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muppetincrisis's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
apaulson99's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
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
3.75
Such an interesting concept. I read the first about three years ago and didn't remember too much (that isn't a criticism on that book, I am just terrible at remembering plots) but I felt like this sequel brought me right back into the world. It reintroduced me to April and the Carls but then got right on to what happens next.
Like his brother John, Hank has a great way of writing fiction that also comments on society at large. But Hank is able to add that science element. The message is even more prevalent now with the rise of AI and what it means for our future. Will there be a day where AI controls so much that we don't have to think for ourselves? How will we know when it's all gone too far? Big questions like that are answered by incredibly real and likeable characters.
I appreciated the amazing group of narrators for this audiobook and the bonus feature at the end just for people who listen to books!
Like his brother John, Hank has a great way of writing fiction that also comments on society at large. But Hank is able to add that science element. The message is even more prevalent now with the rise of AI and what it means for our future. Will there be a day where AI controls so much that we don't have to think for ourselves? How will we know when it's all gone too far? Big questions like that are answered by incredibly real and likeable characters.
I appreciated the amazing group of narrators for this audiobook and the bonus feature at the end just for people who listen to books!
patheher's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
All of the issues I had with the first book were "fixed" nicely in this sequel. A variety of viewpoints allowed for the opportunity to find characters I could relate to, and I was very pleased with the ending, which I couldn't say for book one. I enjoyed listening to this very much and I'm glad I listened to my friends who encouraged me to pick it up.
steelcutoats's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
v32's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
quinn_12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
everybody's review against another edition
3.0
This book was far blunter in stating political opinion than its predecessor. It was very obvious when the plot just functions as a backdrop to talk about political ideas.
While I think most of the first book's arguments were very hard to dispute as they, for the most part, just pointed out observable social dynamics in an engaging way, this book sticks its neck out way further in its political discussion and makes a few controversial assumptions.
Beyond its extended social discussion, this book felt very much like a repetition of the first book but with classically raised stakes. This is something I loved about the first book. While there were a lot of ominous global events going on, the plot itself didn't have concrete stakes beyond individual people's well-being. This book felt a lot more formulaic in comparison.
Andy's struggle very much felt like a repetition of the pitfalls of having power and influence but in a far less nuanced way than April had in the first book.
The entire book was very blunt about its messages and left little to be discovered by the reader.
It also had far less moral ambiguity. The entire plot became a rather black and white affair very quickly.
While a lot of the tools the author used in his first book were quite novel and worked very well, a lot of them were overused in this book. Too much of a good thing and all that. One that was particularly noticeable was the unreliable narrator. Despite it not being used for an actual twist this time, the constant back and forth got old fast. "Now I am going to tell you everything, just kidding, I left this out but now I am going to be entirely honest, got you, I'll amend this other thing now, entirely out of order, etc."
While I think most of the first book's arguments were very hard to dispute as they, for the most part, just pointed out observable social dynamics in an engaging way, this book sticks its neck out way further in its political discussion and makes a few controversial assumptions.
Beyond its extended social discussion, this book felt very much like a repetition of the first book but with classically raised stakes. This is something I loved about the first book. While there were a lot of ominous global events going on, the plot itself didn't have concrete stakes beyond individual people's well-being. This book felt a lot more formulaic in comparison.
Andy's struggle very much felt like a repetition of the pitfalls of having power and influence but in a far less nuanced way than April had in the first book.
The entire book was very blunt about its messages and left little to be discovered by the reader.
It also had far less moral ambiguity. The entire plot became a rather black and white affair very quickly.
While a lot of the tools the author used in his first book were quite novel and worked very well, a lot of them were overused in this book. Too much of a good thing and all that. One that was particularly noticeable was the unreliable narrator. Despite it not being used for an actual twist this time, the constant back and forth got old fast. "Now I am going to tell you everything, just kidding, I left this out but now I am going to be entirely honest, got you, I'll amend this other thing now, entirely out of order, etc."
keebie_eebie's review against another edition
3.0
Slow start, but brings to light the importance of humanity in crisis.
vaenadal's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed the first book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and I thought it was written well. But this one was better. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor had a more complex plot, but it was handled really well. For structural reasons that make sense, we mostly read the story from April's perspective in book one, but I think in this one the story benefited from being told from her friends' perspectives. Also, the "sci" part in "sci fi" took a huge leap forward in this book and I thought that Hank developed the Altus technology, and the problems with the Altus technology, really well.
And as an aside that won't matter to anyone else, my name is Val and my favorite color is green, so I really appreciated the island of Val Verde existing. :)
I can't claim to be a hardcore Nerdfighter, but I've seen Hank and John's videos and I've seen some of their Crash Course videos and from everything I've watched, this book felt like the distilled essence of Hank Green. It was really good and I hope he writes more novels in the future.
And as an aside that won't matter to anyone else, my name is Val and my favorite color is green, so I really appreciated the island of Val Verde existing. :)
I can't claim to be a hardcore Nerdfighter, but I've seen Hank and John's videos and I've seen some of their Crash Course videos and from everything I've watched, this book felt like the distilled essence of Hank Green. It was really good and I hope he writes more novels in the future.