simply stated, with little response, as if Dominic is simply desensitized to the endless data stream. The amount and type of content is not as startling as Domi's response to it, presenting a picture of casual obsession.
As a digital archival assistant, Dominic like many others has Adware implanted into his brain. His assignments are to follow the deaths recorded deep in the Archive. He becomes obsessed with each detail of psych student Hannah, then missing ginger-haired Albion. Both have been deleted, and his world grows larger, weirder, in and outside his head. The virtual reality of Pittsburg becomes tangled with the physical truth, and Dominic must learn to cope with the possibility of losing everything, even Theresa.
Though there's a lot going on in Tomorrow and Tomorrow, I was captivated by this tech noir, as the authenticity of Dominic's responses to virtual and physical reality are so natural. The world is fascinating yet bleak, sparking memories of watching The Matrix for the first time. It is unapologetic in confronting the notion that the world is engulfed by media, offering no solution.
Though this is the heart of the story, the setting is the star. Dominic's life is saturated with slogans, sex, drugs, and violence. The little details compose the larger setting, making this future not too distant, as Beach Boys still play on the radio, cocaine is still consumed (along with brown sugar), and social networking still manages to reign supreme. Marketing has gotten smarter, though, as ads now adjust based on emotional response. Mass media have turned. CNN offers spots to "buy, sell, f*** America." The porn star-turned-president regularly represents the turn of values. Each of these pieces of the story are simply stated, with little response, as if Dominic is simply desensitized to the endless data stream. The amount and type of content is not as startling as Domi's response to it, presenting a picture of casual obsession.
As a digital archival assistant, Dominic like many others has Adware implanted into his brain. His assignments are to follow the deaths recorded deep in the Archive. He becomes obsessed with each detail of psych student Hannah, then missing ginger-haired Albion. Both have been deleted, and his world grows larger, weirder, in and outside his head. The virtual reality of Pittsburg becomes tangled with the physical truth, and Dominic must learn to cope with the possibility of losing everything, even Theresa.
Though there's a lot going on in Tomorrow and Tomorrow, I was captivated by this tech noir, as the authenticity of Dominic's responses to virtual and physical reality are so natural. The world is fascinating yet bleak, sparking memories of watching The Matrix for the first time. It is unapologetic in confronting the notion that the world is engulfed by media, offering no solution.
saltycorpse's review against another edition
2.0
I went into this novel super stoked, because it's future-murders, and a serial killer! It was a mystery that was gonna have twists and turns and be amazing.
Plus, the world-building was well-done and immersive and detailed. To an extent.
But then it attempted this half-assed romance plot that never materialized into anything substantial, and was never explained properly. And the murders were graphic and sexual and awful....but for no reason other than to be 'shocking'. Compounded with the nature of the world post-Pittsburgh being nuked by a terrorist (how original) the message of the book seems to be "people are perverse and shitty to an extent we never dreamed of." And? So? It read like a dark Idiocracy that took itself way too seriously. I think the author took time to build a world, but then it was just void of any commentary, really.
I'm not against violence in novels or movies, but it's just fucking straight-up lazy when writers employ it to simply make their work seem "edgy" without any other commentary. Sometimes, the commentary is that there IS no commentary, that it's just brutal and senseless - but that wasn't the point of violence and murder in this book, so it just became confusing and, honestly, boring.
Nothing intricate was explained about Albion either - she's the nucleus of the novel and tells her story in her own words, but there's zero analysis (and again, commentary) on religious zealotry and what people are willing to do, what people get away with, survivor's guilt, trauma, Stockholm Syndrome, and literally every important piece of her psyche. Nothing. It could have been a really rich exploration that could have been painful and amazing, but it was just dropped flat and instead Albion became Dominic's wife-replacement. How boring and lazy.
The writing was good, the pace was good - but the plot ultimately was absolute shite, and the lack of anything ultimately meaningful - or even nihilistic - was frustrating, and left me thinking "well wtf, this was a waste of time."
Plus, the world-building was well-done and immersive and detailed. To an extent.
But then it attempted this half-assed romance plot that never materialized into anything substantial, and was never explained properly. And the murders were graphic and sexual and awful....but for no reason other than to be 'shocking'. Compounded with the nature of the world post-Pittsburgh being nuked by a terrorist (how original) the message of the book seems to be "people are perverse and shitty to an extent we never dreamed of." And? So? It read like a dark Idiocracy that took itself way too seriously. I think the author took time to build a world, but then it was just void of any commentary, really.
I'm not against violence in novels or movies, but it's just fucking straight-up lazy when writers employ it to simply make their work seem "edgy" without any other commentary. Sometimes, the commentary is that there IS no commentary, that it's just brutal and senseless - but that wasn't the point of violence and murder in this book, so it just became confusing and, honestly, boring.
Nothing intricate was explained about Albion either - she's the nucleus of the novel and tells her story in her own words, but there's zero analysis (and again, commentary) on religious zealotry and what people are willing to do, what people get away with, survivor's guilt, trauma, Stockholm Syndrome, and literally every important piece of her psyche. Nothing. It could have been a really rich exploration that could have been painful and amazing, but it was just dropped flat and instead Albion became Dominic's wife-replacement. How boring and lazy.
The writing was good, the pace was good - but the plot ultimately was absolute shite, and the lack of anything ultimately meaningful - or even nihilistic - was frustrating, and left me thinking "well wtf, this was a waste of time."