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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
If you've read Archivist Wasp or Latchkey, you will be familiar with some of the cast of Firebreak! This is a prequel standalone story that explores a warring corporate dystopia (they own the water and the air); our protagonist is trying to eke out a living in a hotel room shared with 7 other people by dog walking and streaming the big hit videogame with her best friend Jessa; getting caught up in a conspiracy is not her exact life plan, but don't these things happen to the best of us. It's an interesting, snarky, hopeful-despite-the-dread tale; I loved getting more of 06 and 22's story.
adventurous
tense
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:
No
Strong character development:
Yes
This is one hell of a book. It's cyberpunk and anti-corporate/anti-capitalist in a way a lot of books try to be and don't do well enough to justify the descriptor, and the characters and relationships throughout give weight to the story, rather than the events just happening trap that so many other SFF books fall prey to. I found it a little slow to start, but it takes a hard turn not far in and really gets going--and going fast--from there. The near future (is 2134 near enough for that tag?) setting is also chillingly plausible given current developments, which Kornher-Stace attributes to the research she did for the book, complete with a bibliography in the acknowledgements. I'm going to be recommending this to all of my sci-fi-loving friends, and thinking about it for quite a while. Highly recommend.
medium-paced
Did not vibe-- was recommended this at a local bookstore, tagline was something like "ready player one-esque with more leaning on the dystopia," and that description is TRUE I just thought the dystopia in general was not that interesting and I did not much relate to the characters' motivations to do most of what they did.
book is about a woman and her friend who are video game streamers in like 2222 or something, in the midst of megacorps having purchased the US and everyone has to pay out the nose for water privileges. This so far is interesting to me & that's why I picked the book up, but where it loses me are the details of what comes after it, like "the city they're in specifically is an active war zone, she and her friends are all specifically refugees living in a hotel, the game takes place IN this SAME war-torn city"- I think you can say a lot about RP1 but what it has vs. this book is at least an ELEMENT of escapism for the characters from shitty dystopia world. personally if I were being bombed & starved in Boston, MA and had lost friends and family I do not think I would like to spend my free time pretending to be a soldier with a big gun who kills NPCs in Boston, MA
that in general I think is a lot of my problem with the book, as well as its kind of, very surface level reaction to Company Atrocities, like constanltly we hear "oh you get sent to prison for terrorism if you collect rainwater" and "oh Tegan's mom was killed in a protest which is typical" but the main hook of the plot is "the company kidnapped 20 children" and I simply Do Not see why this is so much worse than the 100 other things- this and the fact that the response is "we must protest!! but NonViolently And Legally :)" which I might understand if later we understood this action to be underinformed and naive yet. We do not
book also suffers extremely from "I did this, and I don't know why I did it" mc voice. i once read someone in another review saying "if you can't explain why your characters are doing something, you need better motivations" and that's extremely true. anyway! Have a lot of gripes! it simply was not very good
book is about a woman and her friend who are video game streamers in like 2222 or something, in the midst of megacorps having purchased the US and everyone has to pay out the nose for water privileges. This so far is interesting to me & that's why I picked the book up, but where it loses me are the details of what comes after it, like "the city they're in specifically is an active war zone, she and her friends are all specifically refugees living in a hotel, the game takes place IN this SAME war-torn city"- I think you can say a lot about RP1 but what it has vs. this book is at least an ELEMENT of escapism for the characters from shitty dystopia world. personally if I were being bombed & starved in Boston, MA and had lost friends and family I do not think I would like to spend my free time pretending to be a soldier with a big gun who kills NPCs in Boston, MA
that in general I think is a lot of my problem with the book, as well as its kind of, very surface level reaction to Company Atrocities, like constanltly we hear "oh you get sent to prison for terrorism if you collect rainwater" and "oh Tegan's mom was killed in a protest which is typical" but the main hook of the plot is "the company kidnapped 20 children" and I simply Do Not see why this is so much worse than the 100 other things- this and the fact that the response is "we must protest!! but NonViolently And Legally :)" which I might understand if later we understood this action to be underinformed and naive yet. We do not
book also suffers extremely from "I did this, and I don't know why I did it" mc voice. i once read someone in another review saying "if you can't explain why your characters are doing something, you need better motivations" and that's extremely true. anyway! Have a lot of gripes! it simply was not very good
a great book if you like Ready Player One. I'll be shocked if this isnt a TV series one day
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced