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wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall, it's a good first novel and I enjoyed the writing style and variety of cultural touchstones that I feel like barely exist in most American books. Tonally, it lives somewhere weird in the space of spec fic, spy thriller, and women's lit and I found that a bit jarring. The pro-military language and PoVs felt kind of heavy-handed at times, and the book emphasizes America's bigoted relationships with Muslim nations.
It's been a while since I finished this book, and I'm still not sure I feel satisfied by the ending. We're definitely left with the sense that things are still evolving and changing, but the major reveals and climax felt rushed, and then very little time is spent on the implications of all those changes. It's absolutely thought-provoking on many levels, and I still think about aspects of the world building and conflicts regularly. I do recommend it if people are in the mood for a strong debut that tackles the ethics of artificial intelligence, performance enhancement and bodily autonomy and how those all fit into a ultra-capitalist global gig economy.
CNs violence, drug use (pharmaceutical, legal, performance enhancing - this is a major part of the world building and normalized across global population), addiction, grief, unexpected pregnancy, abortion, chronic illness, reflection on past miscarriage, religious-based terrorism, racism (called out on page), seizures, body modification, attempted sexual coercion
It's been a while since I finished this book, and I'm still not sure I feel satisfied by the ending. We're definitely left with the sense that things are still evolving and changing, but the major reveals and climax felt rushed, and then very little time is spent on the implications of all those changes. It's absolutely thought-provoking on many levels, and I still think about aspects of the world building and conflicts regularly. I do recommend it if people are in the mood for a strong debut that tackles the ethics of artificial intelligence, performance enhancement and bodily autonomy and how those all fit into a ultra-capitalist global gig economy.
CNs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug use, Violence, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Body horror, Gun violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Miscarriage
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