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kaywhiteley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I enjoyed reading this and think that the messages about classism and environmental issues are very powerful. I think the author did a ton of world building and it shows.
However, this book was dense and downright confusing sometimes. It seemed like the author was trying to pack all his ideas into the book without giving them proper context and introduction. Also, there were so many parts that went way too into the weeds (like the parts going in depth about parts of the brain) and, maybe I’m just stupid, but they tended to bore and confuse me without really adding anything to the story.
I also didn’t love how Mimi was just kinda there to further along the story line and wasn’t her own complex character. She was more of a tool to further the plot than a character.
However, this book was dense and downright confusing sometimes. It seemed like the author was trying to pack all his ideas into the book without giving them proper context and introduction. Also, there were so many parts that went way too into the weeds (like the parts going in depth about parts of the brain) and, maybe I’m just stupid, but they tended to bore and confuse me without really adding anything to the story.
I also didn’t love how Mimi was just kinda there to further along the story line and wasn’t her own complex character. She was more of a tool to further the plot than a character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use and Vomit
Minor: Sexual violence
noetherian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Waste Tide is one of those books where I felt like I needed more brain cells. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but it's one of those books that are so intelligent. There are all these plot threads weaving in and out of each other. And I can see them, but I feel like I lack the skill to truly appreciate them? It's one of those books where I finished it and immediately thought, "I now need to read this again". From the get go, there's this climate fiction and futuristic feeling to it. It builds on this premise of our world which we knows and speeds up the clock.
What we're left with is this setting of waste and also exploitation. Of a country and people who are processing the worlds electronic waste - something that will only increase - while also holding their desires for wealth and escape. A knowledge of holding the products, the waste, of technology and status, while it also kills them. Do you get what I mean? It's so clever and well thought out and my brain kind of explodes a bit.
What we're left with is this setting of waste and also exploitation. Of a country and people who are processing the worlds electronic waste - something that will only increase - while also holding their desires for wealth and escape. A knowledge of holding the products, the waste, of technology and status, while it also kills them. Do you get what I mean? It's so clever and well thought out and my brain kind of explodes a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Torture
sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an interesting book and I liked the lens of language and culture that each character used to look at the world. Unfortunately, I didn't find the cyberpunk stuff as compelling as the initial story about the "waste people" and their work, and by the end the latter is basically completely set aside in favour of the former.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Torture, and Child death
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Chronic illness, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Vomit, Ableism, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Gun violence, Racism, and Rape
insomniacintheflesh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
It starts off very much rooted in reality and kind of descends into a techno-drug fueled madness - reflecting what it means to be human in an increasingly virtual world.
Sometimes it gets very technical while at other times it reads like a hallucination, so pacing varies quite a bit in my opinion.
Sometimes it gets very technical while at other times it reads like a hallucination, so pacing varies quite a bit in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Gore
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