cupidcove 's review for:

The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled (Complete Hardcover Collection) by Masamune Shirow

2.5

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Even though I am someone who reads a fair bit of sci-fi, I feel like there was a huge portion of this story that went over my head. The writing swings rapidly from dated cop comedy to dense explanations of technological warfare that failed to deliver the analysis of humanity that I have come to expect from stories like this. The female characters were all painfully oversexualized but without even attractive or interesting designs. The author constantly inserts unnecessary asides to justify his choices which even the book itself tells you not to read until you're finished with the story but they feel impossible to overlook and leave Shirow seeming self-concious about his writing. I understand the value of this story as a historical piece but it was not for me - there is much better sci-fi writing out there.