Scan barcode
A review by lowercaselena
Lonely Receiver #5 by Zac Thompson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
2.5
this is a graphic novel set in a (near?) future where artificial intelligence is able to create the perfect partner for you, with which to have otherwordly sex, thanks to body modifications and an organic phonelike device. catrin is bonded with rhion, her AI until they're not; and it sends her on a long spiral to rock bottom.
still unsure about how i feel about this. although the art style is gorgeous, i thought the narrative was lacking. I was expecting to be horrified by this but i was just perplexed. the sci fi elements are interesting but underdeveloped as is the central relationship.
it could've worked as a character study if we were given any insight into who this character is. i am very pro unlikeable/unreliable main character, but besides her neediness, possessiveness and lack of direction, we learn very little about catrin. she just felt like a conduit for the writer to explore ideas about technology, relationships, and codependence within them, with a side dish of porn/sex addiction? idk it felt like it lacked a cohesive, human anchor, but maybe that was the point.
i think what contributed to it was the fact that a lot of the text felt stream of consciousness and there wasn't much in the way of worldbuilding. there was a lot of gratuitous nudity and disturbing visuals but i don't really hold it against the authors, however this book was miscategorized as YA which is something that should be fixed.
to come back to the illustrations, i really liked the character design choices and the overall colour palette, even if at times i felt overwhelmed with visual information, i think this is the downsides of reading a graphic novel on a screen.
it wasn't for me, but i would recommend it for people who liked the movies her and ex machina, although it is not as tight on plot and suspense but more on the side of emotionally troubling. i would love to read a story set in that universe that dives more into the world building, maybe even the divide between people who have embraced this technology and those who reject it.
I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
still unsure about how i feel about this. although the art style is gorgeous, i thought the narrative was lacking. I was expecting to be horrified by this but i was just perplexed. the sci fi elements are interesting but underdeveloped as is the central relationship.
it could've worked as a character study if we were given any insight into who this character is. i am very pro unlikeable/unreliable main character, but besides her neediness, possessiveness and lack of direction, we learn very little about catrin. she just felt like a conduit for the writer to explore ideas about technology, relationships, and codependence within them, with a side dish of porn/sex addiction? idk it felt like it lacked a cohesive, human anchor, but maybe that was the point.
i think what contributed to it was the fact that a lot of the text felt stream of consciousness and there wasn't much in the way of worldbuilding. there was a lot of gratuitous nudity and disturbing visuals but i don't really hold it against the authors, however this book was miscategorized as YA which is something that should be fixed.
to come back to the illustrations, i really liked the character design choices and the overall colour palette, even if at times i felt overwhelmed with visual information, i think this is the downsides of reading a graphic novel on a screen.
it wasn't for me, but i would recommend it for people who liked the movies her and ex machina, although it is not as tight on plot and suspense but more on the side of emotionally troubling. i would love to read a story set in that universe that dives more into the world building, maybe even the divide between people who have embraced this technology and those who reject it.
I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood