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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I was provided an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review
I feel like I'm reading a different book to everyone else. This is a DNF @ 38% for me.
The audiobook quality and narrators are great, especially compared to the first ARC audiobook I received, there are some interesting ideas here, and I really tried to give it a fair shake, but I just don't feel engaged with any of the characters or the worldbuilding.
The central conceit, the eponymous Juice, being what amounts to a powerful charisma potion, and its potential ramifications are certainly interesting, but the writing seems to be informed by and from a very liberal perspective that actually makes the relatively milquetoast and 'acceptable' ethos of Cyberpunk 2077 actually seem quite punk in comparison.
I just don't think I buy what the author is selling, which seems to be another future dystopia that makes the broad brush gestures at inequality and class prejudice, without engaging with any of the grim reality.
The fact the protagonist is the perfect symbol of the middle class rebel with a heart of gold says a lot. Not to mention the questionable language and perspective of global politics.
Maybe things change over the course of the book, but if I wasn't gripped or wasn't feeling off about it, I might have been able to push through, but this just wasn't for me.
I will say that it is better than the diabolical cover though.
I feel like I'm reading a different book to everyone else. This is a DNF @ 38% for me.
The audiobook quality and narrators are great, especially compared to the first ARC audiobook I received, there are some interesting ideas here, and I really tried to give it a fair shake, but I just don't feel engaged with any of the characters or the worldbuilding.
The central conceit, the eponymous Juice, being what amounts to a powerful charisma potion, and its potential ramifications are certainly interesting, but the writing seems to be informed by and from a very liberal perspective that actually makes the relatively milquetoast and 'acceptable' ethos of Cyberpunk 2077 actually seem quite punk in comparison.
I just don't think I buy what the author is selling, which seems to be another future dystopia that makes the broad brush gestures at inequality and class prejudice, without engaging with any of the grim reality.
The fact the protagonist is the perfect symbol of the middle class rebel with a heart of gold says a lot. Not to mention the questionable language and perspective of global politics.
Maybe things change over the course of the book, but if I wasn't gripped or wasn't feeling off about it, I might have been able to push through, but this just wasn't for me.
I will say that it is better than the diabolical cover though.
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:
Complicated
3.75⭐
There is a priceless chemical substance causing "mildly charming" people into an almost "godlike" presence called "The Juice".
Two Problems:
1. 'The Juice' has been stolen.
2. The Creator of 'The Juice' has been murdered.
Thank you NetGalley and Dragon Moon Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
There is a priceless chemical substance causing "mildly charming" people into an almost "godlike" presence called "The Juice".
Two Problems:
1. 'The Juice' has been stolen.
2. The Creator of 'The Juice' has been murdered.
Thank you NetGalley and Dragon Moon Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This was such a good scifi and extremely interesting it had powers and lots of main characters but not too many that you get confused and it kept me on my toes the whole time
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-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:
Complicated
(3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 for audio)
Thanks to #NetGalley for making this title available for reading and review.
I read the audiobook version of this book narrated by Emily Woo Zeller and Ron Butler. Both are great narrators and do well with giving each character a voice.
The book itself is almost two different stories, and I liked one of them a lot more than the other, but both were good, and they did join up into a single arc near the end.
The story is part cyberpunk, part conspiracy theory, part techno thriller, and part social commentary.
There isn't really much world-building. You are thrown into a future that is like most futures of this genre, and the author relies on stereotypes for both the world and for a lot of the characters. The character development is fair, but the real strength of this book lies in a compelling story with good dialog and a unique plot. I did like it
Thanks to #NetGalley for making this title available for reading and review.
I read the audiobook version of this book narrated by Emily Woo Zeller and Ron Butler. Both are great narrators and do well with giving each character a voice.
The book itself is almost two different stories, and I liked one of them a lot more than the other, but both were good, and they did join up into a single arc near the end.
The story is part cyberpunk, part conspiracy theory, part techno thriller, and part social commentary.
There isn't really much world-building. You are thrown into a future that is like most futures of this genre, and the author relies on stereotypes for both the world and for a lot of the characters. The character development is fair, but the real strength of this book lies in a compelling story with good dialog and a unique plot. I did like it
Janet Stilson’s debut science fiction novel “The Juice” is a shocking thrill-ride through a dark near-future in which media is controlled by government and people’s dreams are invaded by that same media. Mega corps—maybe just a little more mega than we have now—dominate news and entertainment, injecting political messages into “dreamisodes” over which subscribers believe they have control. They’re wrong. Charisma comes out of bottle—a needle really—and creates superpowered humans who can drive millions to do evil on a global scale. Only three people, unknown to each other, can end the media-tech tyranny. As Stilson is a veteran media journalist, she brings frightening realism to a future that could be heading our way. Sci-fi mystery, romance and the cautionary tale we need right now, “The Juice” is for fans of “Neuromancer,” “Snow Crash” and other novels of dystopian worlds.
Not a bad story, really interesting concept but the language got on my nerves, found myself skim reading the second half just to find out what happened.... full review ro follow
Overall, I felt this book was entertaining and explored some interesting themes and ideas. It was a new and creative take on a dystopian society novel, and it really benefitted from the author's personal experience in the media industry. I also liked how the story progressed from the point of view of several different characters and we slowly got to see how they were related.
That being said, I felt the pace was a little rushed with too many things going on that were not explained, and the writing style was a little awkward at times. Some events happened abruptly without much context and at times it felt like the plot was being pushed along too quickly. There were so many interesting themes and questions to explore that I wish the author had turned it into 2 or 3 books instead. And lastly, this may just be personal preference, but I did not particularly like the random teenager-y words like "amaz" and "ridic" that were getting thrown around as I found them a little distracting.
I still enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading other books by this author.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook for free through a Goodreads giveaway.
Spoiler
It also touched on a wide array of themes like personal data surveillance, racism and geopolitics, subliminal messaging by government / industry, wealth inequality, gene editing and political intrigue that felt quite relevant to our current day.That being said, I felt the pace was a little rushed with too many things going on that were not explained, and the writing style was a little awkward at times. Some events happened abruptly without much context and at times it felt like the plot was being pushed along too quickly. There were so many interesting themes and questions to explore that I wish the author had turned it into 2 or 3 books instead. And lastly, this may just be personal preference, but I did not particularly like the random teenager-y words like "amaz" and "ridic" that were getting thrown around as I found them a little distracting.
I still enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading other books by this author.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook for free through a Goodreads giveaway.