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erica_o's review
5.0
Whatchya lookin' at, there, buddy?
This was definitely one of those right reads/right times dealios but even had that not been the case, this would have gotten a solid 4 stars out of me.
The art is incredible, all trippy photorealistic pastoral scenes of landscape and machinery, mostly. However, it's not all popartscifi; there's emotion and body language and ambiance and all sorts of other stuff that art people would appreciate and that I cannot clarify.
The story that goes along with the page-sweeping pictures is part journey and part super depressing apocalypse. A girl, with round-headed robot in tow, finds a map in an abandoned car and follows it to its destination. Along the way, she remembers what life was like before everyone got caught up in virtual reality, she remembers her mother and her foster parents and her best friend. The memories aren't really tinged with nostalgia since that life wasn't much better than the one she's now living, unable to connect to her fellow humans through the wires and images they've hooked themselves into. America has become a wasteland of rusting metal and stationary zombies stuck in their online worlds.
If you're an optimist, you can imagine a happy ending.
I am not an optimist.
I simply loved this book.
fridge_brilliance's review against another edition
4.0
A story told through phenomenal art and haunting, fragmented bits of writing that complement each other perfectly -- I found it a superbly immersive experience: a bit like a nostalgic cinematic treat, a lot like a quest room puzzle. The vintage cyberpunk America of people hooked to VR though myriads of wires that sustain them like umbilical cords comes off absolutely fresh, recognizable and strange at the same time. A melancholy, sepia-tinted narration builds up and releases in a way that leaves more questions that answers, but not unsatisfyingly: it takes you on a journey and lets you observe & come to conclusions as you will. Also gives you a fuckton of West Coast road trip feelings (sob).
Did I spend the rest of the afternoon frantically pulling all threads on reddit that could explain to me what happened? I did, and I can say the opinions of the internets are sure diverged: people paying attention to different things leads to vastly different takes on what the story was. Isn’t that great in and out of itself?
Read it and talk to me about it! Or at least check out some of the illustrations from the book.
Did I spend the rest of the afternoon frantically pulling all threads on reddit that could explain to me what happened? I did, and I can say the opinions of the internets are sure diverged: people paying attention to different things leads to vastly different takes on what the story was. Isn’t that great in and out of itself?
Read it and talk to me about it! Or at least check out some of the illustrations from the book.
mattcordova's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
grimsqueaker's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
singularblue's review against another edition
5.0
Eerie
An end of the world story that's more hum of power line than wimper. The art is a great contrast to the text. Well worth your time and money.
An end of the world story that's more hum of power line than wimper. The art is a great contrast to the text. Well worth your time and money.
peyton101's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
theoj1996's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cjwatt's review against another edition
5.0
Actually managed to jump scare me on one of the pages. I've never had a book do that before!
kalkats1's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh my wow…while this is a short story, and majority is made up of such beautiful artwork, the storytelling is absolutely incredible. There is so much depth to this story and I know for a fact that I did not pick up on everything with this first time read. Wow I simultaneously want to be optimistic about the ending and yet cry at the same time. The whole thing is gorgeously tragic, and I loved every second of it.