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jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.5
There were so many great ideas in this book but I felt the author was trying too hard, trying to include every single thing he could think of to add to the world building or plot but without really adding any depth. It seemed superficial and like he was checking off a list of what sounded good.
It was hard to like any of the characters; the main character wasn’t particularly sympathetic and other important characters seemed likable up until they really weren’t. The only really sympathetic character was Lila and she wasn’t fully developed.
The whole feeling was of smarminess. I know this was intentional but it didn’t make it enjoyable. I’m very liberal but this was just too strong an analogy of how the white conservatives are stifling and crushing anything non-white and non-conservative. More subtlety would have been more effective.
I found the issue of cloning better developed in Richard K Morgan’s book Altered Carbon, and body swapping more creatively shown in Kathryn Bigelow’s movie Strange Days. As I said, lots of good ideas here but I didn’t care for the presentation.
It was hard to like any of the characters; the main character wasn’t particularly sympathetic and other important characters seemed likable up until they really weren’t. The only really sympathetic character was Lila and she wasn’t fully developed.
The whole feeling was of smarminess. I know this was intentional but it didn’t make it enjoyable. I’m very liberal but this was just too strong an analogy of how the white conservatives are stifling and crushing anything non-white and non-conservative. More subtlety would have been more effective.
I found the issue of cloning better developed in Richard K Morgan’s book Altered Carbon, and body swapping more creatively shown in Kathryn Bigelow’s movie Strange Days. As I said, lots of good ideas here but I didn’t care for the presentation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, Body horror, and Classism
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