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emma_thorne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A decent piece of speculative fiction! The story follows three different stories which intertwine in a complex way that was engaging to read. The premise of the book is amazing — a biological twist on science fiction that was rather incredible. The idea of a flu leading to a whole new generation of humans is both intriguing and actually quite terrifying to read.
I’m glad I read this book now. I had sufficient biological knowledge to understand the complex terms and scientific jargon in this book, but for someone who has very little scientific understanding I can see how this boom could become confusing and too much.
The premise of this book was really heavy. It took a while for me to get through because there are so many long paragraphs just bombarding you with science and the background knowledge and it held the plot down a little. Also reading about failed births over and over gets a little too much. There isn’t much action, it’s definitely a slow burn in terms of how everything plays out and I don’t think the ending was amazing but it was certainly interesting.
My favourite thing about this book is reading it just after coming out of a pandemic. The parallels between how we reacted to COVID and how those in the book reacted to Herod’s was so spot on and shocking that it was actually scary and jarring to read. Considering this was written in 1999, Bear predicted how we’d react to such a widespread disease in a frighteningly accurate way.
I didn’t love the relationships between the characters and I thought it was too long for the plot that Bear was aiming for, but it was good enough!
I’m glad I read this book now. I had sufficient biological knowledge to understand the complex terms and scientific jargon in this book, but for someone who has very little scientific understanding I can see how this boom could become confusing and too much.
The premise of this book was really heavy. It took a while for me to get through because there are so many long paragraphs just bombarding you with science and the background knowledge and it held the plot down a little. Also reading about failed births over and over gets a little too much. There isn’t much action, it’s definitely a slow burn in terms of how everything plays out and I don’t think the ending was amazing but it was certainly interesting.
My favourite thing about this book is reading it just after coming out of a pandemic. The parallels between how we reacted to COVID and how those in the book reacted to Herod’s was so spot on and shocking that it was actually scary and jarring to read. Considering this was written in 1999, Bear predicted how we’d react to such a widespread disease in a frighteningly accurate way.
I didn’t love the relationships between the characters and I thought it was too long for the plot that Bear was aiming for, but it was good enough!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Death
liorlueg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy
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