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bookishpriest's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A retelling of the Aladdin story, complete with wish-granting Jinn, set in a cyberpunk world inspired by southeast Asia sounded like a brilliant idea. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport isn't a perfect book by any stretch, but it gets some things right and they're a lot of fun.
From the first paragraph of Jinn-Bot, the reader is thrown into the world of Shantiport. Slang and details about the world are presented as commonplace, plunging the reader into the deep end immersion of this cyberpunk fantasy. I was reminded of the same kind of helpless immersion I felt in Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash.
The main characters, siblings named Lina and Bador, are followed throughout the story by Moku, a chronicling robot. Moku, whose job it is to assemble as comprehensive a profile as possible of the people it follows, dumps a lot of info for the reader. There are entertaining moments of people being observed through the eyes of a robot, reminding me a bit of Martha Wells's Murderbot series. Unfortunately, in the case of Jinn-Bot, this recurring trope in the book felt like a lot of telling and not much showing.
Bador and Lina each have interesting plotlines but I felt as though they might have been better served each with an independent novella rather than trying to mix the two into a novel. They didn't seem to intersect or engage with one another as holistically as I would have liked for a single book.
The writing engages with themes of political revolution, colonization, and oligarchy against a backdrop of a dystopian, cyberpunk city. It takes off at high speed and doesn't slow down often or for long. I found the ride through Shantiport, Lina's scheming, Bador's ambition, and the worldbuilding a lot of fun. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport doesn't completely miss the mark—I look forward to reading more of Samit Basu's writing—but there's definitely room for improvement, too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Violence
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Classism, Death of parent, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, War, Death, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Sexual content
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
The Jinn-bot of Shantiport follows three central characters: Lina, daughter of Shantiport revolutionaries raised with ideas of overthrowing the status quo, Bador, her brother, a monkey-bot who dreams of getting to leave Shantiport, and Moku, a strange technology tasked with recording and telling the stories of those it serves. The plot (broadly, so as to avoid spoilers) builds from the presumption that Shantiport is facing destruction, and the characters set out to save it, tangling with clans and oligarchic leaders along the way.
I liked a lot about this book. Shantiport, with its range of neighbourhoods, is believable as a city. There are some interesting conversations about bot rights and the possibility of human/bot equality which have an added dimension here given Lina and Bador’s relationship. Political, social, and economic dynamics in this world are quite fully realized while never feeling info-dumpy, and the adventure at the heart of the plot moves along at a good pace and feels exciting.
A few things didn’t quite work for me. Moku being the narrator means that some parts of the book feel rather… detached? and the humour didn’t quite work for me, though it is there. A few very significant reveals/developments felt very abrupt and a bit glossed over, with the action moving on too quickly. Overall, though, I enjoyed this and will happily look forward to reading more from Samit Basu.
Content warnings: violence, death, murder
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing / Tordotcom for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Death
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