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vengefuldime's review
4.0
What a great premise. I loved reading this. I was surprised when I checked and was halfway through, but I was thoroughly entertained in the description of the worldbuilding and the musing. I especially enjoyed the ending, and felt it stopped very effectively.
gabrielleint's review against another edition
5.0
I’m rating this on a novella scale, so please understand this is not the same five stars I give to more full length books. But I found this to be pretty much the perfect psychological thriller novella. There was such a full and embodied world pretty much right from the beginning of the book, a full and embodied world that relies on our knowledge of the very “comfort stories” and “narratives” the infected use to fuel their delusions in the book. The way you constantly can’t know if you should trust who is currently narrating and the person currently narrating is telling you that is so fun and really makes you think about how we conceptualize sincerity and reality. This book feels like getting punched but in a good way. It’s like a battering of your consciousness. And, yes, it is good in that kind of annoying existentialist way, but that’s why it gets the novella five stars because I’m partially rewarding this author for knowing that trying to make this a full length book or god forbid a series would cheapen the message of the book and would make it dumb and bad.
headinthebooks's review
3.0
3 stars
The idea? amazing!
The execution? not great.
Would have loved for the twist of the story to be at the end then in the start/middle :D
The idea? amazing!
The execution? not great.
Would have loved for the twist of the story to be at the end then in the start/middle :D
mehsi's review
5.0
WOW! This was such a good book! A book that flips the zombie genre around and makes it something different, something original, something even more haunting. And something that fits with the current time as well, with fake news, propaganda and more. I loved that we followed Spence, read his story, saw his life at Ironside, see him talk in group therapy.. but also see him help out a friend (though I am still not sure if it was helping). Sometimes the book got a tad confusing on things, maybe it would have helped if we saw a non-infected POV as well.
Recommended!
Recommended!
rancidwizard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
50shadesofrae's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Child death, and Alcohol
lexikersey's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
gatonolivro's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mabelsyrup's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
what a weird little book, i went into it expecting a monster type of story and all i got was a strange story of a middle age man struggling with his mental health after the virus raids the world.
I enjoyed the chapters about the outbreak itself and the last 40 pages, it was very existential dread vibes. I did not enjoyed the fact that it was presented as the main character telling this story to a group of people and sometimes he'd like stop and acknowldge the crowd idk it threw me off. I get the idea that the author was trying to pursue with media control/literacy brainwashing and perceived reality and for the most part he got it although not without its fair share of self grandioseness
will prob edit this review when the 15 PEOPLE AHEAD OF ME RETURN THEIR COPY AND I CAN LOOK AT MY HIGHLIGHTS PLEASE
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edit: nvm i had them saved lol
"What if our very idea of what “being cured” means is wrong, and that rather than turning the signal off, we’ve done little more than to change the channel?"
“And they say it like they think I’ll see it as a happy ending. You’re cured. Boom. It’s over. But it’s not over, it’s worse, it’s so much worse. It would have been a happy ending if they’d gone and . . . I dunno, gunned us all down. Eradicate the story that way instead.”
"Perhaps civilisation is only whatever we think of as normal, or perhaps it’s the baseline normality we’re born into. It’s a series of expectations that shifts forward with each generation. A series of technological landmarks to tick off the list: electricity, refrigeration, the internet. The higher we climb, the further we fall."
"Remember how you couldn’t judge things like you used to? What was safe, what wasn’t, what’s good, what’s bad? It wasn’t possible to know by looking. Everything is so damned difficult when you have to assess it from first principles."
I enjoyed the chapters about the outbreak itself and the last 40 pages, it was very existential dread vibes. I did not enjoyed the fact that it was presented as the main character telling this story to a group of people and sometimes he'd like stop and acknowldge the crowd idk it threw me off. I get the idea that the author was trying to pursue with media control/literacy brainwashing and perceived reality and for the most part he got it although not without its fair share of self grandioseness
will prob edit this review when the 15 PEOPLE AHEAD OF ME RETURN THEIR COPY AND I CAN LOOK AT MY HIGHLIGHTS PLEASE
-----
edit: nvm i had them saved lol
"What if our very idea of what “being cured” means is wrong, and that rather than turning the signal off, we’ve done little more than to change the channel?"
“And they say it like they think I’ll see it as a happy ending. You’re cured. Boom. It’s over. But it’s not over, it’s worse, it’s so much worse. It would have been a happy ending if they’d gone and . . . I dunno, gunned us all down. Eradicate the story that way instead.”
"Perhaps civilisation is only whatever we think of as normal, or perhaps it’s the baseline normality we’re born into. It’s a series of expectations that shifts forward with each generation. A series of technological landmarks to tick off the list: electricity, refrigeration, the internet. The higher we climb, the further we fall."
"Remember how you couldn’t judge things like you used to? What was safe, what wasn’t, what’s good, what’s bad? It wasn’t possible to know by looking. Everything is so damned difficult when you have to assess it from first principles."
mossroot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
And Then I Woke Up was an enjoyable experience. The way the infection process in this story behaves is wild and extremely imaginative. Not my favorite book ever, but definitely a short book that you can enjoy quickly.
And Then I Woke Up took me around an hour and a half to read.
And Then I Woke Up took me around an hour and a half to read.