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30something_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequences, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us.
There are some absolute bangers in this collection of short stories.*
*Edit: I actually just increased the star rating. The more that I think about it, every one of these short stories were bangers in their own right. I was trying to come up with what I may not have liked but even the story that I liked least had some phenomenal moments that made my skin crawl so like... bravo?
I think the ones that resonated the most with me were:
Pre-simulation Consultation XF007867- This is like the darker side of the holodecks from Star Tek.
Time Cubes- A dystopian nightmare, honestly.
#ClimbingNation- Me, a non-thriller reader: this would be an amazing plot for a Thriller novel. I will always support women's wrongs.
Twenty Hours- Remember that Netflix show, Altered Carbon? But make it with 3D printers and the weird middle-aged white couple next door.
Bridezilla- Actually this one reminded me of an essay titled "We Swarm" by Sabrina Imbler in How Far the Light Reaches where they are discussing salps (which kind of have a similar if not entirely more benign description as the sea monster in this short story.) Totally unrelated I guess but I think about that essay a lot.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This was an impossibly strange and delightfully fascinating book. I love short story collections because there are so rarely firm answers or full pictures, just snapshots in time. The worldbuilding has to happen so quickly and the characters develop and are challenged in such fascinating ways.
I loved this very close-future speculative fiction perspective. The first story had me hooked right away and was probably my favourite, but I also loved Twenty Hours, Bridezilla, and Liddy, First to Fly. Some of the stories I really didn’t think I was smart enough to understand or didn’t quite land with me though, which sometimes can happen in a collection like this. Still would recommend! Would be a great read for fans of Black Mirror.
I loved this very close-future speculative fiction perspective. The first story had me hooked right away and was probably my favourite, but I also loved Twenty Hours, Bridezilla, and Liddy, First to Fly. Some of the stories I really didn’t think I was smart enough to understand or didn’t quite land with me though, which sometimes can happen in a collection like this. Still would recommend! Would be a great read for fans of Black Mirror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide and Child death
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