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selfsoulfriend's reviews
70 reviews
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
The Private Eye by Muntsa Vicente, Marcos MartÃn, Brian K. Vaughan
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
Mami by Diigii Daguna
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.75
The story and art style were both so cute! The two characters have great chemistry and I loved the primary color scheme. Some of the page flow and time passage was a bit unclear, only reason it didn't get a full 5 stars.
Upgrade Soul by Ezra Claytan Daniels
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was so messed up but so good, I loved the questions it posed about identity and what it means to be human. It felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone. I think it could have benefitted from one more chapter, the ending felt a little rushed and it didn't seem like everything was resolved enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Death, Incest, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent
Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul by Jeremiah Moss
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Bad Weekend by Ed Brubaker
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Car accident
Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Several of my friends have recommended this book to me, describing it as a better Ready Player One, so I decided to take them up on it because I trust their opinions. What they (and the reviews I read) failed to mention was the casual racism and cultural insensitivity that turns up every other page. It honestly ruined the book for me. It's not overtly hateful, mostly just offensive comments/ stereotypes. If it was only once or twice I'd be willing to look past it since the book is 30+ years old, but there's way too much of it for comfort. There's also an uncomfortably explicit sex scene between a 15 year old character and a much older man. I finally let myself put the book down about 80 pages from the end when a character named Tr*nny was introduced. This book just kept getting worse and the plot wasn't good enough to redeem it. The story felt very disorganized, was badly paced, and there were a bunch of huge infodumps where maybe a quarter of the information was actually relevant. Several chapters are literally the main character getting a history lecture from an AI and he just gets fed the information on a silver platter when it's convenient to the plot. I wish I was exaggerating. If you're trying to decide whether or not to read it, I'd say it's not worth it. I honestly don't know why it's so highly regarded as a cyberpunk must read.
(Side note. Even considering all its flaws it's still better than Ready Player One)
(Side note. Even considering all its flaws it's still better than Ready Player One)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia