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nssutton's review against another edition
3.0
I like Bond's version of Lois Lane very much - she's got that Buffy/Veronica Mars vibe that makes you want to follow her through all kinds of adventures. But this plot wasn't for me - it felt too Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1 in its unbelievability. and the episodic storytelling felt a little more juvenile than I was expecting. I blame the latter on expectations from reading so many YA trilogies. Neither of these are huge detractions for readers overall, though, just a case of personal preference. The modern way of adding Clark and his secrets into the story was a nice touch. Not sure if I will follow the rest of the series, but as I strong support of the recent wave of female comic characters moving into panels, screen, and page, I appreciate that it is out there!
themyskira's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book. I'd been genuinely looking forward to reading it, because-- well, come on, intrepid high school girl reporter Lois Lane fighting injustice and thumbing her nose at corrupt authority figures with the help of her trusty internet friend sidekick SmallvilleGuy? How could that not be awesome?
It wasn’t awesome, friends. Mostly, it was just… bland.
The character has attitude, but the book itself doesn’t have a whole lot of personality. The whole thing’s very ‘tell, don’t show’. The supporting cast is likeable, but not nearly fleshed out enough; the antagonists are outright caricatures. Authority figures, even benevolent ones, become implausibly incompetent/unfair/unreasonable whenever the plot demands it.
The mystery was a total dud, too. There were no twists, no red herrings, and no real suspense from a reader’s perspective. Blandly predictable from beginning to end, the biggest surprise really being the lack of a twist.
I loved the idea of involving Clark as Lois’ online co-conspirator; hated the constant focus on their only being able to communicate through SUPER TOP SECRET CUSTOM-MADE SECURE CHAT SERVERS because Clark’s identity must be kept SUPER-DOUBLE-TRIPLE-TOP-SECRET at all costs and apparently even Skyping with an internet friend about innocent things like baby cows could potentially bring the government and the world media SWARMING to his door with proof of his extra-terrestiality.
I mean, okay, I get the future parallel they’re going for with the whole “you know I’m gonna figure out your secret eventually” dynamic, but it’s so overblown and so riddled with plot holes that all it did was irritate me.
The more I think about it, too… Sure, Clark’s friendship and flirtation with Lois is quite sweet and fun, but in story terms? He’s also a bloody infuriating deus ex machina. Any time Lois is stuck on her mystery – and even when she’s not – all she has to do is call on her trusty SmallvilleGuy, who uses his superpowers of Researching Things On The Internet and Apparently Knowing Some Guy Who Can Hack Anything Ever to bring her answers on a silver platter.
This is how ridiculous Clark is in the book:
And like. Why would you write a story about intrepid girl reporter Lois Lane but then equip her with freaking James Bond-level military surveillance equipment (insecurely stored by, and repeatedly pilfered from, her father) and friends-of-friends-who-are-hacker-prodigies-or-something, thus severely limiting the need for intrepiding on Lois’s part. Why would you do this????
Damn it, I wanted this book to be awesome.
It wasn’t awesome, friends. Mostly, it was just… bland.
The character has attitude, but the book itself doesn’t have a whole lot of personality. The whole thing’s very ‘tell, don’t show’. The supporting cast is likeable, but not nearly fleshed out enough; the antagonists are outright caricatures. Authority figures, even benevolent ones, become implausibly incompetent/unfair/unreasonable whenever the plot demands it.
The mystery was a total dud, too. There were no twists, no red herrings, and no real suspense from a reader’s perspective. Blandly predictable from beginning to end, the biggest surprise really being the lack of a twist.
I loved the idea of involving Clark as Lois’ online co-conspirator; hated the constant focus on their only being able to communicate through SUPER TOP SECRET CUSTOM-MADE SECURE CHAT SERVERS because Clark’s identity must be kept SUPER-DOUBLE-TRIPLE-TOP-SECRET at all costs and apparently even Skyping with an internet friend about innocent things like baby cows could potentially bring the government and the world media SWARMING to his door with proof of his extra-terrestiality.
I mean, okay, I get the future parallel they’re going for with the whole “you know I’m gonna figure out your secret eventually” dynamic, but it’s so overblown and so riddled with plot holes that all it did was irritate me.
The more I think about it, too… Sure, Clark’s friendship and flirtation with Lois is quite sweet and fun, but in story terms? He’s also a bloody infuriating deus ex machina. Any time Lois is stuck on her mystery – and even when she’s not – all she has to do is call on her trusty SmallvilleGuy, who uses his superpowers of Researching Things On The Internet and Apparently Knowing Some Guy Who Can Hack Anything Ever to bring her answers on a silver platter.
This is how ridiculous Clark is in the book:
Spoiler
the story involves an MMO World of Warcraft-style game, but with futuristic virtual reality tech (basically, the holobands from Caprica). At various points, Lois and Clark meet up in the game to investigate the mystery and pretend they’re not flirting. And Clark’s avatar in the game LITERALLY HAS SUPERMAN’S POWERS FOR NO REASON - it’s even commented on in the story. to the effect of “but that class of character can’t get that ability what the hell!!!” - and it’s only later that we find out that Clark’s genius hacker friend gave him access to a private developer forum filled with cheat codes because of course he did.And like. Why would you write a story about intrepid girl reporter Lois Lane but then equip her with freaking James Bond-level military surveillance equipment (insecurely stored by, and repeatedly pilfered from, her father) and friends-of-friends-who-are-hacker-prodigies-or-something, thus severely limiting the need for intrepiding on Lois’s part. Why would you do this????
Damn it, I wanted this book to be awesome.
lostinafairytale's review against another edition
5.0
THIS BOOK IS LITERALLY THE BEST!!! Especially if you've been feeling the lack of female-superhero-driven movies lately. I've never really cared about Lois Lane before because she's always played second fiddle to Superman, but this freakin' book blew me away.
Lois is smart, sarcastic and totally kick-ass. Basically everything you could want in a heroine and there's no doubting that this is 100% her story, sorry Clarky! Lois Lane has officially become one of my favourite characters EVER!
I'm honestly so excited for the next book and I can't wait to see where this story goes!
helloimkaley's review against another edition
1.0
10% in and I know that I won't enjoy this at all. Main character is really annoying to me and I just can't handle the way it's written. Just too juvenile for my liking. Sigh. I was really looking forward to this book, too.
falulatonks's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this so, so much. I think it's so difficult to mind a compellingly written mystery sometimes, especially when the focus of a story is very much more about the characters surrounding the mystery, but Bond does such a good job of balancing both? Likeable, interesting characters, sweet relationships, and an engrossing and high-stakes mystery.
Lois Lane is the fucking best.
Lois Lane is the fucking best.
jamie_o's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I really wanted to like this book. But, the virtual reality video game/mind control mystery plot was rather uninteresting, and poorly executed. Also, teenage Lois was bratty, sneaky, and judgy - from my perspective as a parent. I'm definitely not the target audience.
The writing was lacking, and the plethora of incomplete sentences glaring.
I did like how Lois had an online messaging friend, SmallvilleGuy (aka Clark Kent) who helped her solve her mystery. For a YA book, I appreciate that it doesn't contain any profanities or sexual content.
The writing was lacking, and the plethora of incomplete sentences glaring.
I did like how Lois had an online messaging friend, SmallvilleGuy (aka Clark Kent) who helped her solve her mystery. For a YA book, I appreciate that it doesn't contain any profanities or sexual content.
alice_digest's review against another edition
3.0
I had a feeling I was going to like this, as fan of Veronica Mars and Ruby Redfort I am a sucker for a "spirited" teenage girl detective! Plus, you know.. Lois Lane is a great character anyway, and I used to LOVE the TV series Lois & Clark! I did enjoy it, it's a fun and easy read.. but it's only three stars because it lacked something.
Louis has been to a lot of schools due to a combination of her General father moving around a lot and her ability to attract trouble like a magnet and stand up to authority. Now she starts at Metropolis High and intends (under threat of Miltiary School) to make it work this times, and maybe make a few friends. She sticks up for a girl getting bullied, and gets offered a job at the "Daily Scoop" by Perry White and cannot resist investigating the feeling that something is very wrong at this school..
I like Lois well enough although I didn't really connect to her for some reason, this may be why I feel the book lacks something. She's smart, protective, independent and brave.. and she doesn't like it too much when her anonymous online friend/crush "SmallvilleGuy" gets too protective of her (well she does a bit, but she's still doing her own thing!). It's more than obvious who SmallvilleGuy is (Clark Kent, duh) and he doesn't actually appear in the novel, but is somebody she chats to frequently and aids her investigation from afar. I'm not sure I actually like this.. I think I'd rather he wasn't in it! I don't like the timeline disrupted like this.. I previously HATED Smallville the TV Series for introducing a teenage (supposedly) Lois Lane way before they should have met!
The plot is fine.. nothing really that original which means it is very predictable, but it's you know.. fine. Interesting enough to keep me reading! I think I would read more of these books (if I had the time!). There are some good messages about bullying, and it's topical in this insidious age of cyber bullying. The idea of a group consciousness makes a cold sense in the context of this reality.
It's entertaining, if you like teenage detective books - if you like Ruby Redfort - give this a try!
Louis has been to a lot of schools due to a combination of her General father moving around a lot and her ability to attract trouble like a magnet and stand up to authority. Now she starts at Metropolis High and intends (under threat of Miltiary School) to make it work this times, and maybe make a few friends. She sticks up for a girl getting bullied, and gets offered a job at the "Daily Scoop" by Perry White and cannot resist investigating the feeling that something is very wrong at this school..
I like Lois well enough although I didn't really connect to her for some reason, this may be why I feel the book lacks something. She's smart, protective, independent and brave.. and she doesn't like it too much when her anonymous online friend/crush "SmallvilleGuy" gets too protective of her (well she does a bit, but she's still doing her own thing!). It's more than obvious who SmallvilleGuy is (Clark Kent, duh) and he doesn't actually appear in the novel, but is somebody she chats to frequently and aids her investigation from afar. I'm not sure I actually like this.. I think I'd rather he wasn't in it! I don't like the timeline disrupted like this.. I previously HATED Smallville the TV Series for introducing a teenage (supposedly) Lois Lane way before they should have met!
The plot is fine.. nothing really that original which means it is very predictable, but it's you know.. fine. Interesting enough to keep me reading! I think I would read more of these books (if I had the time!). There are some good messages about bullying, and it's topical in this insidious age of cyber bullying. The idea of a group consciousness makes a cold sense in the context of this reality.
It's entertaining, if you like teenage detective books - if you like Ruby Redfort - give this a try!
orewrites's review against another edition
2.0
This was... incredibly juvenile.
My biggest problem with the story is the fact that it is just not believable. I get what the author was trying to go for, but considering how ambitious the plot is, the resolution was way too easy. Lois is always talking about how she has so much bad luck, but this girl has absolutely no issues getting into her principal's office, getting into his mail, performing some plot-plausible magic tricks on his PC and getting out.
She also steals advanced gadgets from her high-powered 'genius' military general father without a hitch and fakes her way into an international research laboratory. Because every female assistant is apparently shit at their job. No matter if there's a highly illegal operation going on in the building.
Speaking of General Lane, anyone notice how this man was a literal blank slate? His character felt like a bowl of plain oatmeal. Let's not even talk about her mother. Lois' little sister was better, but the whole family dynamic between them all is so poorly written. Conversations are awkward and scripted and every reaction just felt so...unnatural.
There's also a ridiculous amount of overwriting in here. The book could have been fifty pages shorter if the author would just cut it out with all the repetitive thoughts. It was so exhausting having to read about Lois thinking the same thing in about twenty different fonts.
Another unbelievable thing is Lois' age. No allusions were made to her age until I was in the last third of the book. We aren't even told what grade she's in. But based on the way she thinks and the way the people around her think, I placed her around thirteen. But then two-thirds into the book, they're telling me she's SIXTEEN? WTF? No. Just, no. Because for her part, Lois is just not that smart. She's supposed to be witty and spunky, but she just came off as an impulsive brat and was such an uninteresting person to read about.
I can't even begin to write about all the other things that made no sense in here (least of all her relationship with SmallVilleGuy
My biggest problem with the story is the fact that it is just not believable. I get what the author was trying to go for, but considering how ambitious the plot is, the resolution was way too easy. Lois is always talking about how she has so much bad luck, but this girl has absolutely no issues getting into her principal's office, getting into his mail, performing some plot-plausible magic tricks on his PC and getting out.
She also steals advanced gadgets from her high-powered 'genius' military general father without a hitch and fakes her way into an international research laboratory. Because every female assistant is apparently shit at their job. No matter if there's a highly illegal operation going on in the building.
Speaking of General Lane, anyone notice how this man was a literal blank slate? His character felt like a bowl of plain oatmeal. Let's not even talk about her mother. Lois' little sister was better, but the whole family dynamic between them all is so poorly written. Conversations are awkward and scripted and every reaction just felt so...unnatural.
There's also a ridiculous amount of overwriting in here. The book could have been fifty pages shorter if the author would just cut it out with all the repetitive thoughts. It was so exhausting having to read about Lois thinking the same thing in about twenty different fonts.
Another unbelievable thing is Lois' age. No allusions were made to her age until I was in the last third of the book. We aren't even told what grade she's in. But based on the way she thinks and the way the people around her think, I placed her around thirteen. But then two-thirds into the book, they're telling me she's SIXTEEN? WTF? No. Just, no. Because for her part, Lois is just not that smart. She's supposed to be witty and spunky, but she just came off as an impulsive brat and was such an uninteresting person to read about.
I can't even begin to write about all the other things that made no sense in here (least of all her relationship with SmallVilleGuy