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gabrielwarren's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book includes a range of differing characters that were a lot of fun to discover more about. I thought the characters and their development was very well done. They all had very distinct ways of thinking and talking. I loved reading about all of them, and some I loved to hate which was fun. The writing was fairly easy to read and flowed well. The world is really fascinating. The different levels of Down Below/Spiral Worlds and all the various ways that they came about and exist are really cool to think about. I really found a lot of the ideas incredibly creative and engaging as concepts and loved the way that this alternate reality had totally reshaped humanity. I enjoyed seeing the Up Above world change throughout the years during the flashbacks and how the world Down Below evolved Up Above in the present. As far as plot, it felt cohesive and nothing ever felt out of place. Questions were introduced and then they were later answered, for the most part. I can't wait to read Parity.
azrah786's review
3.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with a copy of the book for a blog tour with The Write Reads Tours in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, suicidal ideation, suicide, death, death of parent, animal cruelty, war, alcohol/alcoholism, addiction, mental illness, cursing, sexual content, homophobia
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Unanimity, the thrilling first instalment of the Spiral Worlds series introduces us to a future variant of the world where an augmented reality programme has been created to help make life better on Earth. Two young minds – renowned screenwriter Thomas Astley-Byron and AI expert Henryk Nowak – created Down Below/Spiral Worlds to put humans through simulations that allow them to come face to face with the consequences of their actions, particularly those of the unsavoury kind, and the success of the technology gave the two programmers a God like status.
However, 40 years on – a fair few years since the dismal nature of the work has led to the demise of both Tom and Harry – they have been revived as their digital personas in order to stop the metaverse they have created from collapsing and destroying humanity.
With a cast of morally ambiguous characters, technology that is equally fascinating and frightening and some thought-provoking social commentary this is a fast paced and engaging story. Though it takes some time to get to grips with fully understanding the world and the predicament that the characters are facing, Almeida’s does really well at weaving a dual timeline narrative. We follow a present timeline that in this first book of the series takes place over 1 day and then chapters which lay out the past, spanning over decades and catching us up on how the characters have got to where they are.
Tom/Shadow is the principal protagonist that everything revolves around however, we follow 5 other key players too whose lives intertwine with his. The narration is ambitious with how many threads there are to follow and I will say that this made the story a little confusing at first especially with the chapters taking place in the present. We’re immediately thrown into the mix and there are a lot of names and shifting loyalties to get accustomed too but the more you read the more interesting each of these characters get.
That being said I didn’t feel like I was able to fully connect to any of the characters as despite the bouts of action and stakes of the present timeline keeping things flowing everything taking place over 1 day didn’t allow for much character development. Everyone’s decision making and motivations seemed nonsensical and some relationships that were present in the book definitely felt stronger and more fleshed out than others.
What I did really enjoy though was the concepts behind the technology, and the worldbuilding that brought it all together thus I was hooked by the chapters set in the past. The author’s background in technology really shines through but I was just as intrigued by the ethical discussions and deliberation on morality that comes into the story.
All in all this was an entertaining read that nicely sets the pieces on the gameboard for the greater “save the day” plot that is to come.
Final Rating – 3.25/5 Stars
**I was provided with a copy of the book for a blog tour with The Write Reads Tours in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, suicidal ideation, suicide, death, death of parent, animal cruelty, war, alcohol/alcoholism, addiction, mental illness, cursing, sexual content, homophobia
--
Unanimity, the thrilling first instalment of the Spiral Worlds series introduces us to a future variant of the world where an augmented reality programme has been created to help make life better on Earth. Two young minds – renowned screenwriter Thomas Astley-Byron and AI expert Henryk Nowak – created Down Below/Spiral Worlds to put humans through simulations that allow them to come face to face with the consequences of their actions, particularly those of the unsavoury kind, and the success of the technology gave the two programmers a God like status.
However, 40 years on – a fair few years since the dismal nature of the work has led to the demise of both Tom and Harry – they have been revived as their digital personas in order to stop the metaverse they have created from collapsing and destroying humanity.
With a cast of morally ambiguous characters, technology that is equally fascinating and frightening and some thought-provoking social commentary this is a fast paced and engaging story. Though it takes some time to get to grips with fully understanding the world and the predicament that the characters are facing, Almeida’s does really well at weaving a dual timeline narrative. We follow a present timeline that in this first book of the series takes place over 1 day and then chapters which lay out the past, spanning over decades and catching us up on how the characters have got to where they are.
Tom/Shadow is the principal protagonist that everything revolves around however, we follow 5 other key players too whose lives intertwine with his. The narration is ambitious with how many threads there are to follow and I will say that this made the story a little confusing at first especially with the chapters taking place in the present. We’re immediately thrown into the mix and there are a lot of names and shifting loyalties to get accustomed too but the more you read the more interesting each of these characters get.
That being said I didn’t feel like I was able to fully connect to any of the characters as despite the bouts of action and stakes of the present timeline keeping things flowing everything taking place over 1 day didn’t allow for much character development. Everyone’s decision making and motivations seemed nonsensical and some relationships that were present in the book definitely felt stronger and more fleshed out than others.
What I did really enjoy though was the concepts behind the technology, and the worldbuilding that brought it all together thus I was hooked by the chapters set in the past. The author’s background in technology really shines through but I was just as intrigued by the ethical discussions and deliberation on morality that comes into the story.
All in all this was an entertaining read that nicely sets the pieces on the gameboard for the greater “save the day” plot that is to come.
Final Rating – 3.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Mental illness, Death, Blood, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Cursing, and Homophobia
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