Reviews

“Dystopia now” is a fitting tagline for this collection of 4 novellas. Even though this is fiction, I feel like everyone should read it. It feels...important. The parallels with the modern world are striking. And Doctorow does a masterful job of creating characters that you can be invested in, even over fewer than 100 pages. It makes for an emotional experience, which is exactly what’s needed when discussing issues such as these.

It kept me turning pages like few books have recently. And had me exasperated and sorrowful and angry in turn. I read each novella in a single setting, and was gripped from beginning to end.

Read it. 5.0 stars.

kristen_monique's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jovanh's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed the stories in this book, even though I found them frustrating.

sockspls's review against another edition

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i dont want to read books with slurs and this book has a homophobic slur. I regex'd a copy of the book afterwards, though, and it's only one instance of the f slur in the second story, so would be possible to avoid if you only read the other three.

Content Warnings

grahambach's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging

2.75

wards256's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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