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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A thin grasp on the 4-star rating, provided mainly because there was enough 4-star material in there to make up for the extensive sections of not-4-star material. It was often verbose enough - or impenetrable enough - to make the collection feel overlong, especially given the small number of stories contained herein. Enjoyable, but not addictive.
Spoiler
Sidenote: Janelle Monáe cowrote these stories, she was not sole author on any of them, though the other writers were different people contributing to each story in the collection.
Ok, I straight up loved this book. It was such an amazing, hope-filled experience for me. The stories in this collection envision such detailed worlds, at once separate and yet part of a cohesive whole. Speculative fiction creating worlds like the extensions of some of the worst parts of our own, but also bubbling under with hope fueled by characters akin to the best people we know. The authors see our own fears, and have given life to characters discovering their own inner heroes in the face of those same fears. I wanted to simultaneously know and be these people.
I will not soon forget these stories. Highly recommended.
I will not soon forget these stories. Highly recommended.
hopeful
reflective
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Do not go into this expecting a direct extension of the emotion picture “Dirty Computer”. It’s more like a supplement via short stories which made it more intriguing as a sci-fi book. It leaves you asking questions about this world and wanting more while simultaneously being content with the story given you. Each short story was a beautiful homage to queer, black, femme, love whether that be romantic, platonic, or familial. Janelle Monas has such a beautiful mind and I can’t wait for what she has next. Absolutely loved this read!
Did not finish. I read the first story and when I started on the second I was so confused about the world they were in, and characters that I knew I needed to put it down. Just not my cup of tea.
I love the sci-fi world Janelle Monáe has created and was extremely excited to be exploring it more in this collection. The stories were so creative and exploratory. The only one that I didn't vibe with was Timebox, which fell flat for me. The Memory Librarian and Nevermind were my particular favourites, I think because they give a better insight into the structure of the world.
This is not my normal read, but it was well written and I enjoyed it. I know of Janelle Monae through her other artistic endeavors, so I was curious to read this novel. I liked the basis of the story. Leading in with The Memory Librarian was a good choice and it set the tone for the accompanying stories. As with a lot of science fiction works, this can also be taken a statement on the direction that we are headed in today.
This is an excellent collection of Afrofuturist short stories, all set in the same dystopian world. It’s a world in which state surveillance is absolute, and everybody is expected to conform and to be “clean”. Rebellious people are termed as “dirty computers” and are rounded up by drones to have their memories wiped.
Every story here centers on the interplay between tyranny and rebellion, in one way or another. The first story is about Seshet, a woman with great power in this regime, the Director Librarian of the Little Delta Repository. Her own memory has been wiped several times, and she is surrounded by spies, including her own AI assistant. When I started reading this story, I thought that the characters might be too glamorous, too stereotypical, but as it went on, it went deeper. It did a great job of maintaining the tension between Seshet and her romantic interest, Alethia, who once had a key role in the rebellion.
The second story is all about an enclave of lesbian rebels, called the Pynk Hotel, and it goes into a lot of detail about communal social organization. The characters are really interesting. The tension here comes from a woman who is unable to trust another member of the group, a trans woman, so it certainly speaks to current issues.
The other stories are a bit more fanciful, but I thought all of them worked well. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys thoughtful sci-fi, whether or not you’re a fan of Monae’s music.
Every story here centers on the interplay between tyranny and rebellion, in one way or another. The first story is about Seshet, a woman with great power in this regime, the Director Librarian of the Little Delta Repository. Her own memory has been wiped several times, and she is surrounded by spies, including her own AI assistant. When I started reading this story, I thought that the characters might be too glamorous, too stereotypical, but as it went on, it went deeper. It did a great job of maintaining the tension between Seshet and her romantic interest, Alethia, who once had a key role in the rebellion.
The second story is all about an enclave of lesbian rebels, called the Pynk Hotel, and it goes into a lot of detail about communal social organization. The characters are really interesting. The tension here comes from a woman who is unable to trust another member of the group, a trans woman, so it certainly speaks to current issues.
The other stories are a bit more fanciful, but I thought all of them worked well. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys thoughtful sci-fi, whether or not you’re a fan of Monae’s music.
I love Janelle Monáe's music and how she thinks. I've seen her live shows and how out of this world they can be. Even attended a talk she gave discussing this book. She made it sound exciting. So I can't understand how someone with such a vivid, outrageous, fun, and beautiful imagination could write/co-write such a boring and forgettable book. It took me several months to read this. There were needless descriptions that caused the stories to drag. There were characters that weren't developed; so it was hard to feel anything for them. When it comes to the world of Jane and Dirty Computers, I'll stick to the albums and Dirty Computer film.