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kniznypredator's reviews
650 reviews
We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
New Humans by Botond Markovics
The story takes place in the 2300’s. There are abandoned people from Earth who were killed during a solar flare. The only thing remaining are digital copies of their consciousness. They found a way to print new bodies for themselves and want to live again as immortals. But they also want basic income worth all their missing years. As this would bankrupt the Solar System, there are many political discussions in this book. These new humans also want to introduce their technology for free to anybody who’d like to join them.
The main protagonist, Vireni, is trying to arrest a very powerful and popular man (let’s say, a hero of long years), but from the first chapter, it goes in very different directions. The story changes to political manipulation and gaining impact in interesting space organizations. Loyalty gets a lot of shifting, and you'll not know who's right and who’s wrong at the end of the book.
I really enjoyed the vibe and worldbuilding in this book. Small living spaces inside the asteroids, Libra Justice Organization, the successfully terraformed moons of the gas giants, huge astropolises, Lagrange Geneocracy, etc.
This book reminded me of the Westworld series. What makes us human? Is it our consciousness and personality? Is the body just a vehicle for our minds? And how to take care of all the new humans we've convinced to change?
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book a lot and already bought the second one, as I really would like to know what's next after the disturbing ending. It kind of turned from a political sci-fi drama to a horror story. Let’s see what other books in the series will bring.
tense
fast-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
3.75
I received an ARC ebook for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really liked the atmosphere and story in the New Humans book. It’s a well-built opening to the trilogy Disposable Bodies. The author, Botond Markovics, decided to give us in the very first pages a chronological list of events which have happened to humanity in the past, and then he jumps into the main plot.
The story takes place in the 2300’s. There are abandoned people from Earth who were killed during a solar flare. The only thing remaining are digital copies of their consciousness. They found a way to print new bodies for themselves and want to live again as immortals. But they also want basic income worth all their missing years. As this would bankrupt the Solar System, there are many political discussions in this book. These new humans also want to introduce their technology for free to anybody who’d like to join them.
The main protagonist, Vireni, is trying to arrest a very powerful and popular man (let’s say, a hero of long years), but from the first chapter, it goes in very different directions. The story changes to political manipulation and gaining impact in interesting space organizations. Loyalty gets a lot of shifting, and you'll not know who's right and who’s wrong at the end of the book.
I really enjoyed the vibe and worldbuilding in this book. Small living spaces inside the asteroids, Libra Justice Organization, the successfully terraformed moons of the gas giants, huge astropolises, Lagrange Geneocracy, etc.
This book reminded me of the Westworld series. What makes us human? Is it our consciousness and personality? Is the body just a vehicle for our minds? And how to take care of all the new humans we've convinced to change?
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book a lot and already bought the second one, as I really would like to know what's next after the disturbing ending. It kind of turned from a political sci-fi drama to a horror story. Let’s see what other books in the series will bring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence
Duna by Frank Herbert
4.75
Kedysi dávno v mladosti sme s kamarátkami spravili tú chybu, že sme si chceli pozrieť film iba kvôli hercovi. James McAvoy...a vybrali sme si Deti duny. Bez kontextu. Nedá sa preto diviť tomu, že dlhé roky pre mňa táto séria stelesňovala skôr nepochopiteľné utrpenie. Najnovší film mi však napravil chuť. Zároveň mi knihu stále dookola odporúčala kamarátka. Dala som teda šancu audioknihe a neľutujem. Príbeh je hutný, tiahly a plný intríg. Kto hľadá akciu, musí byť trpezlivý. Predtým som počúvala Mycélium od Vilmy Kadlečkovej a spätne teda môžem potvrdiť, že to má veľmi podobný vibe. Jediná vec, ktorá mi vadila bolo, že autor niekedy preskočil nejaké časové obdobie, len aby sa dostal k veci.
Lightbringer by Sara Richards, Sara Richards
I enjoyed reading this first novel by Sara Richards. She’s able to forge some interesting characters and provide solid character development. She gave her heroes and villains very cool superpowers.
There were scenes I liked, a lot of stuff I enjoyed, and other parts that left me confused. The world building is really great, except for the beginning, where I could use some introduction to the plot and world. The first chapter feels as if this wasn’t the first book in the series.
It feels like a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and mythology. The pace is quite quick, and a lot happened in those 471 pages. There are also a lot of names and nicknames you should remember. I wrote them down and made some notes while reading to keep track of the characters. I got used to Danielle, Raleigh, Harry and their Nethracium-fueled superpowers. There is friendship, love (LGBT+), family issues and a lot of other arcs going on. As much as it was confusing in the beginning, it got better after 1/4 of the book. I really wanted to know how it ends. And now, after I have finished, I’d like to know what's going on in the next books.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
3.5
I received an ARC ebook for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I enjoyed reading this first novel by Sara Richards. She’s able to forge some interesting characters and provide solid character development. She gave her heroes and villains very cool superpowers.
There were scenes I liked, a lot of stuff I enjoyed, and other parts that left me confused. The world building is really great, except for the beginning, where I could use some introduction to the plot and world. The first chapter feels as if this wasn’t the first book in the series.
It feels like a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and mythology. The pace is quite quick, and a lot happened in those 471 pages. There are also a lot of names and nicknames you should remember. I wrote them down and made some notes while reading to keep track of the characters. I got used to Danielle, Raleigh, Harry and their Nethracium-fueled superpowers. There is friendship, love (LGBT+), family issues and a lot of other arcs going on. As much as it was confusing in the beginning, it got better after 1/4 of the book. I really wanted to know how it ends. And now, after I have finished, I’d like to know what's going on in the next books.
Stanovište 2 by Dmitry Glukhovsky
Táto filozofická rovina Stanovišťa svedčí najmä o tom, že Dmitry už dávno nie je prvoplánovým žánrovým autorom. Nájdeme tu mnoho úvah o politike, zahmlievania skutočnosti a aj reflexie na ruský ľud. Niekto by mohol povedať, že tieto časti patria k spomaľujúcim prvkom, no u Glukhovskeho sú skôr očakávanou zložkou textu, ktorá mu pridáva na hodnote. Snáď sa autorovi bude dariť písať aj v exile a my sa dočkáme ďalšieho pokračovania.
https://www.fandom.sk/clanok/recenzia-dmitry-glukhovsky-stanoviste-2-diel
4.5
Stanovište padlo, no ľudí v Moskve držia politici na čele s imperátorom Gosudarom v zdaní falošného pokoja. Prednejší je tak pre nich balet a intrigy.
Druhý diel série Stanovište pokračuje v podobnom duchu, v akom sa niesol ten prvý. Fanúšikovia akcie budú konečne o niečo spokojnejší. Treba ale povedať, že Glukhovsky s každou knihou ako spisovateľ rastie a nedá sa od neho očakávať návrat k jednoduchej akčnosti. Dej sa väčšinou odohráva na ceste z Jaroslavľa do Moskvy a aj v samotnej ruskej metropole. Situácia je krutá a neodporúčame čitateľom naviazať sa na ktorúkoľvek z postáv. Prežité udalosti totiž aktérom krivia charaktery alebo ich dokonca pripravia o život.
Prvé dva diely naznačujú, že celá séria Stanovište bude veľmi temná. Hoci sa presunieme do veľkomesta, podstatnú časť deja stále sprevádzajú predsudky, povery a viera v Boha. Zásluhy sú pripisované nie vede ale relikviám, ktoré okolo imperátora Gosudara pomáhajú vytvárať kult. Slepá viera v Boha a vládcu však postupne vedie ľudí do záhuby.
Na konci prvého dielu si postavy museli prepichnúť uši, aby ich nenakazilo slovo vypustené z úst posadnutých ľudí. Ktokoľvek ho začuje, totiž začne požierať svojich blízkych. Stanovište sa tak definitívne radí medzi zombie postapokalyptické série. Plusom je, že autor na vytvorenie zombií nepoužíva vírus ani hubu, ale pracuje s lingvistikou.
V knihe sa striedajú pohľady rôznych postáv, čo môže občas pôsobiť mätúco. Na život v Moskve sa pozrieme očami kozáckeho podjesaula Lysicina či baletky Kati. O nakazených sa v meste nesmie hovoriť. Namiesto toho, aby ľudia pomýšľali na evakuáciu, bavia sa baletom a prípravami na svätú procesiu. Mladý Lysicin je vyslaný, aby overil situáciu na Stanovišti, a tak sa jeho svet pretne s Michellinou a Jegorovou realitou.
Dmitry Glukhovsky sa veľmi dobre pohral s ľudskými povahami skúšanými skorumpovanou spoločnosťou. Hoci je táto séria čistou fantastikou, cítiť z nej, tak ako z jeho predošlých kníh, horkosladký vzťah k domovu. Aj keď v jeho imaginácii nevládne komunizmus, cár, ktorý je podľa svojho kultu neomylný, čitateľom pripomenie skutočné Rusko.
„Musíme získať späť všetko, o čo sme prišli.“
„A prečo by sme museli?“ „Pre našich otcov!“
„Pre svojho otca musíš urobiť len jedno, prežiť ho, aby ťa nemusel pochovať,“ povzdychol si vlakvedúci. „Dobýjanie má úplne iný cieľ.”
„A aký?“ Lisicyn sa pokúša vykresať na tvári úškrn.
„Cieľom dobývania je dobývať. Rusko nemá žiadny iný cieľ, iba sa zväčšovať. … Prečo máme trpieť? Aby sa otcovia za nás nehanbili, že sme toho nazbíjali menej ako oni. A pre koho to všetko robili naši otcovia? Prečo žili o hlade a museli postávať v radoch? Aby sa na nich nehanbili ich dedovia. A dedom bolo načo toľko pôdy? Prečo žili v strachu, rozbíjali si hlavy na frontoch a mreli v lágroch? Aby sa za nich nehanbili pradedovia. A koľko pôdy ukoristili za ich čias? Žiadne vysvetlenie neexistuje. Treba ustavične rásť a všetko ostatné nech ide do čerta. … Na chuja, spýtaj sa, koho chceš, ale načo nám je toľko územia? Čo s ním budeme robiť?“
Táto filozofická rovina Stanovišťa svedčí najmä o tom, že Dmitry už dávno nie je prvoplánovým žánrovým autorom. Nájdeme tu mnoho úvah o politike, zahmlievania skutočnosti a aj reflexie na ruský ľud. Niekto by mohol povedať, že tieto časti patria k spomaľujúcim prvkom, no u Glukhovskeho sú skôr očakávanou zložkou textu, ktorá mu pridáva na hodnote. Snáď sa autorovi bude dariť písať aj v exile a my sa dočkáme ďalšieho pokračovania.
https://www.fandom.sk/clanok/recenzia-dmitry-glukhovsky-stanoviste-2-diel