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michaelion's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Something must've been in the book publishing water in the 2010s because this is the second book I've read dealing with the multiverse. Now there's so many multiverse movies! Or maybe this is nothing because I don't have enough evidence but still !!!
At first I thought this was just like that episode of Rick and Morty, then I realized it was like a different episode of Rick and Morty, kinda, then I realized none of these other medias will ever be EEAAO. So.
Negative points for being written by a man. When he said "Spanish eyes" I went oh lord here we go but also the action scenes made me think aww boys having fun playing with their toys so he kinda got the points back there. I really liked the ending.I like when things can't go back to how they were. Even though, after we learn there's multiple other Jasons, that means there are universes with no Jasons at all and he could've just went to one of those... But also loving your wife so much you'd kill multiverse versions of yourself? That's so real. This one's for the yearners.
Last note, nothing to do with the book, it must be really acclaimed because when I placed the audiobook hold I started off in 57th place. Had it on hold almost 3 months.
At first I thought this was just like that episode of Rick and Morty, then I realized it was like a different episode of Rick and Morty, kinda, then I realized none of these other medias will ever be EEAAO. So.
Negative points for being written by a man. When he said "Spanish eyes" I went oh lord here we go but also the action scenes made me think aww boys having fun playing with their toys so he kinda got the points back there. I really liked the ending.
Last note, nothing to do with the book, it must be really acclaimed because when I placed the audiobook hold I started off in 57th place. Had it on hold almost 3 months.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Misogyny, Torture, Gun violence, Death, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Police brutality, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Infidelity
wickedgrumpy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
The good: I enjoyed the UberChat. I felt that right when that was introduced a different ending could have spawned that turned into a lighthearted rom-com and I like to imagine that.
The bad: I knew pretty early on that this was not going to be a favorite. I don't read a lot of thrillers in general but I enjoy sci-fi so I figured I would give it a shot. I couldn't stand the main character. And thus, the book was doomed in my eyes. The pacing was jumpy, and the plot was predictable (as in, I guessed what really happened in the first chapter and the main character didn't figure it out until the ~50% mark). There was some promise for some thoughtful introspection but the approach was heavy-handed at best. Some of the descriptions were vivid and others were flat out whacky.
I don't know if I will try another book by the author, but I don't think I was the intended audience for this work so who knows what the future holds.
The bad: I knew pretty early on that this was not going to be a favorite. I don't read a lot of thrillers in general but I enjoy sci-fi so I figured I would give it a shot. I couldn't stand the main character. And thus, the book was doomed in my eyes. The pacing was jumpy, and the plot was predictable (as in, I guessed what really happened in the first chapter and the main character didn't figure it out until the ~50% mark). There was some promise for some thoughtful introspection but the approach was heavy-handed at best. Some of the descriptions were vivid and others were flat out whacky.
I don't know if I will try another book by the author, but I don't think I was the intended audience for this work so who knows what the future holds.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Self harm, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
now_booking's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is my second book by this author and it was again mind-bending and confusing and yet absolutely wonderful.
Even though I don’t read much sci-if, I was completely mind blown by this complex eminently human story of love and trying to find your way home when you are irrevocably lost. In this humanity, it was very similar to Recursion in being a sort of love story and an epic journey as much as it is about science.
The premise is that Jason is living a happy if somewhat “basic” and unspectacular life with his wife and son. While he and his artist wife, Daniela, might not have fulfilled the promise of spectacular careers in physics and art, having sacrificed that for building their family. They are more or less happy, until Jason is kidnapped and thrown into a multiverse and has to battle the dangers of infinite possibilities as well as all the different facets of himself to see if there’s any way to get the stars to align and find his way back home.
For me, I adored every aspect of this. Jason as a character was compellingly human. Perhaps a bit too perfect, but a great, well-developed character to carry the story. The multiverse provides ample opportunity to challenge and stretch Jason and give us a sense of what he’s made of. And through that, we insert ourselves into the story and begin to think of what we would do and how we would react if we were in his shoes. This was sad, exciting, traumatic, adventurous, fun and I cannot recommend this enough.
If there are weaknesses, I think it’s in lots of loose ends. I also wondered how come Amanda’s place in the multiverse was never explored. Logistically-speaking, what are the implications for the characters in the way the book ends. It’s hard to explain what I mean without spoiling the book but I feel after the level of detail with which the sci-fi premise was put forth, the resolution was a little too abstract. That said, I did enjoy this and highly highly recommend even for non-sci-if fans. It’s absolutely brilliant. After I read Recursion, this was recommended to me a lot, and it has not disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Kidnapping
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Stalking, Alcoholism, Death, Dysphoria, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, and Classism
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