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angus_mckeogh's review
4.0
So with this book I had the exact opposite experience as opposed to most of the other fiction I've recently finished. I've been underwhelmed with some of Michel Faber's previous novels so I fully expected another dose of overhyped mediocrity; however, I found this book engaging, extremely interesting, and well worth the read. Perhaps if just a little more fantastic ending was tacked onto the book I would've given it a full 5 stars. That being said, still one of the best novels I've read in months.
johnbyers1500's review
challenging
emotional
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
Couch Lummi
dannykane's review against another edition
You get the sense that the author has never had a normal conversation in his life. It’s terribly misogynistic, and not even to prove a point, just in a badly written way. He’s also obsessed with ‘quivering butts’, erect penises and other painfully awkward descriptions. Read Station 11 by Emily St John Mandell instead
Graphic: Misogyny
kalkn's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish. Couldn't get into the story. Didn't care what was happening. Book was a whole lot of nothing.
nyne's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aproposofnathan's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tildahlia's review
5.0
What a weird but wonderful book. Wasn't sure how I'd go with a doomsday undercurrent given it's a touch close to the bone in many ways, but the story was so compelling that it felt like escapism (albeit in a reality not as divorced from my own as I'd like!). The writing was imaginative, funny and original. Just a great page-turning read.
cattytrona's review against another edition
2.0
i found this pretty whatever. whistle stop tour of why: boring prose, flat world, flat characters, not enough aliens, not enough eureka, long but for what, ‘All his life he'd known, starting from the first day his parents had shown him a picture of one in a book’ about turkeys, unpleasant energies, rushed, ambiguities seemed like gaps. made me think of the end of the affair and this one james tiptree jr short story, which respectively do faith/relationship crises and human/alien social clash, and do them better, deeper, darker.