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bigdreamsandwildthings 's review for:
Lifel1k3
by Jay Kristoff
“Most of them already exist in our computer archives, but there’s nothing quite the same as sitting with a real book in your hands. Breathing in the ink and feeling all those wonderful lives beneath your fingertips. In between the pages, I’m an emperor. An adventurer. A warrior and a wanderer. In between the pages I’m not myself - and more myself than in any other place on earth.”
4.5 kickass post-apocalyptic girl buddy stars ✨ This was a wild ride from start to finish and I have so much to say about it.
So. Jay Kristoff. Of the dream team Kaufman & Kristoff, of Illuminae Files fame. To say I had high expectations of a sci-fi novel from him is an understatement. I wanted this to rip my heart out and then cradle it in its hands and lovingly put it back just like each of the Illuminae books did. And though the characters didn't quite hit me in the feels as hard, I was somehow not at all disappointed, and I think it's just because this is such a fucking cool book.
I don't know what I expected when I picked this up, honestly. I knew there were robots involved. But the premise of the book is so much more intricate than I expected: we're thrown right into the action on the post-apocalyptic Californian coast. Evie fixes up and builds fighting bots, alongside her best robot friend, Cricket, and her best human friend, Lemon Fresh. The world itself is created beautifully; I could practically taste the grit in my mouth and feel the burn of the ultra-hot irradiated air. This is a world where technology has far surpassed our own, but the results of that have devastated humanity. People are mutating, into other bundles of cancer or "abnorms" with an array of cool powers that I really fricken hope we get to see more of in the sequel. And there are robots called lifelikes who are hell-bent on freeing their brethren from the three laws of robotdom in order to allow them to truly live, outside of servitude to their masters.
Evie is such a fun character. She's so strong, and the dual aspect of her personality (NO SPOILERS THO) had me so intrigued right from the get-go. And Lemon. Lemon Fresh. My fizzy bb girl. I loved her so much. Ezekiel, Kaiser, and Cricket round out the main cast and god if I didn't have so much fun with all of them. Their story never really left me room to breathe or get comfortable in their world, but I think that's exactly what was necessary for this story. It's so full of ugliness because the world they live in is ugly, and I just felt it so intensely.
The twists at the end are what elevated my rating from a solid 4 to 4.5. I pegged a few of them, but there was one that I truly didn't see coming, and I absolutely love those moments where you gasp and have to put the book down for a sec just to process that the author did that. This book has those moments, and I'm so GLAD. This book is a brutal, unrelenting romp, and even if you don't like sci-fi, it's completely worth giving it a go.
Side note: if there has ever been a book that is MCR's Danger Days album incarnate, it's this one.
4.5 kickass post-apocalyptic girl buddy stars ✨ This was a wild ride from start to finish and I have so much to say about it.
So. Jay Kristoff. Of the dream team Kaufman & Kristoff, of Illuminae Files fame. To say I had high expectations of a sci-fi novel from him is an understatement. I wanted this to rip my heart out and then cradle it in its hands and lovingly put it back just like each of the Illuminae books did. And though the characters didn't quite hit me in the feels as hard, I was somehow not at all disappointed, and I think it's just because this is such a fucking cool book.
I don't know what I expected when I picked this up, honestly. I knew there were robots involved. But the premise of the book is so much more intricate than I expected: we're thrown right into the action on the post-apocalyptic Californian coast. Evie fixes up and builds fighting bots, alongside her best robot friend, Cricket, and her best human friend, Lemon Fresh. The world itself is created beautifully; I could practically taste the grit in my mouth and feel the burn of the ultra-hot irradiated air. This is a world where technology has far surpassed our own, but the results of that have devastated humanity. People are mutating, into other bundles of cancer or "abnorms" with an array of cool powers that I really fricken hope we get to see more of in the sequel. And there are robots called lifelikes who are hell-bent on freeing their brethren from the three laws of robotdom in order to allow them to truly live, outside of servitude to their masters.
Evie is such a fun character. She's so strong, and the dual aspect of her personality (NO SPOILERS THO) had me so intrigued right from the get-go. And Lemon. Lemon Fresh. My fizzy bb girl. I loved her so much. Ezekiel, Kaiser, and Cricket round out the main cast and god if I didn't have so much fun with all of them. Their story never really left me room to breathe or get comfortable in their world, but I think that's exactly what was necessary for this story. It's so full of ugliness because the world they live in is ugly, and I just felt it so intensely.
The twists at the end are what elevated my rating from a solid 4 to 4.5. I pegged a few of them, but there was one that I truly didn't see coming, and I absolutely love those moments where you gasp and have to put the book down for a sec just to process that the author did that. This book has those moments, and I'm so GLAD. This book is a brutal, unrelenting romp, and even if you don't like sci-fi, it's completely worth giving it a go.
Side note: if there has ever been a book that is MCR's Danger Days album incarnate, it's this one.