nachosorcheetos

My biggest issue with the book is that it felt more like a Wiki article. When he did share his opinion, it was oftentimes repetitive and a little unfair. It is praiseworthy that he backs his words with citations, but citations can be cherry-picked. The author makes it clear that he is not impartial, which is admirable, and there's a lot to be learnt through this read, but the book was not without its flaws.

i have a love hate relationship with this book. what i love about it, is that it doesn't shy away from adult themes just because of the magical backdrop. however, while a part of me found the way the book was written enthralling, another part of me found it exhausting. It doesn't help that every character's actions felt incredibly selfish. It could have been something amazing, it left me with a taste of what could've been.

I've been reading this series over the course of the past year and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but the more I read, the more it dissolved into a fever dream. I treaded on because of the comedic absurdity, but I could not have explained the plot to you (if there even was a plot). I also found it kind of sad that for a book dealing with literal aliens, somehow earthly stereotypes and sexist jokes continued to make an appearance. oh well.

I've been reading this series over the course of the past year and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but the more I read, the more it dissolved into a fever dream. I treaded on because of the comedic absurdity, but I could not have explained the plot to you (if there even was a plot). I also found it kind of sad that for a book dealing with literal aliens, somehow earthly stereotypes and sexist jokes continued to make an appearance. oh well.

it's a tragic tale from start to finish. the story's beautifully written but incredibly heavy - probably not the kind of book you reread. the highs and lows of the book make it a very frustrating read.

I've never read a book like this before.

It is the most uncomfortable book I've ever read. It leaves you feeling sticky and itchy and makes you want to tear the pages out.

I think it takes great skill to write a book this messed up. So I can't help but think highly of it.

also, I really liked the ending. That's usually what lets me down but this was tied together sufficiently well.

It's a gorgeously written book that feels incredibly real despite being a work of fiction. I never understood the point of a coming-of-age novel, but the shifting perspectives over time and the empathy an older Rachel had towards her younger self felt transformative. My only gripe is the author doesn't make James remotely likeable. As the book is from Rachel's POV, the same Rachel who is obsessed with the dude, the fact that James does not come off in a flattering light is an interesting writing decision that makes absolutely no sense to me.

I think I got the concept backwards before starting the book, so I was a bit disappointed. But it's definitely one of those books you can't put down once you get started. The writing style was a bit jarring, but I got used to it. I think the ending was clever, because you have a very unreliable narrator who could have been influenced by something that happened moments earlier.

there's a lot to like in this delightful book, but it's not without its flaws. it does read quite like a kid's book, so I'm surprised it's marketed towards adults. I did find that it was repetitive - the narration, the emotions. everyone seemed to experience things in the exact same way. it was hard to tell people apart (except for vera). I think the book would've worked better from vera's POV. analysing the POVs alone would let you know who the killer is (or isn't). also realistically, some people suck more than others, but they were still unrealistically redeemed. the narration was often not cohesive as well. the descriptions of food made me hungry.

I've been reading this series over the course of the past year and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but the more I read, the more it dissolved into a fever dream. I treaded on because of the comedic absurdity, but I could not have explained the plot to you (if there even was a plot). I also found it kind of sad that for a book dealing with literal aliens, somehow earthly stereotypes and sexist jokes continued to make an appearance. oh well.

it was such a wholesome, loving story. it warmed my heart.

i was the writing style a bit unnatural. but i don't think that's worth knocking down any stars for.

What a frustrating read. It truly felt like one of those sci-fi movies you play in the background, except you can't really read books in the background.

It's difficult to figure out the author's intentions. Does he think the future is dystopian or futuristic, when he describes traffic jams with EVs or hyperloops (reads quite like Elon's dreams)?

The motivations make no sense. The issue isn't everyday people, it's people in power and companies going unchecked and insufficiently regulated.

His descriptions of intelligence are not convincing. It reads more encyclopaedic than anything else.

I appreciate his concluding chapter though. that was more thought provoking than the entire book.

I loved the book's novelty. The idea was well-executed. The coincidences were a bit jarring. I wouldn't search for something deep within these pages; that might lead to disappointment. Not really meant as a critique, but reading about covid within a fictionalized book will never not be jarring. I also found it interesting how the book within the book felt like it was based on another book by the author.

I've been reading this series over the course of the past year and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but the more I read, the more it dissolved into a fever dream. I treaded on because of the comedic absurdity, but I could not have explained the plot to you (if there even was a plot). I also found it kind of sad that for a book dealing with literal aliens, somehow earthly stereotypes and sexist jokes continued to make an appearance. oh well.

I don't think the book had any redeeming qualities. The story wasn't interesting, and neither were the characters or the writing. it was a pot of depressing people all being horrid to each other. and the book within the book added nothing to the story - it just made my eyes glaze over. there wasn't even a good twist. I just didn't have a good time.

I speak only for myself here, but I have a terrible attention span with audiobooks, so I don't consider myself to have “read” this book to fairly review it. I probably missed out on a lot of information. But this felt like an extended John Green Vlog Brothers video, and I enjoyed listening to it on my way to the gym and back.

There was a lot of interesting information. I have similar fears as John, but he is so much more hopeful than I'll ever be.


Finished listening: 20/1/24

4 stars just for the creativity. I was thoroughly impressed with how much the author thought things through. I didn't have as bad of an experience as with the Martian. This book has jargon, but at least it didn't make me want to punch something.

I still don't think the author is great at dialogue. It never felt believable. I enjoyed the buddy comedy aspect of it.

Not the author's finest work. It was a slog until chapter 32 after which it picked up pace. 5 stars for the remaining chapters, no stars for the preceding ones.

it really picked up pace in the latter half. definitely worth a read. puts into perspective the dystopic nature of the world we currently reside in.

As slick as the writing was, I was desperately trying to maintain interest. Unfortunately, it's just a matter of differing likes.

Birdbox was amazing. The sequel was almost as good.

The horrors were more psychological in this one, and you get to deal with the added bonus that is teen angst and anxious parenting (both with good reason). This diluted the experience quite a bit for me as it made it more of a YA novel than a thriller.

The book tied up the teen angst sufficiently well but it left me aching for the mother (and the kids) for what she put herself through and what she had to put the kids through. But she helped them survive all those years so maybe it was all worth it.

Turns out insanity is not just something the insane undergo. It might very well be a human trait.

(Not in the literal sense, please put down your pitchforks).

It's a weird one. The book is two genres - scifi and romance. Or more accurately, it is romance with a scifi setting. Unfortunately, the romance was weak, and I was more interested in the actual time war, which made this a chore to read. I don't particularly mind reading love burgeon through letters. It's just that the letters were a bit ridiculous and took themselves and words and metaphors too seriously. It felt very high school. Very try hard. But it did not feel romantic. And I was not convinced that two could fall in love through these letters.

Also, the two protagonists were too interchangeable. It felt like one person but with two character designs. They both work for evil agencies. they're both the best at what they do, they both have powers. But they felt like essentially the same person. It didn't help that I kept confusing their names - blue and red; it was not enough of a differentiator.

Also, almost every character was female or took the form of a woman. At first, I thought it was a world of women, which is fine, but this was not the case. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this stylistic choice is, but I could not figure it out. This is more of a note than a criticism.

The scifi elements were easy enough to understand. There were nice metaphorical elements and thought experiments. They both touched each other's lives before their met. At times it was a bit disturbing. I don't know if I misunderstood this, but the tech one kissed the nature one when the nature one was still being grown, which is kinda gross.

Oh well.

I found it very hard to read - not because it was terribly written, but because it was a little too well-written and the subject matter of domestic abuse hits a little too close to home. The book kept me on my toes, and I loved it.

As for claims of discrimination, we're being walked through a character's thoughts, and if you don't actively opine in your thoughts, then you might as well be an angel from heaven.

just a couple of pages, can't really review ‘em

To be honest, the pronoun usage was a bit difficult to get used to, but it got easier with time. I understand how important representation is, so I'm not holding a slight inconvenience against this book. Still, I'm not quite sure what to make of the book. The philosophical ponderings would have had an impact on me if I was in high school - I'm not sure if that is the target audience. The setting raises a lot of questions - for instance, it made no mention of how the robots have souls if they're recycled; I feel like that's a big thing to leave unanswered. And why would the robots believe in the same gods that the people did; why did all people believe in the same gods? Were there any people who didn't believe in gods? Does this mean there has been contact with gods? Also, it was a baffling decision to make the robot feel so human, and the human feel so robotic; that is to say, the human was extremely unlikeable. It also felt weird for a monk to be so sex-forward. I don't know. Great cover art though.