Reviews - Moderation | The StoryGraph

90 reviews for:

Moderation

Elaine Castillo

3.87 AVERAGE

kassietheresa's review against another edition

I liked the premise of this book, but was hoping that it would be darker/take a darker turn

niallharrison's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective 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: Complicated

fiendfull's review against another edition

4.0

Moderation is a novel blending tech commentary and romance, as a content moderator gets a new job in VR. Girlie works as a content moderator for a social media company, and she's good at it, allowing her to fund her large Filipino family's life in Las Vegas. When the company buys out another and starts a new venture in virtual reality theme parks, she's offered a new job, with better money, and a new boss, William. William's best friend founded the VR company and Girlie is fascinated by him, even though their interactions are mostly in the VR world.

As someone interested in big tech, I'm always interested in literary fiction engaging with and critiquing it, so Moderation sounded fascinated. It turned out to not really be the book I was expecting, as despite the title and premise, it is only really half about the content moderation and VR side of things, and half about Girlie as a character and in particular builds towards her attraction to William, her new boss. The content moderation side is very prevalent at the start, with the novel slowing building up a picture of what it is like for Girlie and her colleagues alongside Girlie's carefully constructed life. As the book goes on, the focus changes, and though the company itself stays relevant throughout, the content moderation doesn't, and the tech side of things moves more towards big companies and the clash between different potential usages of virtual reality.

The first half of the novel feels entirely like setup, with not much happening, and then there's a few major events in the second half, but actually the slow pace continues throughout, so it definitely isn't a book for people who want fast-paced action. Instead, the book takes a more unexpected route, focusing on Girlie and William's slow burn romance that is enjoyable to read, if not what I thought the book would be about. The ending is not where I thought the book would go, but actually I was invested in it and I liked the return to a human focus rather than the tech world. The novel has its ups and downs, not quite resolving any of the technological side, but overall I found it an enjoyable story about people, wrapped up in a story about tech.

volkolivia23's review against another edition

5.0

He was also desperate to skip ahead, get there faster, wanted to be early for the future that had never once been promised; not even imagined. "Nice to meet you," she agreed, reaching for him, meeting him there
Oh my GOD! Elaine Castillo is a damn genius! How she is able to weave a budding relationship within a story about AI and corporate greed is BEYOND ME. Her prose is just beautiful, and so is her character development. She allows her main character, Girlie, to draw clear lines in the sand as definition but still grants her some give, so as to keep adding to that definition.
Her world building is so damn SMART! The new world AI of it all works hand in hand with Las Vegas, both being physical testaments to profitable entertainment. I am still in awe of how well Castillo was able to give detail to such a vast topic as Virtual Reality, while also saving room for the small glances and the 'reading between the lines' good romance is known for.
This book is beautifully complex within 300 pages. And I want so so much more of it. Thx to NetGalley for my early copy!!