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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5
I think the premise of this book is great - not-so-distant future, AI takeover, government surveillance, commodification of nature, etc. But this one was soooo flat. Technology is insidious and impacts interpersonal relationships, we get it. I think if this had come out 15-20 years ago it would have been a lot more impactful, but there was nothing new added to the conversation. Even the speculative fiction piece of it was boring. The characters were flat, I didn't really care about the inciting incident at all, and the novel ends just as the tension is ramping up. Very underwhelming.
I think the premise of this book is great - not-so-distant future, AI takeover, government surveillance, commodification of nature, etc. But this one was soooo flat. Technology is insidious and impacts interpersonal relationships, we get it. I think if this had come out 15-20 years ago it would have been a lot more impactful, but there was nothing new added to the conversation. Even the speculative fiction piece of it was boring. The characters were flat, I didn't really care about the inciting incident at all, and the novel ends just as the tension is ramping up. Very underwhelming.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
On the spectrum of dystopian novels, this one is relatively calm. It’s not gory at all (see The Grace Year below) but hits on issues of technological dependence and living in a surveillance state.
It follows a family living in a large city sometime in the future. All parts of society are supported by hums, intelligent robots that handle everything from the mundane to critically important government activities. Everything is tech-enabled — people watch videos in immersive “wombs” and all children wear something called a "Bunny” on their wrist that services as a friend and tracking device. There is very little access to nature; the city doesn’t seem to have any parks or green space in any capacity. The one exception is a luxurious park that serves as a vacation spot for the wealthy looking to escape to semi-simulated nature retreat.
The main character May finds a way to bring her family to the nature reserve, but quickly finds herself in a situation in which she must trust the hums to protect her family and the small joys they still find in their daily life.
On the spectrum of dystopian novels, this one is relatively calm. It’s not gory at all (see The Grace Year below) but hits on issues of technological dependence and living in a surveillance state.
It follows a family living in a large city sometime in the future. All parts of society are supported by hums, intelligent robots that handle everything from the mundane to critically important government activities. Everything is tech-enabled — people watch videos in immersive “wombs” and all children wear something called a "Bunny” on their wrist that services as a friend and tracking device. There is very little access to nature; the city doesn’t seem to have any parks or green space in any capacity. The one exception is a luxurious park that serves as a vacation spot for the wealthy looking to escape to semi-simulated nature retreat.
The main character May finds a way to bring her family to the nature reserve, but quickly finds herself in a situation in which she must trust the hums to protect her family and the small joys they still find in their daily life.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Speed read for book club at work.
This ended up being more of a mom-in-a-new-world book than I was expecting and I have to say that was just a tiny let down. However, it's still a good and effective story for raising kids, being married, and having a family in a not so distant dystopian future. We are already a surveillance state with our current technology. We are already seeing the death of the middle class. We already have the losses that are displayed in this novel, but it ramps them up to 11.
An effectively stressful read.
This ended up being more of a mom-in-a-new-world book than I was expecting and I have to say that was just a tiny let down. However, it's still a good and effective story for raising kids, being married, and having a family in a not so distant dystopian future. We are already a surveillance state with our current technology. We are already seeing the death of the middle class. We already have the losses that are displayed in this novel, but it ramps them up to 11.
An effectively stressful read.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes