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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Gun violence, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
the writing is not my favorite nor do i even like the characters much but dang did the narrative+setting have me hooked... read the version on WATTPAD
n.b.: I read through the paperback version of seed #01893 after the author sent me an advance reader copy.
Having known Aaron for a while and being familiar with his other work and the general premise of this project, I am confident that there’s a lot of interesting stuff that starts happening between multiple copies, but I won’t know for sure until I read another copy in February or so when those get sent out to crowdfunding backers. So until then I’ll just consider it primarily as a static text. (I am, however, very much looking forward to reading a different seed in February and comparing notes with other readers.)
As a book I think one of the things that works so well here is the pacing of how the reader goes about understanding the world and context of the story. In nearly every chapter, I thought to myself “ah, I see where this is going, and I think this is how the book will proceed.” I was wrong every time, and that kind of constant surprise was actually such a joy—something that writing using procedural generation is very well-suited to handle. And this is something that kind of brings me into the story, too, since so much of it revolves around the characters learning and trying to figure out how [the world|their relationships|the weird space they find themselves in] fits together.
Something I was also surprised by as I read through was how clearly I could visualize the whole thing. There were a fair number of complicated sequences and scenery (and... geometry), but I never felt taken out of my flow as a reader or as a viewer of imagination cinema. Particularly some of those scenes in the last third with a lot of complicated physics and relative positions going on.
I think my only sour note in reading through Subcutanean#01893 was a few lines of dialogue from an antagonist in the back half of the book dips a little bit into a negative trope of queer relationships, but that gets offset as we see other depictions of queer relationships a little later on. But it’s worth noting that both of those moments especially in contrast with each other brings about an interesting truth about the world with it, and kind of helps to sell part of the ending.
Anyway: book good, read book!
Having known Aaron for a while and being familiar with his other work and the general premise of this project, I am confident that there’s a lot of interesting stuff that starts happening between multiple copies, but I won’t know for sure until I read another copy in February or so when those get sent out to crowdfunding backers. So until then I’ll just consider it primarily as a static text. (I am, however, very much looking forward to reading a different seed in February and comparing notes with other readers.)
As a book I think one of the things that works so well here is the pacing of how the reader goes about understanding the world and context of the story. In nearly every chapter, I thought to myself “ah, I see where this is going, and I think this is how the book will proceed.” I was wrong every time, and that kind of constant surprise was actually such a joy—something that writing using procedural generation is very well-suited to handle. And this is something that kind of brings me into the story, too, since so much of it revolves around the characters learning and trying to figure out how [the world|their relationships|the weird space they find themselves in] fits together.
Something I was also surprised by as I read through was how clearly I could visualize the whole thing. There were a fair number of complicated sequences and scenery (and... geometry), but I never felt taken out of my flow as a reader or as a viewer of imagination cinema. Particularly some of those scenes in the last third with a lot of complicated physics and relative positions going on.
I think my only sour note in reading through Subcutanean#01893 was a few lines of dialogue from an antagonist in the back half of the book dips a little bit into a negative trope of queer relationships, but that gets offset as we see other depictions of queer relationships a little later on. But it’s worth noting that both of those moments especially in contrast with each other brings about an interesting truth about the world with it, and kind of helps to sell part of the ending.
Anyway: book good, read book!
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
gloriously creepy. i might try it a second time?? is that allowed??
***Caveat to say that I didn't get a 5 star experience out of this. It was a 3.5 for me. But after looking into the detail and ingenuity put into the crafting of this novel, I decided it deserved a 5 star without question.
I am blown away by the concept and follow-through of this book. I've never seen anything like it.
Aaron A. Reed said "Infinite possibilities? Say less".
He literally wrote a book and said "Oh, you didn't like when so-in-so happened? Okay, well pick up another copy and in that copy that scene goes a completely different direction. And also this other character is totally different and their motivations are the opposite of what you just read." Like WHAT?!
If you buy a copy off of his author's website, you get a specialized edition completely unique just for you. They might be subtle changes or they might be plot altering changes. You don't know. Every edition/seed has a different ending and every seed has different motivations for each character. I find that wildly exciting and admirable.
Also, Aaron A. Reed narrates the audiobook himself and has it up for FREE on Spotify as well as his author's website. How wild is that. And AND, if you buy a copy on Amazon, at the end of the book there is a code to scan and it will send an email to Reed saying you bought his book and would like a unique seed as an ebook and he will have one sent to you FOR FREE. Like, in what world are we living in where an author does the lord's work like this???!
Okay, I will say that in full transparency, while this book is magnificent in so many ways, it didn't hit the mark for me. Maybe it's the seed I read or the fact that there was too much left to speculation, but I was very let down by the ending. However, patrons of mine shared how their copies ended and I was so invested in certain departures that their books took. I would've given 5 stars to some of those endings. So, take everything I've just said with a grain of salt. Your seed might be perfect for you. Or it might be completely opposite of your taste. You don't know until you read it. And that is a wholly unique experience. I've never seen anything like it.
Kudos to you, Aaron A. Reed. You created something never before done. And that's almost impossible in this day and age.
I am blown away by the concept and follow-through of this book. I've never seen anything like it.
Aaron A. Reed said "Infinite possibilities? Say less".
He literally wrote a book and said "Oh, you didn't like when so-in-so happened? Okay, well pick up another copy and in that copy that scene goes a completely different direction. And also this other character is totally different and their motivations are the opposite of what you just read." Like WHAT?!
If you buy a copy off of his author's website, you get a specialized edition completely unique just for you. They might be subtle changes or they might be plot altering changes. You don't know. Every edition/seed has a different ending and every seed has different motivations for each character. I find that wildly exciting and admirable.
Also, Aaron A. Reed narrates the audiobook himself and has it up for FREE on Spotify as well as his author's website. How wild is that. And AND, if you buy a copy on Amazon, at the end of the book there is a code to scan and it will send an email to Reed saying you bought his book and would like a unique seed as an ebook and he will have one sent to you FOR FREE. Like, in what world are we living in where an author does the lord's work like this???!
Okay, I will say that in full transparency, while this book is magnificent in so many ways, it didn't hit the mark for me. Maybe it's the seed I read or the fact that there was too much left to speculation, but I was very let down by the ending. However, patrons of mine shared how their copies ended and I was so invested in certain departures that their books took. I would've given 5 stars to some of those endings. So, take everything I've just said with a grain of salt. Your seed might be perfect for you. Or it might be completely opposite of your taste. You don't know until you read it. And that is a wholly unique experience. I've never seen anything like it.
Kudos to you, Aaron A. Reed. You created something never before done. And that's almost impossible in this day and age.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Note: I read (well listened to) the seed #01893 which the author himself narrated and published for free on the Apple podcast app (I believe it’s on Spotify and his website too).
Whilst I didn’t love this story, I do feel obligated to be more generous in my rating and review because of its uniqueness. Aaron Reed weaves together a totally bizarre and mind bending novel where each ‘seed’ is different from the next; there might be subtle changes or ones that upend the whole plot. It’s very ingenious, strange and I might be intrigued to read a different version in the future.
For the plot, we’re following gay college (uni in the UK) age man Orion and his straight (??) best friend Niko as they move into a new off-campus house. Soon enough they discover a secret basement that’s entered under Orion’s bed (on the first floor I might add) that seemingly doesn’t end. The hallways and rooms go on forever and after thinking it’s cool… things start to go astray with the plot descending into a tale of part sci-fi and part horror with heavy undertones of a queer coming of age story too. Whilst uncovering the labyrinth that is ‘the Basement’ the two think over their friendship’s past whilst dealing with murderous doppelgängers.
I think the first 60-ish% of this book was really great and boy was I here for it! But then it did slightly to a bit downhill, becoming ever more confusing and convoluted where the meaning and cusp Reed was trying to portray was maybe lost on me. I understand how the Basement and even the whole book can be viewed as a metaphor for Orion’s exploration into his sexuality and personal struggles, but I think more of his and Niko’s backstory would have benefited this book… it gets a little lost. I also found some of the actions to be rather unrealistic (not taking into account the obvious departure from reality that is the whole book) which I didn’t like. Some parts of queer friendships and longings were a bit frustrating to read but at the same time I did see where the author was coming from.
Overall, this was a super weird and wacky book that I would recommend but personally I didn’t love it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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