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A review by shanaqui
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wasn't sure what to expect from Several People Are Typing. On the one hand, it seemed likely to be rather gimmicky, and the premise (guy gets uploaded into his work Slack and stuck there) seems just plain weird. I couldn't remember why it was familiar when I came across it in the shop (probably from imyril's review, in retrospect), but I did remember it was someone trusted enough to have me give it a shot.
And you know, if you do, it's a really quick read: you'll know pretty quickly if you hate it, and even if you hate-read it, it won't take long. It takes the form of Slack conversations, a mixture of public channels and DMs. Some of these (consisting largely of emojis) got a bit annoying, but in general it felt... familiar. I'm in several work/work-adjacent Slacks, and the in-jokes and so on all felt pretty well-done (however annoying they're always going to be as an outsider). I've been a contractor for a similar sort of company, writing copy, and that all felt unfortunately familiar too. Oh, the moving goalposts...
The friendship that grows up between Gerald and Pradeep surprised me with how on board I was; I loved the way that all turned out. For those who might be drawn by this, there's a queer romance element, too!
The whole thing is just really weird. There's some kind of eldritch horror going on, and I may never trust Slackbot or sunset.gif ever again. There's not a lot of explanation of the why of it all, which might irritate some; I took it as part of the relatively light format. In the end, it all grabbed me more than I expected, and I'm very glad I gave it a shot.
And you know, if you do, it's a really quick read: you'll know pretty quickly if you hate it, and even if you hate-read it, it won't take long. It takes the form of Slack conversations, a mixture of public channels and DMs. Some of these (consisting largely of emojis) got a bit annoying, but in general it felt... familiar. I'm in several work/work-adjacent Slacks, and the in-jokes and so on all felt pretty well-done (however annoying they're always going to be as an outsider). I've been a contractor for a similar sort of company, writing copy, and that all felt unfortunately familiar too. Oh, the moving goalposts...
The friendship that grows up between Gerald and Pradeep surprised me with how on board I was; I loved the way that all turned out. For those who might be drawn by this, there's a queer romance element, too!
The whole thing is just really weird. There's some kind of eldritch horror going on, and I may never trust Slackbot or sunset.gif ever again. There's not a lot of explanation of the why of it all, which might irritate some; I took it as part of the relatively light format. In the end, it all grabbed me more than I expected, and I'm very glad I gave it a shot.