Scan barcode
littletaiko's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
timinbc's review
3.0
In Magic for Liars Gailey mostly respected the fictional canon, but at the end just blew past all conventions and contradicted what had gone before.
Here they have presented a SF concept—not cloning itself but a far-advanced version of it—without the rigour I expect in SF. Only a few SF authors just leap into the key assumption that we're in a world just like ours except that super-detailed cloning just requires the Acme InstaClone kit. Even those who assume FTL travel give us a world in which MANY other things were developed over centuries, and give us credible handwaving about how that happened.
How easy is cloning? How about Evelyn is a super-researcher-expert, but hubby picks it all up in a few minutes by skimming her notes. And he effortlessly adds features assumed to be impossible.
That said: if you allow it, we get a plot that develops interestingly. There's some good work on how Martine is not exactly a copy of Evelyn.
I still don't know what to make of Igor, I mean Seyed. I guess he was necessary, and Gailey was careful to give him a story arc that didn't wreck the main story - although it seemed for most of the book that he would have to.
It all comes together in the acknowledgements, where Gailey explains that they had a difficult early life and this book is very much about dealing with it. For me, this pushes if out of SF and back into the mainstream, where its cavalier treatment of cloning should have pushed it anyway. Gailey's admirable self-cleansing-through-story fits better as mainstream than as SF - although I say that as a reader of 90% F-SF and 10% everything else.
Here they have presented a SF concept—not cloning itself but a far-advanced version of it—without the rigour I expect in SF. Only a few SF authors just leap into the key assumption that we're in a world just like ours except that super-detailed cloning just requires the Acme InstaClone kit. Even those who assume FTL travel give us a world in which MANY other things were developed over centuries, and give us credible handwaving about how that happened.
How easy is cloning? How about Evelyn is a super-researcher-expert, but hubby picks it all up in a few minutes by skimming her notes. And he effortlessly adds features assumed to be impossible.
That said: if you allow it, we get a plot that develops interestingly. There's some good work on how Martine is not exactly a copy of Evelyn.
I still don't know what to make of Igor, I mean Seyed. I guess he was necessary, and Gailey was careful to give him a story arc that didn't wreck the main story - although it seemed for most of the book that he would have to.
It all comes together in the acknowledgements, where Gailey explains that they had a difficult early life and this book is very much about dealing with it. For me, this pushes if out of SF and back into the mainstream, where its cavalier treatment of cloning should have pushed it anyway. Gailey's admirable self-cleansing-through-story fits better as mainstream than as SF - although I say that as a reader of 90% F-SF and 10% everything else.
eachz's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really struggled on and off with finishing this book but ultimately I landed on the side of liking it. A lot of the things that bothered me or seemed confusing early on made a bit more sense when all the pieces started to click together in the end. It was hard at times to get through the first ~half but I think the author ultimately did a good job of exploring the themes they were aiming to explore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Murder
christene_littlelibrary's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Infidelity, Murder, Death, and Pregnancy
frostyjflakes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kblum15's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pennyante's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
carolineeckels's review
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.25
Interesting premise. I appreciated that the clone appeared to have more “human” emotions than her human counterpart. Wanted a little more, either character-building or plot-wise.
adelesbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0