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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Well-written and with an even stronger anti-corporate message than Finna. More body horror than I prefer, but that's my deal, not the book's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Bullying
Moderate: Murder, Blood, and Violence
vasha's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Vomit, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Bullying
Minor: Islamophobia, Murder, and Sexual content
danielles_reads's review against another edition
funny
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? No
3.0
I definitely liked Finna more. This book is so weird in a way that was not very enjoyable for me. Furniture coming alive, really? I like the concept of LitenVärld creating products in different universes to save money but the execution of it just seemed so silly and dumb. And it felt like a cheap ripoff of Convenience Store Woman (Derek is exactly like Keiko, but without the interesting backstory or social life).
It didn’t help that the audiobook narrator was not very good. His voices for different characters were not very consistent, and that combined with all the clones’ names starting with “D” had me confused for a large portion of the book. He also read the memos in a completely nonsensical way. In the last 10% I listened and read along at the same time and there were at least 5 instances where what he was saying didn’t match the book. And that’s just in the last 25 minutes of the audiobook… like come on, dude.
Also there was one scene that described blood/body horror in excruciating detail that had me reeling 😖
It had some funny moments, and of course the overall anti-capitalist vibe is great (lol @ Reagan). I liked the budding relationships between Derek and the clones and I liked Derek learning more about himself and coming to accept himself as he is. But overall I much preferred the multiverse adventure story of Finna, where it felt like Cipri’s imagination truly ran wild.
It didn’t help that the audiobook narrator was not very good. His voices for different characters were not very consistent, and that combined with all the clones’ names starting with “D” had me confused for a large portion of the book. He also read the memos in a completely nonsensical way. In the last 10% I listened and read along at the same time and there were at least 5 instances where what he was saying didn’t match the book. And that’s just in the last 25 minutes of the audiobook… like come on, dude.
Also there was one scene that described blood/body horror in excruciating detail that had me reeling 😖
It had some funny moments, and of course the overall anti-capitalist vibe is great (lol @ Reagan). I liked the budding relationships between Derek and the clones and I liked Derek learning more about himself and coming to accept himself as he is. But overall I much preferred the multiverse adventure story of Finna, where it felt like Cipri’s imagination truly ran wild.
“I feel like that’s the real LitenVärld ethos, right there. Anytime there’s a problem, throw the least convenient people overboard.”
Derek felt his urge to defend the company rise, sputter out, and disintegrate. That’s what happened when you were the person elected to drown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
jesseybean's review
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Minor: Transphobia
tessa_grayreading's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
gavgaddis's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A phenomenal followup to Finna that is both an excellent stand-alone and an excellent addition to the world established by the first book. Not unlike how Peter Clines' `14 and The Fold partner with each other perfectly. This review only covers details you'd already be able to intuit from the description above with one easy-to-guess implication of a spoiler.
Derek works at LitenVärld. He's socially-awkward but limitlessly sincere and great at being a LitenVärld employee. He also lives in a shipping container in the parking lot. Derek's going through some issues with his body and now he's confronted with the extra headache of four near-identical copies of him, all a glimpse into different people Derek could have been, or could be.
It's queerness. Cipri's built a phenomenal novella around queerness, neurodivergency, or both. One enables enough self-introspection to discover the other, leading to murky waters so intermixed it's no wonder Defekt functions as a story about coming to terms with one (or both). It also directly shines a light on the guilt and self-loathing necessary to sit by and watch others crushed under the boot of power-hungry corporate drones and the courage needed to step up and do something. Defekt has little sympathy for people who were "just taking orders."
Finna and Defekt are both like old-school Star Trek in that way, the papier mache covering of sci-fi intentionally left as minimal as possible so as to not allow even the least-attentive of readers the argument "well that's just how things are in that character's world." Cipri grabs the reader by the collar and forces them to look at characters being complicit in empowering corporations and/or the megalomaniacal white cis men with superiority complexes they foster. I love it dearly.
Derek works at LitenVärld. He's socially-awkward but limitlessly sincere and great at being a LitenVärld employee. He also lives in a shipping container in the parking lot. Derek's going through some issues with his body and now he's confronted with the extra headache of four near-identical copies of him, all a glimpse into different people Derek could have been, or could be.
It's queerness. Cipri's built a phenomenal novella around queerness, neurodivergency, or both. One enables enough self-introspection to discover the other, leading to murky waters so intermixed it's no wonder Defekt functions as a story about coming to terms with one (or both). It also directly shines a light on the guilt and self-loathing necessary to sit by and watch others crushed under the boot of power-hungry corporate drones and the courage needed to step up and do something. Defekt has little sympathy for people who were "just taking orders."
Finna and Defekt are both like old-school Star Trek in that way, the papier mache covering of sci-fi intentionally left as minimal as possible so as to not allow even the least-attentive of readers the argument "well that's just how things are in that character's world." Cipri grabs the reader by the collar and forces them to look at characters being complicit in empowering corporations and/or the megalomaniacal white cis men with superiority complexes they foster. I love it dearly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
leahrosereads's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
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
The basics
Enjoyment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What I loved
This is my favorite type of sci-fi, techy but with enough whimsy and weirdness to keep me completely intrigued even when the science might be going over my head. Just like with the first book, I absolutely loved the characters. All of them. Nino Cipri really knows how to get a reader totally invested really early on and keep us hoping for the best outcome until the very end.
Enjoyment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What I loved
This is my favorite type of sci-fi, techy but with enough whimsy and weirdness to keep me completely intrigued even when the science might be going over my head. Just like with the first book, I absolutely loved the characters. All of them. Nino Cipri really knows how to get a reader totally invested really early on and keep us hoping for the best outcome until the very end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Bullying, and Death
jonahnikouyeh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror
pastelkerstin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
LOVED this! I already really liked Finna but in my opinion Defekt flows better and effectively doubles down on the theme of anti-capitalism. Really good, really queer, a wild fucking time, go read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Alcohol, Islamophobia, and Sexual content
laurenw's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence