Reviews

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

augur01's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think the writing was really good, but it was hard to stick with a main character who was so self-hating the whole time, who really never changed all that much by the end of the novel. 

mollief's review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-paced

3.75

Felt like there were times when it meandered a bit but liked the overall style and characters.

jayco's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective 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

4.0

A clever satire with wonderful prose.

emberburns's review against another edition

4.0

An absolutely stunning walk through a not so far off dystopian future. Tackling the issues of race and violence, drug addiction, fatherhood, and being comfortable in the skin you have. By the end this story had me tearing up and sighing for the relief that came from finally being done sitting in its glorious uncomfortable feeling.

zachnachazel's review against another edition

3.0

Whoa. I’ll be honest, this started slow. I kept going because I was drawn so close into the POV. But looking back at the first half of the book, there felt like too much time spent on the main character’s career that could have been spent more on his relationships.

I only say this because the last half of the book was gut wrenching. As a parent of two, I regularly wonder how I’m messing my kids up. What will they see as faults in my parenting? This hit hard and felt at odds with the primary narrative early on.

da_bos's review against another edition

2.0

It's a real pity: the idea sounded so interesting, and many reviews sounded so positive. But somehow I found this just... boring. The narrator is a conflicted man but I found him not particularly likable; more importantly, though, the story just drags on and on without really progressing. Eventually, I simply lost interest in it.

baoluong's review against another edition

4.0

complex characters and fantastic world building, fun read

r t c &

voxvenati's review against another edition

sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the journey of the story, but I’m not sure about the destination. 

To start off with, this leans much more speculative than scifi. The scifi is extremely light. The dystopian elements were subtle, but they built up and I liked that. 

The audiobook narrator was very good. That probably adds almost half a star just on its own. 

Overall, it ended up being pretty light on plot. Things happen, world building happens, characters have arcs, but the plot itself was sparse at best. Also, I wish we got some sort of resolution to Crown’s story? It felt like we were set up for something but it never panned out. 

There were plenty of heavy topics, and it was depressing throughout, but I think people interested in the synopsis should give it a shot. 

ewaradz's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Might have been the way the audiobook was read but did not enjoy the book at all, found it not very engaging. The idea is quite interesting and has some meaning to it but failed to pass on the struggles of the black society in a meaningful way, the main character wasn't very relatable as a person. Wasn't a fan of how the business intrigues were described. 

markgius's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0