Scan barcode
blackaliss's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know what to feel about this book. I'll say this, the first 50 pages of the book are harder to get through than the rest of it. I thought I'd need to give it a pass.
The world that he's depicting is a terrible one, overloaded with pornography and violence with people near completely desensitised to them, integrated seamlessly with Christian fundamentalism, and yet I was obsessed with reading about it. I can't help but feel it'll prove to be prophetic. The protagonist is constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown and while most of it is due to the grief he still feels for the death of his wife, I get the feeling everyone's mentally compromised here. I'm in love with the author's writing despite the scattered story, the bleak state of society and the constant theme of women in refrigerators. But it's absolutely not an accessible book, unless you're drawn to the abject.
The world that he's depicting is a terrible one, overloaded with pornography and violence with people near completely desensitised to them, integrated seamlessly with Christian fundamentalism, and yet I was obsessed with reading about it. I can't help but feel it'll prove to be prophetic. The protagonist is constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown and while most of it is due to the grief he still feels for the death of his wife, I get the feeling everyone's mentally compromised here. I'm in love with the author's writing despite the scattered story, the bleak state of society and the constant theme of women in refrigerators. But it's absolutely not an accessible book, unless you're drawn to the abject.
daniellesalwaysreading's review against another edition
I really liked the world building and the mystery in the first two sections. It was like Feed meets Blade Runner. Then it took a major turn for the worse. The third part contained way more graphic sexually violent description than I want in a book. Not every murder victim needs to be graphically raped and tortured. In fact, I think it should be possible to write an entire book without any rape at all, but lots of mystery writers just don't agree.
internalkeyboard's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC through my organization, in advance of a free reading program at our local library.
I finished this book a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. If this book was a person, I'd make a mixtape for it.
Unfortunately for that person, it would be Take Me To Church by Hozier 12 times in a row. Fortunately for Sweterlitsch the film rights for Tomorrow and Tomorrow have already been optioned and I fully expect Take Me To Church play once (c'mon Sony!) because it's so perfect, but dirty religion and desperation aren't the only themes in this book. The lack of privacy in technology underscores the entire story set in the not-too-distant future. Sweterlitsch's version of advertising-feeding Google Glass isn't a huge leap from today's prototypes - it even makes you question the everyday video recordings in every store that help comprise Tomorrow and Tomorrow's Archive. A recreation of Pittsburgh pre-destruction the Half-Matrix, half-The Thirteenth Floor (did anyone else see that movie?) system that allows anyone to interact with the former residents is brilliant. The main character Dominic is basically a freelance Blade Runner for insurance agencies, tracking down the deaths surrounding the events of a nuclear attack in Archived Pittsburgh to find out if they were caused by the blast or something more... intended.
The unraveling of the story is the best part of the experience, so I won't ruin anything for you, except to say that if you liked the story of Twin Peaks (the Mark Frost part, not the Lynchiness) you'll probably enjoy this. Seems strange, I know, but trust me. I can say that I felt Sweterlitsch's love for Pittsburgh in the tiny details, but anyone across the world will enjoy this gripping piece of speculative fiction.
I finished this book a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. If this book was a person, I'd make a mixtape for it.
Unfortunately for that person, it would be Take Me To Church by Hozier 12 times in a row. Fortunately for Sweterlitsch the film rights for Tomorrow and Tomorrow have already been optioned and I fully expect Take Me To Church play once (c'mon Sony!) because it's so perfect, but dirty religion and desperation aren't the only themes in this book. The lack of privacy in technology underscores the entire story set in the not-too-distant future. Sweterlitsch's version of advertising-feeding Google Glass isn't a huge leap from today's prototypes - it even makes you question the everyday video recordings in every store that help comprise Tomorrow and Tomorrow's Archive. A recreation of Pittsburgh pre-destruction the Half-Matrix, half-The Thirteenth Floor (did anyone else see that movie?) system that allows anyone to interact with the former residents is brilliant. The main character Dominic is basically a freelance Blade Runner for insurance agencies, tracking down the deaths surrounding the events of a nuclear attack in Archived Pittsburgh to find out if they were caused by the blast or something more... intended.
The unraveling of the story is the best part of the experience, so I won't ruin anything for you, except to say that if you liked the story of Twin Peaks (the Mark Frost part, not the Lynchiness) you'll probably enjoy this. Seems strange, I know, but trust me. I can say that I felt Sweterlitsch's love for Pittsburgh in the tiny details, but anyone across the world will enjoy this gripping piece of speculative fiction.
uncannyvalerie's review against another edition
4.0
Great images of how technology can help and hinder. Easy to become fully engrossed in the story.
See my full review here.
See my full review here.
bbbbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to rate because it's very good sci-fi wrapped around a very generic and predictable murder mystery. There's nothing surprising because every character plays out their obvious role from the moment of introduction, but the world and setting are so fantastic. If you're one of those folks that values world building over other elements, this will be a great one.
shonatiger's review against another edition
3.0
A very strange and gruesome book. Quite dark. Not a lot of redemption. A really unlikeable main character. Oh, and the women in this book, and their role as foil and victim
tensoonreads's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm I liked this book but I didn’t love it. I felt like there was waaaay too much unnecessary filler - descriptions and internal dialogue that wasn’t necessary and made the book drag out a lot.
The plot and characters I loved, just wish it was either shorter and more concise or there were a few more good plot driven scenes.
The plot and characters I loved, just wish it was either shorter and more concise or there were a few more good plot driven scenes.
sumzaal's review against another edition
4.0
I read this by mistake. Thought I was reading the Charles Sheffield novel.
thomcat's review against another edition
1.0
Not good.
Many reviews mention taking around 100 pages to get into it, and I agree. A rewrite of this (or serious editing) may help - not sure.
This story really isn't cyberpunk. Most of what we see here could be done with today's smartphones and perhaps a VR headset. In the near future of this novel, the tech is pretty believable.
Speaking of the archive, this is the one idea I applaud. To commandeer ALL the recordings from a particular city and use them to build up a giant interactive version of that place is seriously cool - and again not horribly far from possible.
Unfortunately, the archive is put to a very scummy use, just like most of the other technology. This book describes a serious dystopia, and that part wasn't fun to read. Also in that category is the graphic violence, much of it against women.
Finally, this book ends up as a mystery. I don't read them that often, but it seems like the author has hit most of the plot twist options here.
Overall, one good idea just isn't enough. I didn't like this book.
Many reviews mention taking around 100 pages to get into it, and I agree. A rewrite of this (or serious editing) may help - not sure.
This story really isn't cyberpunk. Most of what we see here could be done with today's smartphones and perhaps a VR headset. In the near future of this novel, the tech is pretty believable.
Speaking of the archive, this is the one idea I applaud. To commandeer ALL the recordings from a particular city and use them to build up a giant interactive version of that place is seriously cool - and again not horribly far from possible.
Unfortunately, the archive is put to a very scummy use, just like most of the other technology. This book describes a serious dystopia, and that part wasn't fun to read. Also in that category is the graphic violence, much of it against women.
Finally, this book ends up as a mystery. I don't read them that often, but it seems like the author has hit most of the plot twist options here.
Overall, one good idea just isn't enough. I didn't like this book.