Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by gondorsfinest
Heartstream by Tom Pollock
4.0
I’ve been in fandoms where shippers slip into a conspiracy theorist corner and post mean shit about the celebrities’ partners and allegedly PR-arranged marriages. As far as I know, nobody actually misused anybody’s address or doxxed people that didn’t agree with them - but then again, I wasn’t in it, I was only a more casual fan watching extreme fans from the sidelines.
So I know how a ship or, more widely speaking, an idea can become so central to people and communities that anything threatening that idea is met with unreasonable vitriol. I’ve never seen that in a thriller before, and I thought it was pretty well-done here, especially with the constellation of Cat being one of the extreme fans in the beginning and then being pulled under by her own community.
The heartstream app was an interesting concept, too. As I understand, the happy, fun and relaxed content of rich kids lounging on yachts was the original concept that was then broadened by people streaming their negative emotions to feel less alone. That was quite a realistic extension to how people use the internet today, and a neat piece of worldbuilding.
In the end, though, I think there were too many twists. Especially the mayor “reveal” seemed too over the top and convenient to me. It didn’t feel like a filled plot hole to me, it just felt like one too many coincidence that tipped it over the edge of believability for me.
I also didn’t think that the blackmail material was strong enough to justify Ben’s actions. How does hacking into someone’s account and finding a dick pic prove that the person is / was cheating? It doesn’t. It just proves that the person took a dick pic. That was probably the weakest plot point to me. Maybe the picture was symbolic for all the other solid blackmail material that existed; in case I missed that, mea culpa. I read this at one am, so there’s that.
Still a great thriller with very addictive narration and a plot with excellent understanding of the human condition. I appreciated the nuances of Evie’s character especially. Also, hooray for casual queer representation!
So I know how a ship or, more widely speaking, an idea can become so central to people and communities that anything threatening that idea is met with unreasonable vitriol. I’ve never seen that in a thriller before, and I thought it was pretty well-done here, especially with the constellation of Cat being one of the extreme fans in the beginning and then being pulled under by her own community.
The heartstream app was an interesting concept, too. As I understand, the happy, fun and relaxed content of rich kids lounging on yachts was the original concept that was then broadened by people streaming their negative emotions to feel less alone. That was quite a realistic extension to how people use the internet today, and a neat piece of worldbuilding.
In the end, though, I think there were too many twists. Especially the mayor “reveal” seemed too over the top and convenient to me.
Spoiler
Okay, so Ryan is the mayor? Is Nick, by any chance, Charlie’s dad? Is Cat’s grandfather by any chance Lewis Carroll? The name change was so stupid as well. If he truly did want to bank on his fame to become a politician, he would have used his own goddamn name. Not some pseudo-Scandinavian version.I also didn’t think that the blackmail material was strong enough to justify Ben’s actions. How does hacking into someone’s account and finding a dick pic prove that the person is / was cheating? It doesn’t. It just proves that the person took a dick pic. That was probably the weakest plot point to me. Maybe the picture was symbolic for all the other solid blackmail material that existed; in case I missed that, mea culpa. I read this at one am, so there’s that.
Still a great thriller with very addictive narration and a plot with excellent understanding of the human condition. I appreciated the nuances of Evie’s character especially. Also, hooray for casual queer representation!