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linguisticali's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
4.5
More could have been made of the climax and resolution, but I still really enjoyed this. An unexpectedly hopeful ending.
blooker's review against another edition
5.0
In a wild, neo-eldritch corporate dystopian world, a person goes looking for their people, hoping for reconciliation if not welcoming for unforgivable sins. They've got help from an assassin who cannot kill and a subversive artist as they flee murderous corporate tyrants in a mad max-like chase through mountains and desert. The protagonist's background opens up over the story, and I love the concept that is revealed, but I don't want to detail it here and spoil the story.
brianklaas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
scornweed's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
cplemmons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is different than what I’d normally pick up, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an apocalypse book with a surprisingly hopeful ending and thought-provoking social and political commentary that manages not to be heavy-handed or forced.
ddrake's review against another edition
5.0
Holy cow. The effusive blurbs comparing this to Neuromancer and Lilith's Brood and Mad Max all at once -- yeah, they're right. Gray goo, AI supremacy, hive minds -- think [b:Coalescent|64773|Coalescent (Destiny's Children, #1)|Stephen Baxter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389340160l/64773._SY75_.jpg|1965958] and [b:A Fire Upon the Deep|77711|A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1)|Vernor Vinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333915005l/77711._SY75_.jpg|1253374] -- dystopian cli-fi, but like the very best science fiction, this is also very, very much about right now, about humanity, about human connection.
anatomydetective's review against another edition
2.0
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed are completely my own.
This was largely a novel of ideas. The characters themselves were not a strong point, nor was the world the author had created. You had your pretty typical dystopian world, a mishmash of different potential awful futures. It might not even be that far off. Everything politically destabilized, constant war, undersea cities, the land destroyed ecologically, irradiated and/or desertified. It often falls into the trap of telling instead of showing - way too much exposition. The beginning was really confusing and it didn't get better going back knowing what was going on. It wasn't a bad first novel. It had a lot of good ideas, it makes you think. I'd read her next novel.
This was largely a novel of ideas. The characters themselves were not a strong point, nor was the world the author had created. You had your pretty typical dystopian world, a mishmash of different potential awful futures. It might not even be that far off. Everything politically destabilized, constant war, undersea cities, the land destroyed ecologically, irradiated and/or desertified. It often falls into the trap of telling instead of showing - way too much exposition. The beginning was really confusing and it didn't get better going back knowing what was going on. It wasn't a bad first novel. It had a lot of good ideas, it makes you think. I'd read her next novel.
calypte's review against another edition
4.0
Ignore the list comparing this to everything under the sun, and just go in with a bit of an open mind. After a slightly slow start - a bit necessary as we find our own feet in this newly constructed world, which is far better than having everything spelled out at once - the pace picks up both in terms of action and intrigue. Lots of mysteries explored, from the hinted at traumas in both main characters' pasts, to the big question: what exactly is Unity?
Thought this was well done, and definitely leaves me excited about what the author might do in the future.
Full review is up on my blog.
Thought this was well done, and definitely leaves me excited about what the author might do in the future.
Full review is up on my blog.
jess_stetson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I stayed awake until the wee hours last night in order to finish reading this book. Not because I 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 to know what happens. On the contrary, I 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 to wake up today not having to finish reading this.
The book starts off overly confusing. That's not particularly daunting because many sci-fi books do this and I'm cool with letting things unfold. But it never got less confusing. In fact, it became more and more convoluted as it wore on. And I studied both physics and theoretical physics once upon a time.
Unity follows Danae, a woman who is part of an "I" - a melded gestalt consciousness - who has lived thousands of lifetimes when all the lives of the "unified" members are added up. She has been in hiding in a mix of self-imposed exile and fear from threats for 5 years but now she must reunite on land with her other selves. She hires a mercenary, Alexei, to get her there and, at the last minute must also bring along her lover Naoto. The three escape and must navigate a barren, dangerous, (and pretty generic), dystopian landscape to achieve the mission.
There are some great ideas in this book. Nothing wholly unique but still interesting enough to keep me hoping they would amount to something. Sadly, while the story does move forward - they escape and are then on the run from several groups - I was already halfway into the book and it felt like very little had actually happened. And, worse, I couldn't even count on the characters making up for the lack of action. Despite having very promising back stories, I just didn't really care about any of them.
I think the biggest problem for me, though, was that there's just a lot of 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 to explain (with 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴) but very little showing. The author /character expounds and muses and dwells on the theoretical explanations to the point where I was like...Yeah okay, but WHAT ABOUT THE STORY?! Don't tell me, SHOW ME! (creative writing 101)
When it finally ended there was an EPILOGUE that just WENT ON EXPLAINING!
So when I say I needed to finish, it's because I 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 to be free to start a new journey with a new book today.
The book starts off overly confusing. That's not particularly daunting because many sci-fi books do this and I'm cool with letting things unfold. But it never got less confusing. In fact, it became more and more convoluted as it wore on. And I studied both physics and theoretical physics once upon a time.
Unity follows Danae, a woman who is part of an "I" - a melded gestalt consciousness - who has lived thousands of lifetimes when all the lives of the "unified" members are added up. She has been in hiding in a mix of self-imposed exile and fear from threats for 5 years but now she must reunite on land with her other selves. She hires a mercenary, Alexei, to get her there and, at the last minute must also bring along her lover Naoto. The three escape and must navigate a barren, dangerous, (and pretty generic), dystopian landscape to achieve the mission.
There are some great ideas in this book. Nothing wholly unique but still interesting enough to keep me hoping they would amount to something. Sadly, while the story does move forward - they escape and are then on the run from several groups - I was already halfway into the book and it felt like very little had actually happened. And, worse, I couldn't even count on the characters making up for the lack of action. Despite having very promising back stories, I just didn't really care about any of them.
I think the biggest problem for me, though, was that there's just a lot of 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 to explain (with 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴) but very little showing. The author /character expounds and muses and dwells on the theoretical explanations to the point where I was like...Yeah okay, but WHAT ABOUT THE STORY?! Don't tell me, SHOW ME! (creative writing 101)
When it finally ended there was an EPILOGUE that just WENT ON EXPLAINING!
So when I say I needed to finish, it's because I 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 to be free to start a new journey with a new book today.