Very good!

This was a very good listen. I enjoyed it. There are elements of a few popular sci-fi themes, but melded together to make something interesting and new. I also really enjoyed the ending. The note on which the author chose to finish it.. I can't say what it was specifically, without spoiling it, but I liked it a lot.
The beginning was a little slow, the middle was pretty good, but the last third was gripping and I just couldn't pause it, which I had planned to do, initially. But the story had me gripped.
The performance by the narrator was very good too.

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I enjoyed it

A fun listen. Narration was brilliant. The story was interesting, I found the characters to be a little weak. I didn't feel super invested in them or there relationships with each other. Despite that, The concept was really cool. And I remained pretty hooked to the end.

(Kinda spoilers warning)

More than anything the strongest part of the book was the atmosphere, it all came together really nicely. The last bit got really weird and changed tonally in a big way, but kind of in a good way. Felt like a bit of a fever dream. Ending open to interpretation.

(Definitely spoilers warning)

I felt a little drained when I'd finished. As a leftist, the continued ramping up of corporatism and commodification was pretty horrifying. What was really horrible though was the emotional abuse the character suffered in the second half. The way Alices character just suddenly tonally shifted at the end was bizzare. Made me not sure how to read those scenes. Not sure if the Author was going for uncanny valley or just utter hopelessness. I felt both.

One thing that really stuck with me was a lack of any strong opposition to the despicable Zan. David has to have everything explained to him and is constantly reacting, he basically has no agency for the whole book. The sheep guy trys to do something but hes violent towards David who is in many ways a victim. And is quickly dealt with.

I had Alice pegged as the revolutionary, the moral fibre of the story in a story devoid of any others. But she turned at the end in such a bizarre fashion that it felt dreamlike. The public are painted as mindless consumers. The book ends so devoid of hope.

Anyway this was basically just very tired ramblings. Really enjoyed the book, made me feel a lot of things. Thanks for writing it!

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2 people found this helpful

Excellent

Excellent story and an absolutely brilliant performance. Like Black Mirror only way better in my opinion.

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1 person found this helpful

It could have been good!

I'm not keen on writing negative rewiews but in this case I'll make an exception. The protagonist has no desirable qualities. He's whiny. This could have been negated by a decent narrator but the portrayal of him by Oliver Thorne makes a bad situation worse. The absolute predictability of the bland writing makes this book both familiar and uncaptivating. Even the plot twist has been done so many times that you see it coming a mile off.

I didn't encounter a single memorable character and the book ends abruptly. The best I can say is that it's a short book with a familiar story line.

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