Run Like Hell

This is a review of an ARC.

Wow! I was quite distant early in the book - as the title suggests, it's all about that. And in a way, it does. It's a non-stop cyberpunk action from start to finish. But it's also so much more interesting and engaging than the initial premise shows! Of course, there are genre standards like the questions about humanity, what it means to be human. And it's executed extremely well! I was thinking about giving it 3, maybe 4 out of 5, but the closer to the end, it was steadily growing. Chef's kiss! I love it when my expectations are turned around! I just wonder... Will there be a sequel? It doesn't need one, not really, but if it's in the plans, I sure will check it out!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book tries to do it all, and I think that's my main issue with it because it was really hard to follow most of the way through. It's a shame because all of the themes and genres were great, but they'd do better individually, in a story where there's enough time to properly explore and explain all of them, without overwhelming the readers. Nonetheless, I have to admit that some of it came together nicely in the end. I just don't think it was worth all of the confusion leading up to it.

Regarding the writing, although it got better as the story progressed, I found it to be, in the beginning, « telling instead of showing », or trying to avoid it by shoving the info into conversations that felt unnatural and stilted as a result. There was a lot of descriptions, which is nice because it allows the reader to be completely immersed in the book's universe, but it also tends to drown out some of the more important information, which is mentioned in the same way as the details. Also, quite a few sentences that in my opinion should have a verb had none, leading me to believe it's a conscious stylistic choice, and it just doesn't work.

There were also some plot holes and incoherences but nothing major enough to throw me off.

Now, onto the positive aspects!

First of all, because it made me so happy, the LGBTQIA+ representation is on point! Queerness and queer characters are mentioned casually (notably, a non-binary character and a lesbian maybe-relationship) and with respect, which is always so heartwarming. Of course, I'm not forgetting about the way gender euphoria and gender dysphoria were described, which I just adored. It was raw and realistic and refreshing in a world where trans rep is rare and even more rarely accurate.

I also loved the body horror—well, maybe not loved because it did his job and grossed me out, but it was fantastic. I thought it was quite original, and the descriptions made me imagine it vividly. Similarly, injuries were explained thoroughly and they had actually had consequences (not a lot, but still).

It was a nice approach to a futuristic world although some facets of it weren't as fleshed out as they could have been, but I'm holding hope that a future book will clarify some more things!

My favourite part of the book was without a doubt the ending so I'm glad I finished it. That's partly because of the unexpected “twist”, but mostly because that's when I connected most with the main (and side) character(s). They felt the most human then, I think.