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ailenach's review against another edition
really disappointed with this one...i went in really excited: the concept sounds sick, the cover is eye-catching as hell (i Really need to learn my lesson wrt that.....) but then i encountered the most incomprehensible execution of that sick concept, beating my head against the nonsensical wall of (admittedly sometimes beautiful, but like in a distant way) prose for several weeks before calling it. reading this was like pulling teeth, clawing through a page at a time until i decided to give up. though the descriptions of the setting can be almost lush (considering theyre painting a picture of a tech wasteland), it feels like youre being held at a distance, never given a chance to actually connect with the characters or events. i was not convinced by veyadi and sunai's relationship or any of their motivations; it just felt like i was told something should be so, therefore i should just accept it (when i was even able to pick up on what was going on). in the end, it was just too tiresome without anything to make it fun, and the sense of obligation to try and finish it was sapping my enthusiasm for reading anything else so. goodbye.
kat_sanford's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
safiewafie's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Body horror
redeyesinferno's review against another edition
So, "The Archive Undying" didn't quite hit the mark for me. The plot felt all over the place, and I just couldn't get into it, you know? Ended up marking it as a Did Not Finish (DNF).
Everyone's got their own taste, so maybe this book will click with someone else. But for now, I'm moving on to something else that suits me better.
Everyone's got their own taste, so maybe this book will click with someone else. But for now, I'm moving on to something else that suits me better.
thad_deus's review against another edition
The classic story of an accidentally immortal gay disaster making due in the shadow of ongoing ai/robot apocalypse, findind love, & confronting the remains of his dead machine god.
Good time. Confident worldbuilding. Looking forward to whatever comes next.
Good time. Confident worldbuilding. Looking forward to whatever comes next.
sapphfoes's review against another edition
realize i’m very heavily pilled in some Extremely specific ways that are fundamentally impacting my reading of this book but . But. this book feels like a friends at the table season except if the cosmic background radiation was inflected with south east asia instead of new jersey . which is fine and good and i’m eating it with a spoon. but also it draws some comparisons to front of mind: namely, sunai wants what tender sky has. and signet.
it also makes me want to read this as an rpg sourcebook a little bit, i think. would make the bits of worldbuilding that don’t get a chance to pay off seem more like fun crunchy little treats than disappointingly missed potential.
CAN YOU CONSENT TO A GOD?? the sublimation + apotheosis entire endgame was great in concept but unfortunately underwhelming in execution - probably bc the character writing didn’t land for me?? kinda flat throughout, which i think Was intentional (sunai’s dissociation is pretty well done i think!) but it did a disservice to the relationships between the cast. like i liked the leads i just didn’t feel compelled by their romance. it needed to be hornier and more visceral in order for the stakes to land i think. i kept being Told it was a world changing love story but i didn’t really believe it.
generally needs more wow cool robot throughout, i think. fundamentally i don’t believe emma mieko candon wants to fuck a gundam and it shows :(( this story very much necessitates a narrative voice that wants to fuck a gundam. also i think their writing just like . doesn’t click as an audiobook to me?? same thing happened to me w ronin
it also makes me want to read this as an rpg sourcebook a little bit, i think. would make the bits of worldbuilding that don’t get a chance to pay off seem more like fun crunchy little treats than disappointingly missed potential.
CAN YOU CONSENT TO A GOD?? the sublimation + apotheosis entire endgame was great in concept but unfortunately underwhelming in execution - probably bc the character writing didn’t land for me?? kinda flat throughout, which i think Was intentional (sunai’s dissociation is pretty well done i think!) but it did a disservice to the relationships between the cast. like i liked the leads i just didn’t feel compelled by their romance. it needed to be hornier and more visceral in order for the stakes to land i think. i kept being Told it was a world changing love story but i didn’t really believe it.
generally needs more wow cool robot throughout, i think. fundamentally i don’t believe emma mieko candon wants to fuck a gundam and it shows :(( this story very much necessitates a narrative voice that wants to fuck a gundam. also i think their writing just like . doesn’t click as an audiobook to me?? same thing happened to me w ronin
luc_3's review against another edition
3.0
technically right up my alley, loved the concept and the writing style, really liked most characters too, but the constantly switching PoV from second to third and ping-ponging or shared consciousness made the latter part of the book such a slug to get through.
still enjoyed it, won’t say I wouldn’t recommend it to people, but DAMN it was hard to read.
still enjoyed it, won’t say I wouldn’t recommend it to people, but DAMN it was hard to read.
juno_rottie's review against another edition
4.0
Did not expect the turns this book took but I loved each and every one of them. Even if sometimes they left me veering to catch back up and conceptualize the plot. I got there, and have already been recommending the book to others. Very excited for anything else from this world, if that's in the cards.
pyrocat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25