Scan barcode
eb00kie's review against another edition
DNF’d end of first story
Good ideas: the capitalism will overtake living has been done to exhaustion, but this spin is good. However, the author has difficulty conveying anything in any significant way.
What did the desired ‘life’ entail, what did the mortgage entail, if emotions could be taken, why did they have to be ‘given’ instead of deleted or negated?
Good ideas: the capitalism will overtake living has been done to exhaustion, but this spin is good. However, the author has difficulty conveying anything in any significant way.
What did the desired ‘life’ entail, what did the mortgage entail, if emotions could be taken, why did they have to be ‘given’ instead of deleted or negated?
Content Warnings
miabaim's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
This book would have been better if the author could have managed to just be serious in a story. This was most notable in The Book of Categories, which would have worked so much better without an unsure narrative voice. Human for Beginners would also have been better if it had never used the words “I guess.” And the dialogue in Yeoman was just elementary, the relationship between the main character and his wife not nearly fleshed out enough.
Some of these stories were interesting conceptually, but none felt like Yu had thought about them for as long as he could have and fully fleshed them out. I liked Troubleshooting, Open, and Sorry Please Thank You, and really none of the others.
I also felt that all of these stories were deeply written by a heterosexual man. I’ve read short story collections where facets of the author’s identity are clear in how they shape their main characters, and that’s fine, but unfortunately I’m just bored by reading about youngish middle aged straight men and their little sci fi worlds in which they wait for things to happen to them and have crushes on their girl coworkers. It’s boring.
Some of these stories were interesting conceptually, but none felt like Yu had thought about them for as long as he could have and fully fleshed them out. I liked Troubleshooting, Open, and Sorry Please Thank You, and really none of the others.
I also felt that all of these stories were deeply written by a heterosexual man. I’ve read short story collections where facets of the author’s identity are clear in how they shape their main characters, and that’s fine, but unfortunately I’m just bored by reading about youngish middle aged straight men and their little sci fi worlds in which they wait for things to happen to them and have crushes on their girl coworkers. It’s boring.
avjung27's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
csifbi23's review against another edition
2.0
I was lent an advanced copy of this book, and was fairly excited. The cover was nicely textured as was the book itself and the stories discussed on the book jacket intrigued me.
Little did I know that those stories were in the first section and the rest just would not be up to par.
The "Sorry"section is full of stories that are unique, intriguing, and attractive to anyone who likes sci-fi. I quickly read the whole section when I meant to only read one sorry.
"Please"starts out with a good pen and paper game based story, but my interest quickly dwindled after that. And "Thank You"was probably my least favorite.
Honestly, if I recommend this book, I'll probably tell them to read "Sorry", the first story from "Please" and then "All of the Above".
Outside of those stories, the rest seemed interesting and like they had a good creative idea behind it, but that the author lacked something to make the short story really complete or draw me in. In fact, at times, it felt like a chore to read this book so that I could return it to its owner.
Little did I know that those stories were in the first section and the rest just would not be up to par.
The "Sorry"section is full of stories that are unique, intriguing, and attractive to anyone who likes sci-fi. I quickly read the whole section when I meant to only read one sorry.
"Please"starts out with a good pen and paper game based story, but my interest quickly dwindled after that. And "Thank You"was probably my least favorite.
Honestly, if I recommend this book, I'll probably tell them to read "Sorry", the first story from "Please" and then "All of the Above".
Outside of those stories, the rest seemed interesting and like they had a good creative idea behind it, but that the author lacked something to make the short story really complete or draw me in. In fact, at times, it felt like a chore to read this book so that I could return it to its owner.
jpn99's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
notdanross's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A fun collection of short stories. Included are some unique, and occasionally confusing takes on storytelling.
I borrow from the library and read through it a bit faster than I would have liked, but it was enjoyable.
I borrow from the library and read through it a bit faster than I would have liked, but it was enjoyable.
snake_in_hanoi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
elatedbooks's review against another edition
3.75
“I hope you read this, whoever you are, and imagine that there is a hypothetical person out there who needs your love”
Just a little bit batshit crazy weird & I love that. You have to relinquish the reins with this one & go with the flow a bit but, hey, it’s a pretty fun ride.
My faves were First Person Shooter, Hero Absorbs Major Damage (LOVED this) & Yeoman so I was obviously in a fantasy/magical/sci-fi-y mood - would suggest some of Robin Sloan’s books if you also enjoyed.
The rest were a bit more existential & ambiguous although actually it all kind of reminded me of Fahrenheit 451 in a way.
“When are you going to start considering the possibility that you are exactly who you want to be?”
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
3.0
It was such an odd collection of short stories! I didn't realize they were short stories (I hadn't read anything about the book before I started reading it) so I was suitably confused. I liked some of them and found others to be rather droning. It was a very enlightening glimpse in the author's mind. They were also written as if the technology was present and accepted. It made me feel like a medieval woman reading stories with cell phones and airplanes in it.