Gaige

Interesting concept, well executed

Revisado: 12-05-24

What’s real? What’s not? Does it matter? AI lawyers in space (still a nuisance)! All these concepts come together in a very thought provoking and entertaining book. I like a book that makes you pay attention to follow the plot.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I don't get the hype

Revisado: 03-11-24

Generally, when I see that something has won a Hugo award, I feel confident that it's going to be a great book. I also saw the thousands of rave reviews so I was very interested. Fast-forward to the end and I'm sitting here scratching my head because I honestly don't get the hype. I found the characters to be 1-dimensional and the writing cliché. I also disliked the narration - I don't care for her cadence and thought many of her accents were just terrible. I know i'm in the minority with this opinion and I wish I liked it, but it wasn't even "ok" for me.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Couldn't be bothered to finish

Revisado: 03-11-24

I read reviews for this series and knew it had won several awards so I was excited to check it out. I'm sitting here scratching my head because I honestly don't get the hype. I found the characters to be 1-dimensional and the writing cliché. I decided to give the second book a go and I realized after not listening to it for a week, that I didn't care to finish. I also disliked the narration - I don't care for her cadence and thought many of her accents were just terrible. Unpopular opinion - it's just not that good.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Not Banks’ Best

Revisado: 01-13-24

Story felt all over the place - like it was a short story that was then padded out to a full novel. There’s an entire character arc that goes nowhere! Overall disappointed in the end.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

“The smile didn’t meet his eyes”

Revisado: 10-10-23

I have a rule with books, if the author uses the phrase “his/her/the smile didn’t meet the eyes” more than 3 times I’m out. The book was already melodramatic and I was struggling to stick it out. why do editors let authors use the same phrases over and over? World building was terrible, the characters were cliché and two dimensional. I know I’m apparently in the minority with that opinion, but this book pales in comparison to The Golem and the Jinn.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Libertarian diatribe

Revisado: 08-10-23

There were interesting aspects to this book but as a whole it felt uneven. The oddest part was the injection of ultra conservative (fine if that’s your beliefs) rants that felt out of place in the book and almost felt like an afterthought.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Ultimately falls flat

Revisado: 07-12-23

I think if you are a fan of Neal Stephenson, you will most likely enjoy this book. I found the entire premise of this book just too implausible to really enjoy. That’s not to say that there were not some interesting parts but overall just too much of a stretch.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Hugo award?

Revisado: 02-24-22

This book is not bad by any means but it’s also not great. Premise is interesting but the writing is weak. Character development, world-building, dialogue, etc. all leave something to be desired. All in all it was a bit dull and I guess I’m just surprised it won the Hugo.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Fails to live up to potential

Revisado: 01-19-22

I can’t help feeling like this book could have been so much more. I didn’t end up really caring about any of the characters or what might happen to them. My biggest complaint is the abrupt ending. I can’t remember the last time a book slammed the door in my face like this. I’m used to ambiguous endings but with this books you feel like it built up to it and the rest is up to you interpretation. Here it simply feels like the last quarter of the book was missing.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Absolutely beautiful

Revisado: 01-02-22

By far my favorite book of the year and definitely in my top 5 all-time favorites. How all these seemingly separate stories are threaded together and converge at the end is so beautiful. Narration is also top-notch and do a great job bringing the novel to life.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña