How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
What I liked about this book was that it's so steeped in the pop culture of the 80s - it's How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
What I liked about this book was that it's so steeped in the pop culture of the 80s - it's set in '87, and the author's well versed in the music that was popular back then. So much so that song names are constantly mentioned, and me being an oldie fan, it gave me a really good atmosphere. You can feel the book was really going for that older movies senior high kind of feel, I don't know how to describe it, do you know what I mean? Basically, I think it nailed the mood really well. That's probably most of the charm for this story.
But for a while I couldn't figure out if it's actually set in '87 or if it's just an alternative future or something (I'm not a fan of reading blurbs too closely and ruin all the fun for myself), cause while all the cultural detail is there and they use tapes (as opposed to other media) for their memory devices, it's still a lot more advanced than the 80s really were. For some reason I thought this was going to be a dystopian future, but it's more like a dystopian alternative past. Really ties in to us being through a two year pandemic as well, cause while they're not ill in the same sense, Memory Killer is something that plagues the entire population of the planet, and it's not hard to imagine people coping as they do, cause we've been through that now.
Apart from the setting, it's pretty much a traditional action/mystery dystopian YA novel. The prose is definitely 'rushy' in that sense that thrillers always are, and the characters are very specific archetypes of teens you always get in YA books. But I'm also not sure I liked the writing all that much because it somehow felt superficial at times. The characters weren't always believable, and it felt like there wasn't always enough depth to them, or what was going on. It's just like they were doing what they're supposed to be doing to follow the YA formula. And that's fine too, I guess, a lot of readers will enjoy that, but I wanted a little more.
I also found that the setting failed to suspend my disbelief. Apparently, this is a society that is falling apart - but all social systems seem to be working fine, supply chain has no issues, schools and government offices also work fine. Everyone clearly follows protocol, even when it doesn't make sense or seems harsh. Nobody's protesting anything (remember how it actually works? The riots about things as small as mask wearing..?) Also, how do things work outside of the US where a single company seems to be holding everyone's memories in their hands? Certainly other countries, at least some of them, haven't adopted the same technology by the same single company from US? And if they haven't, why isn't everything crashing and burning? There's only so much crash and burn that can happen elsewhere in the world before it starts reflecting on the US, and I just don't see it in the book. The world seemed normal despite all the mentions of "this horrible reality we're living in". It just seemed relatively calm and normal. (Or maybe I need to start worrying about the new normal of 2022 or something.)
I also didn't really like the mechanic that happens later in the book (that I'm not eager to spoil). Like... It just doesn't make sense. I can maybe believe artificial recall, but that other thing that they all do? Nope. A little bit too far fetched. Just as Freya's 'half memory dreams'.
I don't know, I think the book is great in terms of atmosphere, but it just fell short for me everywhere else. If it was released all at once and I was able to finish all three parts (that the book is clearly set to have) in one go, perhaps things would make sense. As it is though, by the time the next one comes out, I won't remember anything that happened in this one, nor will I want to reread it. I hope others will have liked it more than I have.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for How I read this: Free ebook copy received from author
4.5 stars
This was a very refreshing book to read. I have been stuck in a loop of 'meh' books for a while, slogging through them and thinking I'll probably never like one ever again. But when I started this one, it engaged me immediately and I finished it in two days. The ideas were fresh and interesting, and the voice was unique as well.
It's hard to tell you what the story is about. At the start, you'll think it's about a dystopian society order, and in a way, maybe it is - but that's not really the main point the book is driving, I think. (view spoiler)[ So what starts of as a society critique, ends up being about meaning of life and understanding yourself. I don't think I've ever read a book which so purposely misleads the reader, and I mean it in a good way. You think you're reading about one thing, so you form your opinions, and then the real stuff comes out of left field. It's like a whole dance for the reader, and it totally got me. I never figured that's how things would end, or that that's where it was going. (hide spoiler)]I don't think this is a particularly big spoiler (or even a spoiler at all), but I think this book is best started without knowing much of anything about it, so I've just spoiler tagged it regardless.
From a scifi world set up, some of the things didn't make sense, but I've decided to let them go for this review, because the book had deeper meaning than just the setup of the dystopian society. That was not the point. Ultimately, I think there are so many things that can be taken away from reading this story that I should probably read it again sometime. It's a short book, and it addresses meaning of life, depression, understanding yourself, finding yourself, family and society dynamics and so much more. More than that, it's just original, and honestly - also kind of weird. I'm sure you'll enjoy this story too.
I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow... Lights Out in Lincolnwood was definitely one of the more original stories I read thiHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
Wow... Lights Out in Lincolnwood was definitely one of the more original stories I read this year, and maybe not even just this year. I’m very glad I chanced upon this book, because not only was it snarky and kind of funny, but it was also serious in the way of, “but what if?”
This is not a zombie apocalypse book, but it is a realistic exploration of the idea of a possibly apocalyptic event, and in that sense, it reminded me of Station Eleven (although that story is set much farther down the road – Lights Out in Lincolnwood only happens like three-four days into the trouble.) The story flings a family of privileged entitled people into some real trouble and asks them, how would they cope? You see them flail, but you start wondering, how would YOU cope, if your entire world come crashing down? Would you believe it's temporary? Or would you enter the new dark tomorrow with a fury?
And I have to say, the Altmans are pretty messed up. They’re a disaster waiting to happen, but because of the distorting lens of daily life and routine problems, nobody has noticed that the family is on the brink of certain desctruction. Every single one of the Altmans is focused solely and entirely on himself or herself, without a single thought of what might be going on in the universe of the person next to them. It’s no wonder that they all fumble about the newly developed situation with completely disastrous circumstances. Watching the Altmans navigate a possible apocalypse is a little bit like watching a bunch of cows trying to stand up on the surface of a frozen lake. It’s sad, but also just that little bit funny, and so you just can’t look away.
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
I couldn’t be more surprised about falling head over heels for Skyhunter – me, who is alHow I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
I couldn’t be more surprised about falling head over heels for Skyhunter – me, who is always cautious of YA – but I did. It’s really good! I was initially suspicious – I started it through an excerpt on NetGalley – and rated it 3 stars cause it failed to draw me in. But I still grabbed the audiobook review copy from Libro.fm because I can’t let a story sit unfinished. Turns out, the excerpt was cut off half a chapter too early – hook, line and sinker after that. Here's my full review for my updated 4 star rating: https://avalinahsbooks.space/skyhunte...
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
DNF @ 18%
Not enough worldbuilding, not enough description. There is only telling and not shHow I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley
DNF @ 18%
Not enough worldbuilding, not enough description. There is only telling and not showing, and the telling isn't sufficient either. It seems as though the author had a good picture of the world they were writing, but forgot to tell us about most of it.
But that's not the problem. I stopped reading at the part where a guy wonders if a woman is an android, and to prove she is not, she strips bare (outside..?) and puts his (actually dirty) hand between her legs to show it's not plastic. (Before that, she blindfolded him with her panties. Just because, you know. To obscure where they were going.)
YEP. Done reading. Thanks, but no thanks.
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I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no idea how I should review it now, even. It’s a graphic novel based on a silent movie, but it’s also so much more.
Metropolis is a classic story that we still understand today, but it is also presented in a form we don’t really consume anymore. Which was why it was such a different, interesting read. It’s certainly nothing like anything I’ve ever read! Silent film is a strange medium, unfamiliar to us now. I’m sure I would probably have some trouble watching the movie itself, but after reading this? I definitely want to. Because this graphic novel somehow has the feel of a silent movie?
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no idea how I should review it now, even. It’s a graphic novel based on a silent movie, but it’s also so much more.
Metropolis is a classic story that we still understand today, but it is also presented in a form we don’t really consume anymore. Which was why it was such a different, interesting read. It’s certainly nothing like anything I’ve ever read! Silent film is a strange medium, unfamiliar to us now. I’m sure I would probably have some trouble watching the movie itself, but after reading this? I definitely want to. Because this graphic novel somehow has the feel of a silent movie?
How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher
What an incredibly strange, and yet interesting, artistic thing I’ve just read. I have no idea how I should review it now, even. It’s a graphic novel based on a silent movie, but it’s also so much more.
Metropolis is a classic story that we still understand today, but it is also presented in a form we don’t really consume anymore. Which was why it was such a different, interesting read. It’s certainly nothing like anything I’ve ever read! Silent film is a strange medium, unfamiliar to us now. I’m sure I would probably have some trouble watching the movie itself, but after reading this? I definitely want to. Because this graphic novel somehow has the feel of a silent movie?
Sylvain Neuvel is an amazing writer, and The Test is an incredible book. I don't understand how you can put this much tension in merely around 100Sylvain Neuvel is an amazing writer, and The Test is an incredible book. I don't understand how you can put this much tension in merely around 100 pages!! And I have absolutely no idea how to review it without spoilers. Maybe you could just take my word on the fact that you should absolutely, definitely read it?
It was a good read, I was mostly surprised about the idea of using wizards in a military scenario - those two things never seem to be in the same storIt was a good read, I was mostly surprised about the idea of using wizards in a military scenario - those two things never seem to be in the same stories. If it's a magical army, it will have no technology (think Grisha), and if it has technology, it's just your regular military. So I found that pretty unique!
It was well written and the interesting thing is that it's so short, but it took me three days to finish it. It's like it's bigger on the inside or something! (Brownie points for getting that reference.)
But I found the blurb misleading. I kept waiting for "the big thing that could change the war", but... I didn't really see it that way. It's just a war story with some wizards, there's no "big secret uncovered". Perhaps in the sequels!
I thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion....more
This series was very problematic, in my opinion. Please read the full review for the series here on my blog.
Part two starts going downhill.It gives wThis series was very problematic, in my opinion. Please read the full review for the series here on my blog.
Part two starts going downhill.It gives way too much power to the baddies too quickly to keep your interest in the series. You're reading about the resistance, when you already know they're definitely not going to win. Where's the fun in that?
Book two uses the underground passages of the speakeasies which I thought was cool, and it also uses cultural and historical element like the hobo symbols underground and whatnot. It grows Setrakian's character somewhat, with the backstory, and that was well done too. I also liked how they used the biohazard symbol and all the lore behind that to make it work. But... that's about it. With these little details making it fun, there's really nothing else driving it.
Now you know what I would have liked to see?(view spoiler)[Humans working with the traditionalist vampires to fight off the outcast vampire group. That would have been cool. But instead, the traditionalists get wiped out after like several tens of pages and all the resistence with all the cool vampire warriors just gets cancelled. Colossal waste of potential, in my opinion. (hide spoiler)]But there's something WAY more serious that's the problem with this series at this point.
It's the surprising lack of any real female characters??? The Fall suffers from an incredibly, incredibly strong case of Strictly Male Writing. There are no women whatsoever who get more than a few lines. More than that, there are barely just a few secondary character women. They all either serve a purpose of being there to be turned, to be a mother, or to be the vehicle for The Male Conversation for the audience. There's seriously NOTHING more than that. It's been a long, long while since I've read a book like that, and I believe it was hard scifi written in the 60s, which this is not, so you should be able to see what a sorry example of the phenomenon this is.
And if you're going to say the researcher, Eff's partner, Nora? You know, I should have counted the sentences she uttered in the books. Wouldn't have made more than a hundred. Not that she does much of anything, aside from being talked to, following, listening, being kissed or f*cked every now and then, and finally, crying when she is told to leave with the kid, like a good woman does. (She does get her own segment in book 3, but for me, it was much too late and much too little. Pathetic.) This was BY FAR the worst part of the entire otherwise good series– something that could have been easily edited. This is ridiculous. It's hard to even imagine two guys who live in a world where you can write a book with literally no functional women characters in the 21st century. What world do you live in, people??
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Then... There's another thing.I just noticed this around the middle of book three, actually, but... It's not just the women. ALL at least somewhat diverse characters are plainly erased in this series. It took me a while to notice cause I actually do live in a historically all-white country (post-soviet), but hello – Mr del Toro and Mr Hogan, did you not write this book about the US? Do you own any sort of magical racist glasses that blot out any person of color..?? I am absolutely shocked to realize that three books in, I could not detect even a passer-by that is black. About the only non-white person was a Latino. ONE person. We've got ONE woman. And ONE Latino. In three books. WE'RE DOING GREAT HERE, GUYS.(I'm always first to blame myself for 'not noticing', but in this case – if I've got to THINK to remember if there were any..? Probably means there are problems here. Still, feel free to tell me I missed something here. I was super fast-reading books 2 and 3 cause they were boring the hell out of me.)
Again. I cannot believe the kind of world these authors live in. You've got to be kidding me.
If you haven't read Pelevin before, this will seem fresh and strong. If you have - it might not. The end result it all comes down to is good, but I wiIf you haven't read Pelevin before, this will seem fresh and strong. If you have - it might not. The end result it all comes down to is good, but I wish it didn't take such a long and winding route to get to it.
S.N.U.F.F. tries to poke fun at everything that's currently wrong with society - the fake media, the political movements, the idiocracy - but does it in an incredibly cynical way (and perhaps tries to poke at too many things?) Every character is a caricature that's meant to disgust you, as is every social structure. Sad to say that even though Pelevin is a master at language, he does this ever so tediously and maybe a tad too vulgarly. Perhaps you shouldn't read more than a certain number of his books, because you'll get tired of the 'discourse', as he would say, sooner or later.
Another thing is that even though you know the main character is supposed to be the most unreliable narrator ever, and he's so full of it, it's still pretty hard to deal with the cynicism, misogyny and coldness displayed. So, a warning: if you're LGBTQIA, feminist or just sensitive, I suggest maybe giving this one a pass. It's very cynical about A LOT of things, and mostly minorities or the marginalized. I don't think it's meant in a mean way, it's probably just poking fun at the system, but it will probably hurt you. Part of the parody is the absolute objectification of a woman, and even though I could see where he was going with this and why, it didn't make it any easier to read. Basically? If you don't have tough skin, don't read this at all....more
Shiver shiver, tremble tremble. I am not nervous about writing this review at all. I do not have any of my typical book was too good to write aShiver shiver, tremble tremble. I am not nervous about writing this review at all. I do not have any of my typical book was too good to write a review for it jumbles. Nope. Feeling at my most confident here. *escapes* Can we just agree to make this book as famous as possible and leave it at that? No? I'll have to elaborate?.. Oh.. Alright…
So... We've got a spaceship that has escaped a dying Earth centuries ago.Naturally, it's failing. Of course, due to various constrictions, combined with pure human nature, the ship is authoritarian, slavery-driven and as violent an environment as can be. We find ourselves following the story through the eyes of several of the characters, but most of them are based on the lower decks, as the 'lowest form of life'. You can see where this is about to get challenging. We explore life through their eyes and search for all sorts of meaning, explore all sorts of existences.
So let's just look at the reasons of why I would recommend this book, and let me tell you in advance, there was not a thing I was unhappy with it. This book is PURE AMAZEMENT and I think absolutely everyone should read it. Yes, it was that good and important.
Reason #1.The Book Is Diverse Without Appearing To Try To, Plus, It's #OwnVoices [image] I don't know if I'm making it clear, but I think you know what I mean. Diversity is important, and it's sought out right now – but sometimes authors only try 'to make the quota' – and so insert diverse characters into their books as placeholders. They're just sort of there, but they feel so forced. This is not the case at all in this book! I think it's partly because it's #OwnVoices, plus – it's just so well done emotionally. The diversity is just there. It doesn't try to convert you, it doesn't try to fight a cause, it doesn't try to explain itself. It's just there. And it's so naturally diverse you can't help understanding it, relating to it, championing it. It's not diverse in the placeholder sense, it throws away any labels! Even the labels diverse groups use for themselves. It's diverse on, well, pretty much molecular level, as I'd say metaphorically? You don't have to belong to a group to exist and be validated – it's alright if you belong to a group of 'you'. That's enough.
Reason #2.The Ship Is An Amazing Analogy Of Captivity I found this most fascinating. Yes, a spaceship is a spaceship, it's part of a scifi story. But, at the same time, I felt like it symbolized so much more! Being indentured means there simply being no means of escape, wherever you go, whatever you do. And what better symbol of that is there than a dying spaceship? I feel like this draws an amazing comparison to the life of an enslaved, trapped person. Your life is limited to not even being able to control the choices regarding your own body, much less choices of how your life progresses. This is truly a song to all enslaved peoples, not just slavery in the history of America. My heart wept at the tale, and I believe, so will yours.
Reason #3.I Have Never Read A More Relatable Tale Of Slavery [image] I have read stories on slavery. Even written by the slaves themselves, stories of their escape. Fictional stories too. And although I could feel empathy towards them, they are stories from another life – a life elsewhere, a life in a totally different time. That automatically makes it harder for us to relate. But a life almost like our own? In a technical environment, and yet – enslaved? That is so much more approachable. And it's also so well-written in terms of depicting emotions that I feel it taught me much more about captivity than any of the tales I've read before.
Reason #4.Emotion Even Among The Rubble [image] I could have said love. But I don't want to make this cheap. This is no love story.This is not about a love story. Yet a love story is ever-present. And I'm not talking about between man and woman, or lovers, or whatever you have it. I am talking about human love, soul love – love of the bigger kind. No pain and suffering can be survived without it, and this book is so good about showing it. Human affection, human bonds. It blooms like a flower in the wastelands. It charms you with the way it does. And it gives you hope in a whole world full of destruction.
Reason #5.Non-Neurotypical Characters It's hard to say, and I'm obviously groping in the dark here, but I think the main character Aster might be on the spectrum, or at least some kind of non-neurotypical. As everything of the diverse kind in this book, it's not overtly mentioned – but not because it's taboo, rather because it's cultural of the ship – there are no such concepts in this society (I'm not sure the concept of 'woman' is even present in this society, as the lower deck slaves are without an exception all women.)The way Aster is, is not treated as a deficiency in the book, it's treated as a way to be. It's explained so understandably that you will relate and empathise even if you're nothing like Aster yourself. And it's not limited to the main character either – Giselle, Aster's best friend, suffers from mental illness bouts as well, and it's also presented in a great way, easy to pick up and understand. None of the characters are even looked down on for the way they are, whatever they're like.
Overall... I could go on. The plot, the setting, the writing, the way you're transported into this incredible world.Keep in mind I listened to this book on a read-back app! And yet it still felt every bit as magical as if I was reading it (usually, books read back to you by a mechanized voice are harder to get into.) But I believe you should discover this book for yourselves. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, even if you're not so much into scifi – it's more character-driven anyway. Scifi is only the setting, the backdrop. The real stuff you're reading about is the condition of being human in a society that is horribly skewed for particular kinds of be.
Something for the people who have read this already:(view spoiler)[I will admit I am a little puzzled about the ending, so feel free to discuss it with me more in the comments if you've read it. (hide spoiler)]
I thank Rivers Solomon and Akashic Books for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I already can't wait for Rivers Solomon's next book!
The Feed is a solid, well-written, but pretty traditional dystopian novel. Definitely recommended for dystopia fans! I expected something moreThe Feed is a solid, well-written, but pretty traditional dystopian novel. Definitely recommended for dystopia fans! I expected something more ground-breaking from it, and maybe more powerful or adventure driven, but it's more of a slice-of-life. However, I enjoyed this book, and I'll try to give you my reasons why. Read the full review here on the blog.
The Pace
While I enjoyed The Feed, my biggest problem was with the pace. Things didn't really take off up till maybe 70% into the book, and I still wasn't sure what I'm reading here – I mean, atmospheric tales are okay, I guess it's more about the fact that I don't read a lot of dystopias – so if I'm reading one, I'm expecting something to happen. It did, eventually, but in my opinion, it took too long.
The Plot
Once the plot got moving, I appreciated its originality and the idea it is based on. It really is a good plot! Unline many other dystopian novels, this one is not based on constant violence and terror. Yes, there is violence, but the book really isn't about that. In between short spurts of 'happenings', it's more of a study of the characters' inner realms, their feelings and wonderings. The main plot revolves about trying to find out what is happening to the people whose brains get 'hacked'.Although this plot line isn't so apparent till later in the book. I can't give away too much, obviously for fear of spoilers, but I believe the story was uncovered in a nice way, and the whole setup was also smart and interesting. I was also deeply satisfied with the ending.
The Characters
I really enjoyed the characters! They are written truly well, and you can tell them apart well – (view spoiler)[even when they inhabit the same body (hide spoiler)]. The drama they are living through – lost children, not knowing what happened to your remote family, not having enough to eat or even knowledge to grow or forage for food – it's all very realistic and well done. I enjoyed the slice-of-life part of The Feed.
The Triggers
Should I have to warn you about triggers in a dystopian novel..? Anything dystopian is bound to have scores of triggers. Although I find that this book is much less graphic than the rest, there is still violence, although most of it is perceived rather than described. Yes, you might get sad reading this book – it's our possible future. And it's a sad one. I believe that is meant to get us to think about what we're doing to the world.
Overall...
The Feedis a good book for the lover of slower, psychological dystopia – one that is not based on supernatural happenings or constant movement and adventure. It's a study of a person's feelings when something like this happens, and it's also a study of the direction our world might be taking. Despite being somewhat slow paced, it has a very satisfying ending and poses a lot of good questions to ponder about.
Other Books You Might Like
I feel like this book is a lot like Station Eleven, which was also a sort of intellectualist-dystopia, although possibly more high-brow than The Feed. The pace and feel is quite similar though, so if you enjoyed it, I think you will enjoy The Feed as well. Children of the Different is also a similar story, but in a different way than Station Eleven. It focuses more on movement, pace and adventure, but somehow, the feel is quite similar.
I can't really place this book - at first I thought it was YA, but as I read on, I realized that it's much too gory, violent and sexual to be considerI can't really place this book - at first I thought it was YA, but as I read on, I realized that it's much too gory, violent and sexual to be considered YA. And yet, the tone is definitely YA. New Adult maybe?
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Regardless of what genre it is, it had a really good premise. It could deliver. But... it didn't. There were a lot of good story threads, but they were either dropped, or just loosely rounded up. There could have been so much more world building as well.
Thing is, when I finished reading, I wasn't quite sure what I'd just read. Was it a young adult story? Was it mainly a dystopian tale? Was it meant to follow the characters, or was it just like a jumble of unfinished short stories? It felt like a lot of story lines were started, and started well, but never quite came to fruition. The idea of people gorging on someone else's shadows and destroying society sounds amazing. The domes and the towns behind moving trains, so nobody could enter? Also great... never went anywhere. The army of women tired of being victims? Also never went anywhere. So many threads that could have been so good! Ultimately, I just feel like it was too short and didn't have a clear direction or a clear audience in mind.
Love that cover though!
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review....more
It is truly a sorry affair that most sequels just do not turn out right. Well, alright, not most. Some. Can we settle on a lot?
I can start It is truly a sorry affair that most sequels just do not turn out right. Well, alright, not most. Some. Can we settle on a lot?
I can start naming now, (The sequel to Blood Red Road, Metro 2034...) and I am sure you can carry on with this list to eternity. In fact, please carry on in the comments! I would really love to find out what sequel drove you mad.
So basically, I think we can draw the conclusion that you pretty much have to be J.K. Rowling not to mess up the sequels.
So am I surprised that Shift wasn't really a charming sequel to Wool? No, dear friends, I am not. But am I disappointed?
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I don't really know where to begin with this book, or frankly - IF I should begin at all, cause you can see I just gave it 1 star, which I pretty much never do, so you must be getting the vibe that not only did this book not satisfy me, it probably even enraged me.
In fact, if that book had been a game, I would have rage quit.
This book has many very unfortunate factors that made me hate it. Part of it was that it was a sequel to a mind-blowing book. But it's not just that! The plot dragged and dragged and dragged... I can't think of a book that has tortured me quite so lately.
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If I had to compare it with Wool, well, first of all, the main character is such a wimp that you can't even. Literally. Second – okay, the first book is quite depressing. But it's also uplifting in a way, cause they keep fighting. Nobody gives up. Shift though? What happens to the guy is so depressing, that if you have any empathy at all, like even the amount sea critters have, you will probably get sorely depressed from just touching the book, much less reading it. (Hint: I totally did.)
Unfortunately, I can't find much more to say about this book. It's a non-story completely. I know it will not remain in my mind at all, because, well, pretty much nothing happened. Half of it was a retelling of what happened in the first book, half told stuff about a guy I honestly don't care to hear about, and intermingled in between all of that, there was maybe a little bit about how or why the silos were actually built. Alright, I'll give you that – there is the backstory. But hey. I could have saved so much more time (and brain cells) if that was just given to me in like 10 pages.
Now you will say, Evelina, dear friend, WHY DID YOU NOT DNF?? Well, now. I actually have a pretty good reason for that.
You might know I do not DNF almost ever, but this time I was buddy-reading this with my mom. And since I was taking my sweet time, she kept whining about wanting to talk about the story and just tortured me into finishing it! It was terrible :D abuse, I tell you! Here's a GIF of me (superstar!) to show you how I felt while reading this book – I think it's a better outlet than text:
Skyships over Innsmouth is an adventure horror story with an m/m romance. The dynamic is that roughly half of it focuses on the romance and half on thSkyships over Innsmouth is an adventure horror story with an m/m romance. The dynamic is that roughly half of it focuses on the romance and half on the horror. (Although, to be honest, I didn't find the horror bits scary at all.) The world the characters live in is a dystopian one - 23 years after everyone suddenly lost their memory along with their ability to really function and even speak, and the world is now being slowly reclaimed by a steampunk culture, looking for survivors. The characters of the story are going to Innsmouth for that very reason, and also hope to gain some goods or knowledge along the way. Sadly, what they find was probably best left alone though.
Skyships over Innsmouth somehow has a short story feel, despite being actually quite long. The author has done a good job of showing and not telling, but something else is missing there, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Things do develop quite fast and it feels like the plot is manufactured just so the author could tell it all. Speaking of the plot, I can see where it was going and why - it's very Lovecraftian - but it's also kind of ridiculous. The main conspiracy by side characters is also very simplistic. All of it has more of a 'fan-fiction feel' rather than a 'book feel', if you know what I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with fan-fiction at all, but it all has its place, and that's rarely on the shelves of bookstores, at the very least without a lot of editing.
The book had a few nicely set grotesque scenes, I can give you that - but we're talking one or two. Then again, I think I might just not be the target audience for this book. However, I found myself skipping to get to the end just so I could finish it. I think this author has potential to write great stories, but this is not one of them - yet.
I thank the publisher for a free copy of the ebook through NetGalley in exchange to an honest review. It has not affected my opinion....more
Three Days Breathing is a really good book, but its also incredibly sad, painfully so.But it is definitely worth the read, provided y★★★★✬ 4.5 stars
Three Days Breathing is a really good book, but its also incredibly sad, painfully so.But it is definitely worth the read, provided you can stomach it and the heaviness of its contents. I would even say that this is as much a literary novel, considering its depth and topics, as it is a dystopian fantasy. I will definitely not be forgetting it soon.
This book might be triggering to many. First of all, it's about a dystopian, messed up society. Second, a large part of the book is about how people are bred and trained to become sex workers, so a lot of it will be about that. Other triggers include (view spoiler)[death of family members, abuse of sex workers, grossly unfair treatment of certain classes of society, murder, some gore. (hide spoiler)] Even aside from this, the book is plain old sad due to the injustice the characters experience, so if you have mental health issues or are sensitive, you should read more reviews and decide whether you can stomach it.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook through NetGalley in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
I received this book years and years ago either as a review copy or as a freebie, and I don't even remember exactly. I tried to slog through DNF @ 37%
I received this book years and years ago either as a review copy or as a freebie, and I don't even remember exactly. I tried to slog through it, but it just seems to not be for me. Appears to be a kind of military dystopia, just not my thing. It's not written badly, but it just didn't hook me. It felt very "the right stuff" kind of book, where the men are the strong saviors and then women still kind of the prize, although they appear to be strong and capable on their own, but there's just still that something. I've always thought I'm making it up about such books, but after reading scores of women-authored scifi, there's a stark difference, even if it's about things that are out of the corner of your eye.
Nothing bad about this book, I just think it's not for me, maybe it's for a male audience. I'm not rating, because I did not finish it....more
Evelina | AvalinahsBooks
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