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athryn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was great, I devoured it in one day, almost in one sitting! To be fair, I was camping, so there wasn't much to distract me, but this was a great light read.
Scalzi is definitely back to form after the somewhat disappointing Interdependency series. This had some great fantasy/wish fulfillment going on. I could kind of see this getting turned into a film or a TV series.
Scalzi is definitely back to form after the somewhat disappointing Interdependency series. This had some great fantasy/wish fulfillment going on. I could kind of see this getting turned into a film or a TV series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Body horror, Cursing, and Violence
lex_y's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Murder and Pandemic/Epidemic
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
My first thought after reading this book was that it was ok, but I expected more. It’s an adventurous sci-fi story about a man who gets fired from his job and ends up delivering takeout during the COVID-pandemic. Then he gets a job offer from a mysterious organization, and events unfold from there. The story is light both on science and in general. There’s a lot of banter, and the book leans more on dialogue than on description. The author explains in the Author’s note that basically he needed to write something light and fun.
And it is light and partly fun. But when I reached the middle of the book, I was wanting something MORE. Basically, three things bothered me in this book. Firstly, it was too light on description. Give me something to work with, man! I don’t need pages and pages of description, just a few lines will do just fine. Secondly (and this relates to the first point), the characters were really difficult to distinguish from one another. I just finished the books, and I don’t remember any of the names, let alone whether they were men, women or something else. And lastly (relating to the second point) the characters didn’t have different enough voices. Yes, they had signature phrases, but they all spoke in banter and witticisms. I find it hard to believe that every character in this book has a PhD in banter.
In conclusion: it’s not that deep, bro. It was fun, and it was light. In the author’s own words: It’s a pop song.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
decembermagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Animal death, and Gun violence
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Murder, Gun violence, and Death
Minor: Deadnaming
idksamiguess's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death
Minor: Gun violence
helalost's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
teacupalpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
A light and fun “pop song” of sci-fi, in Scalzi’s own words. And sometimes that’s what you need. My one criticism is that all of Scalzi’s characters talk like Discord users. Everything is a quip and a snide comment - people don’t talk that way off the Internet, and Scalzi is so desperate to make sure you get every single one of his references rather than just trust the reader to also be in on the joke.
edit: as time has gone on, I think this is one of the worst books I've read in sci-fi. Scalzi so desperately wants you to think he's funny, but all his characters come off as huge assholes who try their hardest to be the funniest guy in the room. The book is written like a bunch of Tumblr quotes from 2008, with everyone trying to one-up one another. It's a cloying and intensely annoying book, and good god I hate every one of these characters.
edit: as time has gone on, I think this is one of the worst books I've read in sci-fi. Scalzi so desperately wants you to think he's funny, but all his characters come off as huge assholes who try their hardest to be the funniest guy in the room. The book is written like a bunch of Tumblr quotes from 2008, with everyone trying to one-up one another. It's a cloying and intensely annoying book, and good god I hate every one of these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Animal death