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picketfences's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
cool story, feel like i probably missed some connections. i am definitely left wondering about a lot of things, but that might be intentionally done by the author.
kellyvandamme's review
3.0
The blurb got me hook, line and sinker just by mentioning Black Mirror. I always thought I was not a sci-fi fan at all, but that was before I discovered dark near-future science fiction, a subgenre I can’t seem to get enough of. Heather Child and Blake Crouch had me covered last year, and I’d hoped that I’d be able to add Alpha Omega to my list of awesome Black Mirror-esque novels, but alas…
We were off to a great start though! I felt myself gleefully tumbling down the rabbit hole with various storylines blooming before my very eyes: a boy who finds a skull, a girl who gets an extreme nosebleed and is subsequently shipped off to God-knows-where, an archaeologist who is lamenting how little she’s allowed to work out in the real world, a gamer at the top of his game who is confronted “In World” by a faceless man. I was properly intrigued by the story and its setting in this brave new world, and dying to find out how it would all come together.
And then I got lost. My attention wavered. What was supposed to be a quick read at less than 300 pages seemed to drag. I’m not sure what happened. I won’t deny that I have the attention span of a goldfish at times, so it’s entirely possible that it’s me and not this book, but I got confused, I got turned around, I didn’t know what was what anymore, nor what was the point of anything.
While Alpha Omega raises a few valid points and is quite thought-provoking in some aspects, I would have liked it better if there had been more world-building, and if more of my questions had been answered. Instead I feel like I’ve been left in a bit of a muddle with a frown line edged into my brow.
If a mix of Stranger Things, Black Mirror and Ready Player One is music to your ears, then by all means do not let me stop you. Alpha Omega didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but it may work for you.
We were off to a great start though! I felt myself gleefully tumbling down the rabbit hole with various storylines blooming before my very eyes: a boy who finds a skull, a girl who gets an extreme nosebleed and is subsequently shipped off to God-knows-where, an archaeologist who is lamenting how little she’s allowed to work out in the real world, a gamer at the top of his game who is confronted “In World” by a faceless man. I was properly intrigued by the story and its setting in this brave new world, and dying to find out how it would all come together.
And then I got lost. My attention wavered. What was supposed to be a quick read at less than 300 pages seemed to drag. I’m not sure what happened. I won’t deny that I have the attention span of a goldfish at times, so it’s entirely possible that it’s me and not this book, but I got confused, I got turned around, I didn’t know what was what anymore, nor what was the point of anything.
While Alpha Omega raises a few valid points and is quite thought-provoking in some aspects, I would have liked it better if there had been more world-building, and if more of my questions had been answered. Instead I feel like I’ve been left in a bit of a muddle with a frown line edged into my brow.
If a mix of Stranger Things, Black Mirror and Ready Player One is music to your ears, then by all means do not let me stop you. Alpha Omega didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but it may work for you.
alisyy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
notasilkycat's review
2.0
I think my reading experience with this book can be described very briefly like "what have I actually read just now"? It felt like reading a very raw TV-show screenplay which started promising then finished like Lost. I got my copy from a ABC Booklover Science Fiction box - and it was only reason I brought myself to finish it because of some unhealthy duty.
alex_bl's review
adventurous
funny
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
3.0
boehmography's review against another edition
1.0
Fantastic premise, absolutely terrible execution. It built up to nothing. I'm honestly not sure if my copy was missing pages at the end because it felt like the author just hit a deadline and gave up. So disappointed with this book.
saniawc's review against another edition
2.0
Like a lot of readers in the review section, the blurb was what got me interested in this. I thought maybe because it was being compared to Ready Player One and Black Mirror, Alpha Omega would be somewhat similar to Sword Art Online. I think I was too excited about the VR part of the story that the rest of the blurb went over my head.
It was fine though, I need to read more out of my comfort zone and I used to love reading science fiction.
The start was captivating. Boys find bones on the school ground, which is insane to say the least, what is even more insane is that one of them took the bones with them, just chilling with a skull in his bag! Then the girl who got the nosebleed which didn't seem weird at first until she was being ushered into a car and was then completely erased from the school records? What really got me hooked with this book however was Gabriel, who had been "kicked out" from NSA. His whole behaviour was unsettling, the way he treats his mother, how much he spends on the VR. I wanted to see how his story would play out.
It took a long time. The book seemed to stretch. Everything that happens within the book takes around a week and there is a lot of stuff and a lot of people to keep track of. It go confusing at times. I liked how brands and advertisements played a huge part of the education systems but I with there had been some more worldbuilding because there was a lot of terminology that we as the reader would not know straight off the bat, such as Meninist and Masculist which I don't even know if it had any relevance to the story now, maybe to build Gabriel's storyline? There was definitely a need for some introduction to the world because it kept me confused for a good half of the book until I kind of understood what was going on.
It's an interesting read and has huge potential, but I don't think I would recommend this book. Too rushed and too heavy with unexplained details. Also EXTREMELY disappointed with Gabriel's ending, very unsatisfied as I wanted to understand his thought process. His whole behaviour was so dangerous.
It was fine though, I need to read more out of my comfort zone and I used to love reading science fiction.
The start was captivating. Boys find bones on the school ground, which is insane to say the least, what is even more insane is that one of them took the bones with them, just chilling with a skull in his bag! Then the girl who got the nosebleed which didn't seem weird at first until she was being ushered into a car and was then completely erased from the school records? What really got me hooked with this book however was Gabriel, who had been "kicked out" from NSA. His whole behaviour was unsettling, the way he treats his mother, how much he spends on the VR. I wanted to see how his story would play out.
It took a long time. The book seemed to stretch. Everything that happens within the book takes around a week and there is a lot of stuff and a lot of people to keep track of. It go confusing at times. I liked how brands and advertisements played a huge part of the education systems but I with there had been some more worldbuilding because there was a lot of terminology that we as the reader would not know straight off the bat, such as Meninist and Masculist which I don't even know if it had any relevance to the story now, maybe to build Gabriel's storyline? There was definitely a need for some introduction to the world because it kept me confused for a good half of the book until I kind of understood what was going on.
It's an interesting read and has huge potential, but I don't think I would recommend this book. Too rushed and too heavy with unexplained details. Also EXTREMELY disappointed with Gabriel's ending, very unsatisfied as I wanted to understand his thought process. His whole behaviour was so dangerous.
tbhonest_uk's review
5.0
Alpha Omega is a fascinating and immersive read, which is extremely topical given the global covid-19 pandemic, eerily so in parts that it gets a little freaky. Well worth a read.
prittypeaches's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a mediocre near future science fiction. It tried to develop an dystopian depiction of education systems but overlaid that with 'what if Second Life could steal your soul'. The combination of troupes made some of the book feel a bit out of date and overworked.
There was a brief point at about the 2/3 point in th book where it was flowing well and I thought it might just be a slow starter. Unfortunately it floundered again towards the end. I did finish it so I'll give it a second star.
There was a brief point at about the 2/3 point in th book where it was flowing well and I thought it might just be a slow starter. Unfortunately it floundered again towards the end. I did finish it so I'll give it a second star.