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riverofhorton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
So much of this book was enjoyable to read, which allowed for such a degree of immersion that I managed to get through it much faster than I normally would a book of this length. That said, the ending was very disappointing. Not only did it seem rushed, like the author realised they had a deadline in a few days and so had to wrap everything up as quickly as possible, but the actual ending itself seemed half-baked and incomplete. For most of the book, I understood why it was so popular, then I got to the end and didn't get it anymore. There were so many good ideas within this book, and I will be looking further into the alternative history genre, but this overall isn't a book I would recommend. There were a few things I expected, like all the racism and especially anti-Semitism, some things I could overlook like the writing being disjointed and confusion at times, but when combined with the non-ending, it adds up to being too much for me to overlook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexism, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Slavery, Ableism, Body shaming, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Classism, War, Police brutality, Rape, and Trafficking
izzyhoyle's review against another edition
2.0
Incredibly disappointing read and a shame this was my first Philip K Dick novel. Execution of a very provocative concept doesn’t match up to the mastery needed for such material. I especially wasn’t fond of the Xenephobic undertones that bled into the syntax of the sections with Japanese characters, or the general orientalism on display which I’m sure Edward Said would have a field day with. It was well paced in the majority of subplots at least, and I did still enjoy exploring the politics of this - but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone other than students wanting to write an essay on it.
alitaparedes's review against another edition
3.0
Just realized it took me a month to read this book.
Ok some precisions: English is not my first language so it was a kinda difficult book for me, mainly because I kept asking myself "was I not supposed to get this?". Sci-fi is hard.
This is the first Sci-fi book I've read and it was good! I'm trying to keep this review spoilers free so I'll keep it short. It is a good book. I enjoyed it. Even though there were these parts when I was confused, most of the confusion was over by the end but still I had to google some opinions about it because I wasn't sure what I got was what it was meant by the author. I think it's not important that we all got the same though.
Now, I started this book because of the show, this is nothing like the show, but they are good-different (So you have a reference, I also thought "The Duff" movie and book were good-different)
Ok that's all, hope this helped you in any way. Have a nice read! :)
Ok some precisions: English is not my first language so it was a kinda difficult book for me, mainly because I kept asking myself "was I not supposed to get this?". Sci-fi is hard.
This is the first Sci-fi book I've read and it was good! I'm trying to keep this review spoilers free so I'll keep it short. It is a good book. I enjoyed it. Even though there were these parts when I was confused, most of the confusion was over by the end but still I had to google some opinions about it because I wasn't sure what I got was what it was meant by the author. I think it's not important that we all got the same though.
Now, I started this book because of the show, this is nothing like the show, but they are good-different (So you have a reference, I also thought "The Duff" movie and book were good-different)
Ok that's all, hope this helped you in any way. Have a nice read! :)
jonwood's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I ultimately found this book to be dull and am not sure what the big fuss is about the book, other than maybe it was the first major publication to discuss this premise? First rarely means best, and I found the book to kind of meander around. Maybe that's because it's focus is on normal people and not powerful figureheads, but I was bored the whole time and was waiting for the book to end. I also found it hard to imagine the Japanese and Nazi's just sharing the planet, I felt like there would be more of an effort to wipe each other out, but maybe the point was just to be a similar cold war as in reality.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Sexual content, Death, and Murder
valtherizzle's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
pklawton's review
3.0
This book was not what I was expecting to say the least. There is lots to like here, but ultimately I felt frustrated with the weird pacing and plot developments.
gossamerwingedgazelle's review
3.0
Interesting but really badly written. I had been reading a book of the best short science fiction novellas, and to go from that to this was painful. Also, Dick tends to write the Japanese dialogue with few articles (ie "the", "a", etc) and short, choppy sentences, but this carries over into the speech of the non-Japanese characters who are talking to them, and ultimately to the narrator. I found the ending a bit confusing.