You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Some good ideas hampered by the author's attempts to make sense of nonsense. A world in which the cloud is where beings go when they die and those not yet dead can traverse through it, if they know how, except for our main character, who has no "soul", meaning she is not linked to the cloud in any way. Amusing idea. Gladwell's attempts to explain or realize the working of that suck the energy, light, life out of the work like a black hole. There is plenty of tedium. And there's an annoying tendency to insert editorial comments such as:
"That's gross," Viv said, because someone had to. Note to self, if you ever get back home: if you must design some sort of gray goo nanovirus, don't make it kinky.
"That's gross," Viv said, because someone had to. Note to self, if you ever get back home: if you must design some sort of gray goo nanovirus, don't make it kinky.
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
I'm listening to the audiobook and it's being read really slowly and I can't focus on it. I even bumped up the speed but am now at the 20% mark and nothing has happened for several chapters. Feel like if I was reading a physical copy it'd be better. Might try again another time.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
I sort of gave up when I realized I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Also, Viv gives off Elon Musk vibes and that is NOT the look in 2024.
Also, Viv gives off Elon Musk vibes and that is NOT the look in 2024.
Book Summary:
Vivian Liao is what some may call a contemporary of Steve Jobs. She’s brilliant, tactical, and occasionally ruthless in her decisions. Now, she’s about to make another move - her great achievement. Pulling the trigger will send her through space and time to a future beyond what any of us can imagine,
What will she find there? Well, as it turns out, the end of time is ruled by a being that, until now, nobody was capable of resisting. Viv’s arrival is about to change all that, setting her perfectly in the middle of a new type of battle.
My Review:
If you’re looking for an action-packed space opera novel, Empress of Forever certainly delivers. It’s a thrilling and admittedly quite unique romp through space and time. I’m not sure I would have made the comparisons for this book’s pitch (feminist Guardians of the Galaxy meets Star Wars), but maybe that’s just me.
If you check out the reviews for Empress of Forever, you’ll see that they’re largely split. My theory is that this book took big swings, and not all of them landed. I’m more ambivalent on the swings, but that’s probably because I’ve enjoyed Max Gladstone’s writing in the past. I also love it when authors take risks.
Overall, I’d say I decently enjoyed Empress of Forever. It was fun and different. However, I’m not sure that I would choose to continue reading if it became a series. I hope that makes sense.
Highlights:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
LGBTQ+
Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
Vivian Liao is what some may call a contemporary of Steve Jobs. She’s brilliant, tactical, and occasionally ruthless in her decisions. Now, she’s about to make another move - her great achievement. Pulling the trigger will send her through space and time to a future beyond what any of us can imagine,
What will she find there? Well, as it turns out, the end of time is ruled by a being that, until now, nobody was capable of resisting. Viv’s arrival is about to change all that, setting her perfectly in the middle of a new type of battle.
My Review:
If you’re looking for an action-packed space opera novel, Empress of Forever certainly delivers. It’s a thrilling and admittedly quite unique romp through space and time. I’m not sure I would have made the comparisons for this book’s pitch (feminist Guardians of the Galaxy meets Star Wars), but maybe that’s just me.
If you check out the reviews for Empress of Forever, you’ll see that they’re largely split. My theory is that this book took big swings, and not all of them landed. I’m more ambivalent on the swings, but that’s probably because I’ve enjoyed Max Gladstone’s writing in the past. I also love it when authors take risks.
Overall, I’d say I decently enjoyed Empress of Forever. It was fun and different. However, I’m not sure that I would choose to continue reading if it became a series. I hope that makes sense.
Highlights:
Science Fiction
Space Opera
LGBTQ+
Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
I enjoyed parts of this, found other parts very exciting, and then in some sections I was reading along just thinking "... what?" The plot is quite confusing in parts, is what I mean.
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes