A review by rinku
Das Babel Projekt – Lifelike by Jay Kristoff

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 LIFEL1K3 was my first book by Kristoff, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. The atmosphere and the settings created were great, and most of the characters as well. The book had its length but at least had an amazing finale. 

The story focusses on Eve who has to survive in a post-apocalyptic world through robot fights. After an unusual incident at one of those fights, she has to flee where she meets Ezekiel, a lifelike robot. Together with him and other companions, she goes on a travel to uncover the secrets of her past and find closure in the main building of the Babel cooperation. 

What I noticed is that Kristoff’s storytelling is very engaging and exciting, but sometimes a bit try-hard edgy. The way Eve’s quite dramatic backstory was told was great with switching from the past to the present and her realizing that everything she believed in as a lie. Those reveals were great and not predictable besides the fact that
Ezekiel was the one who shot Eve
. Other things I quite enjoyed where the fighting scenes, the political aspect around the labs, and the romance. 

I especially liked the ending:
It was such an impactful moment when Eve entered the Babel corporation, knowing that the radioactivity will make her seriously sick. The reveal at the end that Eve is not Ana but only the lifelike for Ana was so clever. Also, Silas’ death was so sad
. 

A problem I had with the story is that the pacing was not always so great. For example, the sequence where our characters are inside those whale boats was just too long and I didn’t like this setting compared to others as well. Also, some problems could’ve been solved by better communication; I didn’t understand why
Lemon didn’t tell Eve that she was the one with the abilities
. At other points I furthermore struggled with understanding what was happening. 

In contrast, what I especially enjoyed about this book were the atmospheric settings. They had such Fallout vibes for me: It’s a post-apocalypse, there are talking robots, radioactivity, a group called the Brotherhood, and the Priest with his cowboy outfit also fit the picture. 

I don’t have much to say about the characters besides that I liked most of them. I especially loved Lemon and Gabriel was an amazing unsettling villain. 

I’m a bit sad about the ending since we leave some characters behind that I would love to hear more about. Nevertheless, the world and characters created in LIFEL1K3 are interesting enough for me to keep me invested in the series. 
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