Book thoughts: Addict by Matt Doyle
Jun. 16th, 2017 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkOverall rating: 3/5 stars
I had high hopes for a cyberpunk mystery with a Chinese-Canadian protagonist, but overall, this book was just okay.
The book had a tendency over-describe things such that it really bogged down the pacing. If I hadn't been forcing myself to finish reading, I would've dropped it due to the fact that I got bored with the mystery; it would've been better off if some of the investigative work that doesn't really pan out just got cut down or summarized. Also, I found the infodumps about the world awkwardly explained in dialogue, which felt unnatural because presumably all of the characters already know their own world (duh); it would've felt less awkward if Cassie just monologued to herself about the world history and stuff.
Maybe I'm too used to action-mysteries, but I found there to be very little tension in the story because there weren't a lot of personal stakes involved for Cassie until the end. I also found the mystery disappointing in general, since the resolution involved facts that came out of the left field and had no reason to. (Spoilers under the cut:)
The idea of Tech Shifters was interesting, but it's one that's hard for me to grasp as realistic. I mean, I don't know anything about furry/roleplay/etc. communities, but being in a suit that puts you on four legs sounds immensely uncomfortable. And while I'm all for exploration of body modification technology and how that would affect society, the idea of plugs in one's body made me keep wondering how Tech Shifters were supposed to keep those plugs clean, whether they were waterproof, whether they could become infected...etc. I also would've liked more discussion of the fact that such technology is expensive to have (though that also made me skeptical of the fact that there used to be Tech Shifters who committed murder like werewolves—how many people can afford the Tech Shifter technology while also deciding that the best use of their money was to commit murder?)
Some detailed nitpicks:
I had high hopes for a cyberpunk mystery with a Chinese-Canadian protagonist, but overall, this book was just okay.
The book had a tendency over-describe things such that it really bogged down the pacing. If I hadn't been forcing myself to finish reading, I would've dropped it due to the fact that I got bored with the mystery; it would've been better off if some of the investigative work that doesn't really pan out just got cut down or summarized. Also, I found the infodumps about the world awkwardly explained in dialogue, which felt unnatural because presumably all of the characters already know their own world (duh); it would've felt less awkward if Cassie just monologued to herself about the world history and stuff.
Maybe I'm too used to action-mysteries, but I found there to be very little tension in the story because there weren't a lot of personal stakes involved for Cassie until the end. I also found the mystery disappointing in general, since the resolution involved facts that came out of the left field and had no reason to. (Spoilers under the cut:)
The idea of Tech Shifters was interesting, but it's one that's hard for me to grasp as realistic. I mean, I don't know anything about furry/roleplay/etc. communities, but being in a suit that puts you on four legs sounds immensely uncomfortable. And while I'm all for exploration of body modification technology and how that would affect society, the idea of plugs in one's body made me keep wondering how Tech Shifters were supposed to keep those plugs clean, whether they were waterproof, whether they could become infected...etc. I also would've liked more discussion of the fact that such technology is expensive to have (though that also made me skeptical of the fact that there used to be Tech Shifters who committed murder like werewolves—how many people can afford the Tech Shifter technology while also deciding that the best use of their money was to commit murder?)
Some detailed nitpicks:
- The fact that the chapters were sometimes so short really bugged me. You don't need a new chapter for every new scene—that's what line breaks + asterisks are for.
- I don't know whether Canadian English is different from American English, so a Canadian person will have to tell me, but Cassie's dialogue/narration felt very British, not American.
- This is a sticky thing, but: While I support biracial representation, I'm wary of non-Asian authors who write Asian characters who are half-white. (*cough*Cassandra Clare*coughcough*) It often smacks to me not of genuine desire for biracial representation, but rather the But Not Too Foreign trope, especially since Asian Americans/diaspora Asians often have to deal with being seen as "perpetual foreigners." For example, Cassie could've been monoracial Chinese instead of half-Chinese, half-white and the story would've played out exactly the same way (and possibly been even more compelling regarding her family dynamics).
