Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bethan_clark's reviews
203 reviews
The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.75
Doing lots of set up* doesn't mean you can't do any of the other aspects of good writing. But they are lacking here.
Plot feels like events for the sake of the events happening to shoe something in for the reader to be told about, not because they would actually happen in the scenarios created, even when you appreciate how the world works.
Lack of character agency in the plot - which is fine, but doesn't work here. No other mechanism used instead for reader investment.
Flat characters. Plus every woman the narrator encounters immediately falls in love with the narrator and puts his hands on her boobs etc. Give me strength. Or better, give me Sheri Tepper.
Interesting world building ideas but not as original as it is made out to be. Also world building limited in concepts for cultural/social structures.
Narrator has the same vibes as a guy on Reddit explaining how he has a very high IQ and that it's a curse actually.
*Apparently. I will read the second book since lots of people insist it's necessary to appreciate the direction the story is going in. My feelings about this book still stand though.
Plot feels like events for the sake of the events happening to shoe something in for the reader to be told about, not because they would actually happen in the scenarios created, even when you appreciate how the world works.
Lack of character agency in the plot - which is fine, but doesn't work here. No other mechanism used instead for reader investment.
Flat characters. Plus every woman the narrator encounters immediately falls in love with the narrator and puts his hands on her boobs etc. Give me strength. Or better, give me Sheri Tepper.
Interesting world building ideas but not as original as it is made out to be. Also world building limited in concepts for cultural/social structures.
Narrator has the same vibes as a guy on Reddit explaining how he has a very high IQ and that it's a curse actually.
*Apparently. I will read the second book since lots of people insist it's necessary to appreciate the direction the story is going in. My feelings about this book still stand though.