Scan barcode
songwind's review
3.0
Bluescreen is clearly a spiritual successor to the cyberpunk of the 80s, but influenced by modern trends in tech and society.
Marissa and her friends are tech savvy teens. They play online games, skip school, and go to clubs. Their biggest worries are pocket-money, relationships, and placing well in an amateur e-sports tournament.
Until their affluent friend Anya tries Bluescreen, a digital "drug" that causes a rush by overloading your implanted computer's sensory interface. It's *not* supposed to make you get up and do strange things while you're high.
Before long, Marissa is in the center of a web of hacking, drug trafficking, and power dealing - and she doesn't even know who the spider is at the center.
The book is pretty good. The vision of future LA is believable but inventive. The themes of man vs. machine, rich vs poor, reality vs virtual reality are all present. The cast is diverse, leaning heavily toward the Mexican denizens of Marissa's neighborhood. The hacking bits are pretty hand-wavy. It's just to be expected - new tech would change things, and real-life hacking is pretty slow and dull most of the time.
I'll check out the second book, [b:Ones and Zeroes|30255941|Ones and Zeroes (Mirador, #2)|Dan Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467305167s/30255941.jpg|50727813], later this year.
Marissa and her friends are tech savvy teens. They play online games, skip school, and go to clubs. Their biggest worries are pocket-money, relationships, and placing well in an amateur e-sports tournament.
Until their affluent friend Anya tries Bluescreen, a digital "drug" that causes a rush by overloading your implanted computer's sensory interface. It's *not* supposed to make you get up and do strange things while you're high.
Before long, Marissa is in the center of a web of hacking, drug trafficking, and power dealing - and she doesn't even know who the spider is at the center.
The book is pretty good. The vision of future LA is believable but inventive. The themes of man vs. machine, rich vs poor, reality vs virtual reality are all present. The cast is diverse, leaning heavily toward the Mexican denizens of Marissa's neighborhood. The hacking bits are pretty hand-wavy. It's just to be expected - new tech would change things, and real-life hacking is pretty slow and dull most of the time.
I'll check out the second book, [b:Ones and Zeroes|30255941|Ones and Zeroes (Mirador, #2)|Dan Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467305167s/30255941.jpg|50727813], later this year.
vendea's review
5.0
This turned out to have pretty much everything I'm looking for in a fun book. Computer science, good action scenes, world domination plots, etc. Etc.
It was a bit slow to get going, the prose probably could have been tightened up somewhat, and there were some jarring shifts between 3rd person limited and 3rd person omniscient narration.
Outside of that however, it was very entertaining and a satisfying story of a fleshed out future technological world. Good plots, good consequences, good storyline. I liked it.
It was a bit slow to get going, the prose probably could have been tightened up somewhat, and there were some jarring shifts between 3rd person limited and 3rd person omniscient narration.
Outside of that however, it was very entertaining and a satisfying story of a fleshed out future technological world. Good plots, good consequences, good storyline. I liked it.
marlfox24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.0
lsparrow's review against another edition
2.0
I read the second book first and I enjoyed it more than the first. not sure if I want to read another in the series.
kaffeinatedkoala's review against another edition
4.0
Solid book! 7/10
*very minor spoilers*
Bluescreen is a YA futuristic cyberpunk/sci-fi thriller that moves at a breakneck pace. It's exactly what it's supposed to be, and an ideal quick YA book to break a reading slump. The plot is solid, fun, and engaging, and there's very little of the painful YA romance typical of the genre, which is refreshing While the plot relies on tropes you've probably seen before, it never leaves you bored. The world-building and characterization fluctuate from great to okay-the world feels mostly lived-in, but there are some noticeable issues (such as the date of 2050, which is far too soon for the presented technology and societal change)-but only if you're looking for them. Additionally, the diverse cast of teenage girls is written fairly well: there's one particular scene involving a parent-child argument that is perfectly done, but due to the plot's pace, the potential ramifications of the various traumatic events on these teens falls to the wayside. The girls' friendship dynamics are done realistically but never deeply explored, despite some clear opportunities for tension (Marisa's best friend basically live-streams her life 24/7)-again, a sacrifice to keep up with the pacing. Diversity is very prominent in the book, and in my opinion, the representation of the Mexican-American lead fluctuates from natural (Spanish is integrated mostly naturally in Marisa's everyday expression) to a bit stiff to borderline problematic/stereotypical (Marisa's family owns a Mexican restaurant in a rough neighborhood and has a son involved in gang activities), but the representation never came across as callous or offensive (to me)-just occasionally a bit stilted, and again, it's only an issue if you're looking for it.
Overall, Bluescreen is a fun read that'll satisfy someone looking for a cool, fast-paced and well-written YA book. While there may be underlying issues with the story, taken at face value, the book is a very enjoyable and engaging read you won't want to put down. A perfect, binge-able "breather" book.
3.5/5, bumped up to 4 because teens will love it.
*very minor spoilers*
Bluescreen is a YA futuristic cyberpunk/sci-fi thriller that moves at a breakneck pace. It's exactly what it's supposed to be, and an ideal quick YA book to break a reading slump. The plot is solid, fun, and engaging, and there's very little of the painful YA romance typical of the genre, which is refreshing While the plot relies on tropes you've probably seen before, it never leaves you bored. The world-building and characterization fluctuate from great to okay-the world feels mostly lived-in, but there are some noticeable issues (such as the date of 2050, which is far too soon for the presented technology and societal change)-but only if you're looking for them. Additionally, the diverse cast of teenage girls is written fairly well: there's one particular scene involving a parent-child argument that is perfectly done, but due to the plot's pace, the potential ramifications of the various traumatic events on these teens falls to the wayside. The girls' friendship dynamics are done realistically but never deeply explored, despite some clear opportunities for tension (Marisa's best friend basically live-streams her life 24/7)-again, a sacrifice to keep up with the pacing. Diversity is very prominent in the book, and in my opinion, the representation of the Mexican-American lead fluctuates from natural (Spanish is integrated mostly naturally in Marisa's everyday expression) to a bit stiff to borderline problematic/stereotypical (Marisa's family owns a Mexican restaurant in a rough neighborhood and has a son involved in gang activities), but the representation never came across as callous or offensive (to me)-just occasionally a bit stilted, and again, it's only an issue if you're looking for it.
Overall, Bluescreen is a fun read that'll satisfy someone looking for a cool, fast-paced and well-written YA book. While there may be underlying issues with the story, taken at face value, the book is a very enjoyable and engaging read you won't want to put down. A perfect, binge-able "breather" book.
3.5/5, bumped up to 4 because teens will love it.
rikerandom's review
2.0
Uff... Also Dan Wells Partials Reihe fand ich ja wirklich überraschend gut. Und auch "Bluescreen" klang von der Inhaltsangabe her alles andere als uninteressant. Genau genommen klang der Roman sogar nach etwas, das mir ausgesprochen gut gefallen könnte, also habe ich mich auch mit großer Freude ans Lesen gemacht, kaum dass ich es in Händen hatte.
Dummerweise konnte mich "Bluescreen" von Dan Wells nun so wirklich gar nicht überzeugen. Das fängt damit an, dass ich das Setting nicht glaubhaft fand - kann sich eine Stadt in 34 Jahren wirklich so sehr verändern, wie es hier mit L.A. der Fall zu sein scheint? Denn mir scheinen die Veränderungen, die strukturellen Veränderungen, die Wells seinen Handlungsort durchmachen lässt, für die kurze Zeit doch sehr extrem zu sein. Aber vielleicht ist Los Angeles ja auch einfach heute schon ganz anders als ich dachte?
Außerdem fand ich die Charaktere, allen voran natürlich die Protagonistin Marisa, ebenso wenig glaubhaft. Marisa wirkte wie ein ziemliches Klischee, richtig sympathisch ist sie mir das ganze Buch über nicht geworden. Nicht, dass mir die Charaktere wirklich unsympathisch waren, aber sie waren mir einfach egal. Und wenn einem die Charaktere egal sind, dann ist es auch relativ schwierig die Geschichte tatsächlich spannend zu finden.
Dabei war die an sich nicht schlecht geschrieben sondern ausgesprochen gut zu lesen und auch die Idee ist, wie schon gesagt, wirklich gut, wenn auch absolut beängstigend - wobei gerade das vermutlich das ist, was sie so gut gemacht hat. Aber ohne interessante Charaktere kann die Idee noch so gut sein, spannend wird die Geschichte trotzdem nicht. Und auch die Handlung konnte mich so einfach nicht überzeugen.
Alles in allem ist "Bluescreen" von Dan Wells ein Buch, das zwar mit einer guten Idee und einem angenehmen Schreibstil daherkommt, sonst aber herzlich wenig überzeugen kann. Mich haben die Charaktere nicht interessiert und daher hat mich auch die Geschichte selbst ziemlich kalt gelassen. Schade, hier hatte ich mir definitiv mehr erhofft!
Dummerweise konnte mich "Bluescreen" von Dan Wells nun so wirklich gar nicht überzeugen. Das fängt damit an, dass ich das Setting nicht glaubhaft fand - kann sich eine Stadt in 34 Jahren wirklich so sehr verändern, wie es hier mit L.A. der Fall zu sein scheint? Denn mir scheinen die Veränderungen, die strukturellen Veränderungen, die Wells seinen Handlungsort durchmachen lässt, für die kurze Zeit doch sehr extrem zu sein. Aber vielleicht ist Los Angeles ja auch einfach heute schon ganz anders als ich dachte?
Außerdem fand ich die Charaktere, allen voran natürlich die Protagonistin Marisa, ebenso wenig glaubhaft. Marisa wirkte wie ein ziemliches Klischee, richtig sympathisch ist sie mir das ganze Buch über nicht geworden. Nicht, dass mir die Charaktere wirklich unsympathisch waren, aber sie waren mir einfach egal. Und wenn einem die Charaktere egal sind, dann ist es auch relativ schwierig die Geschichte tatsächlich spannend zu finden.
Dabei war die an sich nicht schlecht geschrieben sondern ausgesprochen gut zu lesen und auch die Idee ist, wie schon gesagt, wirklich gut, wenn auch absolut beängstigend - wobei gerade das vermutlich das ist, was sie so gut gemacht hat. Aber ohne interessante Charaktere kann die Idee noch so gut sein, spannend wird die Geschichte trotzdem nicht. Und auch die Handlung konnte mich so einfach nicht überzeugen.
Alles in allem ist "Bluescreen" von Dan Wells ein Buch, das zwar mit einer guten Idee und einem angenehmen Schreibstil daherkommt, sonst aber herzlich wenig überzeugen kann. Mich haben die Charaktere nicht interessiert und daher hat mich auch die Geschichte selbst ziemlich kalt gelassen. Schade, hier hatte ich mir definitiv mehr erhofft!
nanislibrary's review
5.0
Relectura 2023: Me gustó mucho, no como la primera vez pero definitivamente me sigue pareciendo un buen libro.
Y sí, me sigue emocionando el entender la tecnología y términos que utilizó el autor
Y sí, me sigue emocionando el entender la tecnología y términos que utilizó el autor
beccarecca's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. It was interesting to see the world that Dan created and I could see some of the steps that he took to get from now to the future he imagined. The way that the internet advanced was intriguing. I enjoyed the characters and the plot and I finished the book wanting more.
wrighkat's review against another edition
1.0
So terribly boring and vague. I will not be continuing on with the series.