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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This book is a more interesting and better written play on the same concept as Ready Player One. The main difference is that the main character is trying to make the world a better place rather than trying to enrich herself. Also, the evil corporations are more believable and it lacks the boring naval gazing nostalgia that was RPO's main draw as far as I could tell.
Holy #!@%. This book is amazing. A page turner with a powerful anti-capitalist, anti-profiteering message.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
3.5
A more bleak Ready Player One without the 80's references. I wavered between a 3 and a 4 for this book. On the one hand it's a very immersive bleak capitalist dystopia which is well done. But on the other hand it got so depressing 2/3rds of the way in that I almost didn't want to finish it. What this book needed was an epilogue. Please! You can't put me through that much crazy stuff but only give me a glimmer of hope at the end.
A more bleak Ready Player One without the 80's references. I wavered between a 3 and a 4 for this book. On the one hand it's a very immersive bleak capitalist dystopia which is well done. But on the other hand it got so depressing 2/3rds of the way in that I almost didn't want to finish it. What this book needed was an epilogue. Please! You can't put me through that much crazy stuff but only give me a glimmer of hope at the end.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. I got it in a #GoodreadsBookGiveaway that I had entered because I thought it sounded really interesting. I thought the story moved really well and anytime I had free time, even just a little bit, I’d try to get in as many pages as I could so I could see what was going to happen next.
There is a delicate art of creating new lingo for your scifi universe. When done right you feel transported, when done wrong you feel ejected. This fell firmly in the "annoying and slightly cringe" camp that made me not want to keep going, it doesn't help that you're tossed in the deep end of what feels like an hour in to a Michael Bay movie. I don't know what's going on and I don't care to find out
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There is a lot to unpack in the story, which includes elements of corporate hegemony, economic freedom, the role of social media, and the realer than real online world. Solid relationship portrayals between characters. Friendship, trust, and platonic love are all part of the package and are brought to life to in all their various forms. The fact that Mal doesn't necessarily "do people" is presented as just another variation among human personality types, rather than as a trait that needs to be overcome in order for her to do what she needs to.
The worldbuilding is interesting, and not completely beyond the realm of the possible. The slow takeover of the key human requirements for life by for-profit corporations, and what that means for the everyday person is something that really doesn't require too much suspension of disbelief (which really should be a warning in and of itself). The role of social media in perpetuating the status quo or as a tool for politicization and social change is similarly something we can quite easily fit into our current world view. Firebreak takes these almost familiar themes and weaves them into a fast paced and engaging story. That's what I'm always looking for.
The worldbuilding is interesting, and not completely beyond the realm of the possible. The slow takeover of the key human requirements for life by for-profit corporations, and what that means for the everyday person is something that really doesn't require too much suspension of disbelief (which really should be a warning in and of itself). The role of social media in perpetuating the status quo or as a tool for politicization and social change is similarly something we can quite easily fit into our current world view. Firebreak takes these almost familiar themes and weaves them into a fast paced and engaging story. That's what I'm always looking for.