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cae_k's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Picked up this book because it was said to be similar to Station Eleven (which I loved). Sadly this book, which is a compilation of short stories, felt disjointed and hard to follow/find the relevance of each perspective. The most interesting was the last POV. It obviously serves as a cautionary tale about humans’ effects on Earth, but the introduction of otherworldly beings dampened this subject. Overall, would more recommend Station Eleven.
katiescho741's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars.
A book about a plague, but it's mostly about humanity and how we might deal with one. It's one of those books that definitely hits differently post-covid. I liked that the disease wasn't airborne, or passed between people in any way, but the basis of the disease was pretty gnarly. In the hands of another writer, maybe it would come across as a horror/dystopia novel, but this book is a peek into various stories of people living their lives.
It's sort of a book of short stories, but it feels like a novel because there's overlap between the characters who show up. I loved some of the concepts - like the theme park, the death hotel, and the premise of a plague being uncovered in the ice. My absolute favourite section was about the pig, though. It nearly made me cry at the end!
Not every chapter/section was as good, some were a bit bla, or just not my thing, but overall this makes a really interesting post-apocalypse/plague book.
A book about a plague, but it's mostly about humanity and how we might deal with one. It's one of those books that definitely hits differently post-covid. I liked that the disease wasn't airborne, or passed between people in any way, but the basis of the disease was pretty gnarly. In the hands of another writer, maybe it would come across as a horror/dystopia novel, but this book is a peek into various stories of people living their lives.
It's sort of a book of short stories, but it feels like a novel because there's overlap between the characters who show up. I loved some of the concepts - like the theme park, the death hotel, and the premise of a plague being uncovered in the ice. My absolute favourite section was about the pig, though. It nearly made me cry at the end!
Not every chapter/section was as good, some were a bit bla, or just not my thing, but overall this makes a really interesting post-apocalypse/plague book.
pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition
3.5
<b>Read Completed 6/11/24 | </b> 3.5 stars
This was an interested sci-fi read broken up into many different pieces with a dystopian/post-apocalyptic feel as a new pandemic starts sweeping the world that affects people's organs by turning them into different organs. Each perspective gives a little slice of life during the evolution of the pandemic from beginning to end, each one being their own interconnected short story. This definitely had some SEA OF TRANQUILITY vibes for fans of Emily St. John Mandel as well as a Black Mirror feel.
I enjoyed my read a lot in the beginning! The stories that led this off were interesting and definitely had the hook to bring me into the story. The curiosity of such an odd disease, how it came into being, and the unique ways the world handled everything was definitely something I couldn't look away from. I loved what all of these pieces added to the story and seeing characters or objects that connected them together.
My one hang-up with stories written like this is that some perspectives I'll like more than others, and the ending -- aside from the one major point that brought it all together -- had a few too many that I wasn't enjoying. They didn't really bring as much to the plot or purpose and they were the weaker ones, I felt, so it was hard to enjoy the book as it was wrapping up. I am very thankful that we got an answer of what the pandemic was and where it came from, which was actually a question I didn't even know I had. It added more of an overall sci-fi vibe to the book and gave it an awe-inspiring feel.
I really liked the human aspect of this book. The author focuses on a character-driven story where we appreciate family, relationships, culture, perspective, and what people cling to or give up in the face of doom or death.
This was an interested sci-fi read broken up into many different pieces with a dystopian/post-apocalyptic feel as a new pandemic starts sweeping the world that affects people's organs by turning them into different organs. Each perspective gives a little slice of life during the evolution of the pandemic from beginning to end, each one being their own interconnected short story. This definitely had some SEA OF TRANQUILITY vibes for fans of Emily St. John Mandel as well as a Black Mirror feel.
I enjoyed my read a lot in the beginning! The stories that led this off were interesting and definitely had the hook to bring me into the story. The curiosity of such an odd disease, how it came into being, and the unique ways the world handled everything was definitely something I couldn't look away from. I loved what all of these pieces added to the story and seeing characters or objects that connected them together.
My one hang-up with stories written like this is that some perspectives I'll like more than others, and the ending -- aside from the one major point that brought it all together -- had a few too many that I wasn't enjoying. They didn't really bring as much to the plot or purpose and they were the weaker ones, I felt, so it was hard to enjoy the book as it was wrapping up. I am very thankful that we got an answer of what the pandemic was and where it came from, which was actually a question I didn't even know I had. It added more of an overall sci-fi vibe to the book and gave it an awe-inspiring feel.
I really liked the human aspect of this book. The author focuses on a character-driven story where we appreciate family, relationships, culture, perspective, and what people cling to or give up in the face of doom or death.
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe 3.5 stars.
I had such high hopes for this one, I thought it would be one of my favourites of the year. It isn’t that. Ultimately, this felt like a collection of stories and had all the issues that mean I choose not to ever read collections of stories. This is a bleak and yet hopeful look at the future of humanity after a pandemic told through snippets of lives of people who cross over over many centuries. They are distinct enough that it feels more like a collection than a novel. As with every collection I’ve ever read, some stories are far far better than others. It also very much had the air of literary fiction not wanting to stoop to genre fiction? Maybe that was the fault of the publisher/marketing but this felt like it would have done much better as true genre, it felt a bit too weird and wacky and scifi to work as literary fiction for me.
Anyway, there were moments of real beauty, definitely. But I actually think my favourite moments were the first and last stories. The meat in the middle never quite lived up to either end of the book.
Content warnings: pandemic, infection disease/plague, dead bodies, dissection, death of loved ones, death of child, mass death, terminal illness, blood, medical content, suicide, euthanasia
I had such high hopes for this one, I thought it would be one of my favourites of the year. It isn’t that. Ultimately, this felt like a collection of stories and had all the issues that mean I choose not to ever read collections of stories. This is a bleak and yet hopeful look at the future of humanity after a pandemic told through snippets of lives of people who cross over over many centuries. They are distinct enough that it feels more like a collection than a novel. As with every collection I’ve ever read, some stories are far far better than others. It also very much had the air of literary fiction not wanting to stoop to genre fiction? Maybe that was the fault of the publisher/marketing but this felt like it would have done much better as true genre, it felt a bit too weird and wacky and scifi to work as literary fiction for me.
Anyway, there were moments of real beauty, definitely. But I actually think my favourite moments were the first and last stories. The meat in the middle never quite lived up to either end of the book.
Content warnings: pandemic, infection disease/plague, dead bodies, dissection, death of loved ones, death of child, mass death, terminal illness, blood, medical content, suicide, euthanasia
glory317's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
chizza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
fluffypotamus's review against another edition
1.5
book? more like a boohoohook. lighten up toots, it's just a pandemic. also the alien stuff was not for me. small amount of points for euthanasia coaster.
shannanigans's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes