ferretk4

Makes me wish I was in a book club so I could discuss it

Reviewed: 12-21-24

This book absolutely nails its setting: its descriptions of San Francisco startup culture rang extremely true, with great details (like the massive tech company busses everywhere). The wellness company at its center is entirely believable: before writing this review, the last thing I did on my phone was look up my hormone levels on my fertility app, which served me an ad for a ring that tracks your activity, almost exactly the premise of the fictional company in this book. The book touches on a lot of cultural phenomena, sometimes skewering them, sometimes just observing; it seems not entirely decided about its opinion on modern culture, which helps give the book layers, rather than having a single superficial “take”. It’s also the rare book that features multiple female protagonists and spends almost no attention whatsoever on romance, which was refreshing, instead allowing them to care about careers in the way the real women I know do. The mystery that eventually crops up is almost unnecessary - there’s plenty going on already - but it does add some friction. The story is engaging throughout, but it’s also a book to think about and question afterwards; I’m still mulling it over.

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Interesting protagonist, engaging “horror of manners”

Reviewed: 12-17-24

I listen to a lot of horror; this one stands out for its fully realized world, plot that really goes places, and especially a protagonist who is an intelligent, multi-layered wild card. The social interactions are gripping - there is a genre, “comedy of manners”; I would call this book a “horror of manners”. The narrator suited the story perfectly. I ended up listening to this during work (possibly more than I should have!) and staying up late to finish, and fell asleep thinking about it.

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Moving, gruesome, beautiful

Reviewed: 12-07-23

I just listened to the other “Beauty industry as horror” 2023 book, Rouge, and was worried that this would be very similar, but oh boy I should not have worried - this is an astoundingly unique book, and (at least for me) much deeper and more moving. It’s about beauty, yes, but also music and illness and ambition and parents and race and culture… all presented with suspense and gore and compelling writing, and with a great narrator.

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Cyberpunk at its best - fun, twisty, timely, gross

Reviewed: 10-17-23

Really enjoyed this! Everything you want from great cyberpunk: action, suspense, too-plausible dystopia, humor, techno body horror, themes that are there if you want them but don't overwhelm the story. This feels like a story written by someone who has been paying attention to our modern age and thinking about it hard. The characters all felt like different people with their own agendas, and the protagonist is scrappy and capable without being overpowered.

The narrator is fantastic; as soon as I finished this, I went looking for more work by him. (Sadly there isn't a huge collection yet - guys, give Greg Chun more books!) I hope nobody ever tells him that he's mispronouncing "lichen" XD

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Love & adventure with unique, brave characters

Reviewed: 09-23-22

A little weird, extremely creative, and absolutely compelling, this is a delight of a book. The characters are brave, unique, full of feeling, and poignantly relatable - hi, depression - and they live in a world both entirely fantastic and cuttingly recognizable. Tech barons operating like minor gods? Internet trolls telling everyone to KYS? Xenophobes and border patrol inflicting absurd cruelties? Yes, it’s not exactly what you expect from “escapist” fantasy, but in these dark days it’s cathartic to read and makes the characters’ victories all the more meaningful. This book is urgent and relevant to the moment. I think in 25 years I will go back to it to remember what these days felt like.

Lest I make this sound like a grind, I should mention that this book is full of energy and joy and a really cute queer romance. And it will make you rethink all your teleportation fantasies (everyone has those, right?).

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I loved getting lost in this dual tale

Reviewed: 07-06-20

This is an engaging, lushly-written, fully-imagined novel of two timelines that work together perfectly, adding suspense and emotional resonance to each other. I'm not a history or philosophy person, but the history and philosophy here is presented so vividly that it gripped me. The modern timeline felt very real - as someone who has done her own PhD, I can say that Aaron's experience feels just right! - and I loved having an older but still fierce and driven character in Helen, which I feel is not a character type we often see. The historical timeline was just what I've long wished to see more of: a history centered on women who have dramas and hopes and lives as *women,* not as women-dressed-as-men-in-order-to-be-pirates or whatever. (There is a bit of gender-swapping subterfuge here, but it's just one piece of a multilayered story.)

I've been thinking about this book ever since I finished it, and I think it will stay with me for a long time. Don't be dissuaded by the length - every minute is a joy.

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"Misgendering is worth 1000 Victim Points!"

Reviewed: 05-19-20

Do you think the title of this review is funny? Congratulations, you'll like this story. (It's one of the "jokes".) If, on the other hand, you're NOT a jerk who likes jokes about "triggering" and how gender studies is stupid, then skip this, like I wish I had.

It starts with an extensive in-fiction defense of the prequel against bad reviews by audible listeners, which is just... embarrassing, and then the gross jokes start really going. They're not related to the plot or useful in character development, and they're not even funny, they're just sort of joke-shaped bigotry. I'm embarrassed for everyone involved in creating and promoting this thing (looking at you, whoever selects the free monthly Audible offerings!).

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2 people found this helpful

A lovely diversion that doesn't feel like denial

Reviewed: 05-15-20

I have to write this review just to express my gratitude for these three engaging stories set right now - early May 2020 - when the world has so abruptly changed and all fiction set in the old "normal" world suddenly feels irrelevant at best, or like unhealthy denial at worst. Even better, these stories are FUN: they're set during the pandemic and they don't ignore the feeling that everything is wrong, but they wrap you up in the character's goals and don't wallow in the broader circumstances. They were exactly what I needed right now; I only wish there were more of them.

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So much more than a food book - INCREDIBLY GOOD

Reviewed: 01-07-20

This book is one of my top-five audiobooks ever (and I listen to a lot!). It's as gripping and suspenseful as a novel, but amplified because everything is true. It has twists and turns, humor and tragedy. Kwame is an incredible tour guide through his life, observant and unforgiving, passionate about his friends and food, and incisive about race and power structures.

Here is an example of how he can pack so much into just one small moment (very minor spoilers): He interviews for a job at a fancy restaurant. The interviewer asks him "What food would you most like to eat right now?" The honest answer is, his family's gumbo; but he sees the interviewer doubting that he belongs in the fine-dining world, so instead he responds, "Foie gras crostini with white truffles and black garlic." The interviewer is astonished: "How do you even know about that?!" And in that one mini-scene, he has presented the assumptions people make about him based on appearance, how the fine dining world doubts him as a default, how overcoming such obstacles costs him - in this case, he lies - and also how astute he is at spotting and dodging these traps.

I really can't recommend this enough. If you're even remotely interested in food, race, ambition, power structures... you will love it. And absolutely get the audiobook rather than the regular book - hearing Kwame's own voice is extremely powerful.

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Brutal and gripping; some problematic ableism

Reviewed: 05-10-19

This is a fast-paced story that doesn't pull its punches; if it sounds like your thing (earnest characters trying to survive in a brutal afterlife, competing gods, gory fights, living decapitated heads) then it probably is.

I mostly want to use this review to do a CONTENT WARNING that I didn't see in other reviews: this book has some problematic ableism that you may want to be aware of. (Mild spoilers for the early story follow.) One character was paralyzed in his life, and in the afterlife is no longer paralyzed. He refers to being "trapped in my wheelchair" and died by suicide, which he says was the best decision for both himself and his mother, who was taking care of him, because he was such a "burden." This is *really* problematic and I hope this author gets a sensitivity reader for his book next time, because otherwise the book was great, but it's hard to look past ableism as severe as this.

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