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egelantier's review against another edition
3.0
cool concept, flat execution, boring characters (and that's a deathknell in a novel that follows same three people through a million of alternate universe permutations). still, a very ambitious work, especially since (iirc) it's a debut novel.
emendelowitz's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
tashalostinbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
angrywombat's review against another edition
5.0
This was amazing, and even more amazing is that it is a debut novel! How is it so!
This book is a perfect example of why I love sci fi - the basic premise is something really simple, and has been done a dozen times (not so well) in TV shows like star trek and stargate. But this does it so much better!
I want to dig into the wonderful things it does, but I don't want to give away any spoilers. Just read what it says on the back cover - a computer program with a story to tell, about love and survival of an apocalypse. But what I really loved was that it cant keep the story straight - the details keep changing - but the important parts, the relationships, come all the more into focus because of this.
A beautiful book, where everything is important - every scene and speck of light has a pay off in the book. Amazingly done!
Go read this now!
This book is a perfect example of why I love sci fi - the basic premise is something really simple, and has been done a dozen times (not so well) in TV shows like star trek and stargate. But this does it so much better!
I want to dig into the wonderful things it does, but I don't want to give away any spoilers. Just read what it says on the back cover - a computer program with a story to tell, about love and survival of an apocalypse. But what I really loved was that it cant keep the story straight - the details keep changing - but the important parts, the relationships, come all the more into focus because of this.
A beautiful book, where everything is important - every scene and speck of light has a pay off in the book. Amazingly done!
Go read this now!
jessthanthree's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Violence
oleksandr's review against another edition
2.0
This is a SF novel that from the start strongly reminds you of the Matrix. It was nominated for Locus Award for Best First Novel (2015) and won Philip K. Dick Award for Special Citation (2015).
The few first pages show us a pair that replay their relations again and again, the pieces are interjected with machine’s output, reporting about errors and attempts to restore data. The pair, Antoin(-e) and Adrian(-ne) from piece to piece shift their genders, so they are: a married couple, whose love burned out; a gay couple, where one is gravely ill; a lesbian pair, where one is ill and pregnant, etc, etc. There are some glimpses of the unnatural, like an elk or owl, suddenly appearing in the city, so only a single person notes them. As story develops, with longer passages (still broke by a computer’s output) we get to know better the protagonists (much better than they know themselves, because episodes seem unlinked) and the world around, as it moves toward apocalypse (not a spoiler, it is in the book’s back). The roles continue to shift to that of brothers and parent-offspring…
While the premise is quite interesting the SF elements weren’t well thought out. The idea to have the same pieces repeated over and over again in different environments reminded me of [b:The Soft Machine|23937|The Soft Machine (The Nova Trilogy #1)|William S. Burroughs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388756111l/23937._SY75_.jpg|2320862].
The few first pages show us a pair that replay their relations again and again, the pieces are interjected with machine’s output, reporting about errors and attempts to restore data. The pair, Antoin(-e) and Adrian(-ne) from piece to piece shift their genders, so they are: a married couple, whose love burned out; a gay couple, where one is gravely ill; a lesbian pair, where one is ill and pregnant, etc, etc. There are some glimpses of the unnatural, like an elk or owl, suddenly appearing in the city, so only a single person notes them. As story develops, with longer passages (still broke by a computer’s output) we get to know better the protagonists (much better than they know themselves, because episodes seem unlinked) and the world around, as it moves toward apocalypse (not a spoiler, it is in the book’s back). The roles continue to shift to that of brothers and parent-offspring…
While the premise is quite interesting the SF elements weren’t well thought out. The idea to have the same pieces repeated over and over again in different environments reminded me of [b:The Soft Machine|23937|The Soft Machine (The Nova Trilogy #1)|William S. Burroughs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388756111l/23937._SY75_.jpg|2320862].
thedoctorsaysrun's review against another edition
4.0
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2018 Task 17: A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author
a_davis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
4.75
this book felt largely like a disorienting dream.. I just couldn’t tell what was happening but it made for a very engaging read that I didn’t want to put down. the ending made me sad but contained a lot of reflection about humanity which I appreciated
this is book 7 for afrofuturism seminar! will update with notes from class
the class discussion really threw me for a loop because I had not interpreted the book in the way the prof brought up lol, but basically this is a book about human archives and the characters at the end (beyond the roaches) are shown to be AI living in AR. the roaches take up the role of colonizers who accidentally decimate the archival record because they either don't view it as an archive or don't understand what it actually entails. this is something that happens with so many instances of real-life colonization, and my prof related how this was inherently African American because that's a community that has constantly faced danger to the existence of their recorded history.. I still need to process this reading of the book but am still a huge fan of it and would like to reread it with this in mind
this is book 7 for afrofuturism seminar! will update with notes from class
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
kaarna's review against another edition
2.0
It was interesting but I didn't get it. I mean, I think there might have been something more to understand and figure out but my brains just couldn't live up to the job.
The language was partly repetitive, which I understood to be the point when reading further. Still, partly the sentences seemed just stiff and I'd have edited them otherwise. (Like I know how to edit, lol.)
I want someone to read this and explain it to me.
The language was partly repetitive, which I understood to be the point when reading further. Still, partly the sentences seemed just stiff and I'd have edited them otherwise. (Like I know how to edit, lol.)
I want someone to read this and explain it to me.
jerseyfemme's review against another edition
informative
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? It's complicated
2.5