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michaelion's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My second book ever giving 5 stars! (I think it's like a 4.95 because I'm naturally a lil judgey but it's worth the round up!!!)
How do I explain this book other than using the word juicy?
This book is so perfect. It's beautiful it's vibrant it's juicy. It's my first real delve into fantasy / sci-fi, and it's the longest I've ever taken reading one book with such a low page count, but my goodness my god my unity!, what a lovely story! I literally had something to say for almost every other page. I have 136 journal entries logged. Every twist and every turn, I gasped! I gusped!I creamed! I screamed! I jumped! Elly Bangs the woman that you are...!
💛💚💙👁💙💚💛
How do I explain this book other than using the word juicy?
This book is so perfect. It's beautiful it's vibrant it's juicy. It's my first real delve into fantasy / sci-fi, and it's the longest I've ever taken reading one book with such a low page count, but my goodness my god my unity!, what a lovely story! I literally had something to say for almost every other page. I have 136 journal entries logged. Every twist and every turn, I gasped! I gusped!
💛💚💙👁💙💚💛
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Biphobia
Minor: Slavery, Infertility, Ableism, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, and Racism
So many asterisks to be added next to the triggers. The ableism is internalized. Pedophilia and sexual assault is mentioned very briefly in two sentences on page 56 but I still made note of it. Infertility is also mentioned in one sentence later on. Misogyny is added more because of gender dynamics, not because it's a common theme in the story... I'm just very thorough.look_to_the_sun's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
andyjordan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thearbiter89's review against another edition
4.0
A fresh take on cyberpunk by a fresh new voice.
Unity lives up to its name not just in terms of its use of multi-body consciousness as its central sf-hook, but because it adroitly melds together many contemporary influences to create a work that feels original and serves as an engaging and earnest take on the Singularity - not by machines, but by a mesh of networked human brains sharing a single consciousness - and the precarious moral stakes of having such a being - all-powerful yet still humanly fallible - be the sole backstop against human self-annihilation.
There's underwater cities, Mad-Max style desert wastelands, grey goo as the new nuclear deterrent, Japan-as-cyberpunk-power, itinerant warrior-mercenaries, hyperintelligent amoral scientists unleashing Pandoras' Boxes, creepy eyes in the sky - all skillfully woven into a tautly-paced and cinematic ride that was honestly hard to put down - and I think, perfect for an eventual TV adaptation.
There are some rough edges, such as certain villains being irredeemably evil in a way that screams lack of self-awareness, and perhaps the denouement being won by the Power of Argument was a bit too easy - but these are tolerable in the greater context of what Bangs sets out to do - create a compelling vision of a falling world and meditate on what it means to assume responsibility for it.
I give this: 4 out of 5 wave rifles
Unity lives up to its name not just in terms of its use of multi-body consciousness as its central sf-hook, but because it adroitly melds together many contemporary influences to create a work that feels original and serves as an engaging and earnest take on the Singularity - not by machines, but by a mesh of networked human brains sharing a single consciousness - and the precarious moral stakes of having such a being - all-powerful yet still humanly fallible - be the sole backstop against human self-annihilation.
There's underwater cities, Mad-Max style desert wastelands, grey goo as the new nuclear deterrent, Japan-as-cyberpunk-power, itinerant warrior-mercenaries, hyperintelligent amoral scientists unleashing Pandoras' Boxes, creepy eyes in the sky - all skillfully woven into a tautly-paced and cinematic ride that was honestly hard to put down - and I think, perfect for an eventual TV adaptation.
There are some rough edges, such as certain villains being irredeemably evil in a way that screams lack of self-awareness, and perhaps the denouement being won by the Power of Argument was a bit too easy - but these are tolerable in the greater context of what Bangs sets out to do - create a compelling vision of a falling world and meditate on what it means to assume responsibility for it.
I give this: 4 out of 5 wave rifles
boysen_bean's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
elliotvanz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A swift paced cyberpunk cli-fi exploration of the future, identity, self, and morality. I'm super curious to find out whether or not the rest of my book club finds this book as terrifying as I did.
__apf__'s review against another edition
Amidst an action packed caper, Unity explores the concept of a collective consciousness: what would its flaws be? Its ethics? Its responsibilities to the rest of humanity? How might a consciousness be limited by only accepting the lives of privileged people? I enjoyed the adventure, the characters, and the intellectual examination of collectivism.
Aspects of the writing are uneven. I attribute its weaknesses to the fact that it is a debut novel that was written over 18 years. In particular, the narrator's level of knowledge is inconsistent between scenes; sometimes the narrator knows things they shouldn't have known, as if the author is cheating their way out of a gap in perspective. I noticed it, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment and interest in the work.
Aspects of the writing are uneven. I attribute its weaknesses to the fact that it is a debut novel that was written over 18 years. In particular, the narrator's level of knowledge is inconsistent between scenes; sometimes the narrator knows things they shouldn't have known, as if the author is cheating their way out of a gap in perspective. I noticed it, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment and interest in the work.
jimmyroro's review against another edition
4.0
Really fascinating ideas around consciousness, humanity, and individuality, but doesn't really explore them thoroughly. Lots of themes and big questions are raised and then almost immediately ignored in favor of the next one. Also, WAY too many coincidences and deus ex machinas for my taste
tweetiesrf's review against another edition
5.0
I loved how this book read like a movie. I could see the world, characters, and relationships so clearly in my mind. The author also takes on pretty daunting questions: what does it mean to be human? What is the value of difference? The danger of sameness? I'll be thinking about this book for a while.
anthers's review against another edition
4.0
Unity follows Danae, a single fragment of a gestalt consciousness who has fled from the rest of herself after an incredible trauma. Now living in the underwater metropolis Bloom City as a tech servant indebted to its bloody rulers, she has decided it is time to go home. Enlisting the help of her lover Naoto and an enigmatic former mercenary named Alexi, she flees from the city across a ravaged landscape. Danae wants to become whole again. But doing so is incredibly dangerous, and in more ways than one…
A lot of the books that I like but want more of tend to fall into two categories. They have amazing plot and pacing, or they have amazing characters and character development, but not both. Unity manages to provide characters I am truly invested in and a fascinating plot that kept me turning pages out of sheer anticipation.
All three of the main characters are complex and richly portrayed. Not only are they made sympathetic, but they’re allowed to have flaws like jealousy, selfishness, and abrasiveness that aren’t excused. Instead it helps to drive home the message that we are all complex beings with good and bad aspects to ourselves. In my case it also helped me sympathize more with the characters because it was (in my opinion) a more accurate reflection of how most people outside of fiction act.
The worldbuilding was quite good as well, although I wish a little more time had been taken to explain how America fractured as it is in the setting of the books. What we get is not very detailed and mostly goes back into character development. This isn’t a make or break deal for me as a reader, but it got me curious!
Finally, the reason why this book is a 4-staar book and not 5-star book for me is the ending. Without going into spoilers, what has happened with Danae’s whole self while she was gone felt entirely too convenient and was used to do a sort of handwave explanation to several prior events in the book. It does make sense given the context of the story, and it is well-written in a technical sense, but it just didn’t leave me satiated.
Final rating: 4/5 stars.
A lot of the books that I like but want more of tend to fall into two categories. They have amazing plot and pacing, or they have amazing characters and character development, but not both. Unity manages to provide characters I am truly invested in and a fascinating plot that kept me turning pages out of sheer anticipation.
All three of the main characters are complex and richly portrayed. Not only are they made sympathetic, but they’re allowed to have flaws like jealousy, selfishness, and abrasiveness that aren’t excused. Instead it helps to drive home the message that we are all complex beings with good and bad aspects to ourselves. In my case it also helped me sympathize more with the characters because it was (in my opinion) a more accurate reflection of how most people outside of fiction act.
The worldbuilding was quite good as well, although I wish a little more time had been taken to explain how America fractured as it is in the setting of the books. What we get is not very detailed and mostly goes back into character development. This isn’t a make or break deal for me as a reader, but it got me curious!
Finally, the reason why this book is a 4-staar book and not 5-star book for me is the ending. Without going into spoilers, what has happened with Danae’s whole self while she was gone felt entirely too convenient and was used to do a sort of handwave explanation to several prior events in the book. It does make sense given the context of the story, and it is well-written in a technical sense, but it just didn’t leave me satiated.
Final rating: 4/5 stars.