Veronica G. Henry

In a near-future Ohio City walking the line between utopia and dystopia, Echo is a librarian pressured to lead a radical new library, where books and all other media have been replaced by virtus - recordings of people animated by AI. While the tech and the social commentary is key, this is more character-driven than I had expected, complicating any clear-cut "black hat / white hat" resolution. A compelling cyberpunk thriller that is sometimes too close to reality for comfort.

Dnf @38% (page 129)

I’m sad to say this book wasn’t for me. I found the storytelling too sterile and BORING. The premise of a Black female fire chief with magical realism environmental message finding a lost sibling interested me. But the execution couldn’t keep my attention.

Maybe this would work better as a screenplay? Also, the story is set in the year 2042, but you didn’t see any technological advances or changes in society at a macro level. It felt like 2024, to be honest.

Syrah, show more the main character, had a traumatic event take place as a child that sent her to foster care and bred her desire to firefight and love of botany. She had some issues with stifling her emotions and appearing unemotional to others. I don’t think she was a bad character necessarily, but I wasn’t compelled to see her development/follow her journey.

Also, the love interest felt shoe-horned in. A clear HR violation too. Go girl, give us nothing. I can’t verify if Alvaro was really married or not because I don’t care enough to read on. In hindsight, syrah was probably just latching on to the one person who showed her kindness. It looks like she maybe a Tree Love Interest (Giant) too(?) show less

I was so excited for this book, I even tried to get an ARC. Unfortunately it fell completely flat. I loved the idea of viewing a paranormal story through the eyes of a young Black woman during the depression era while traveling in a carnival. Evil spirits , murder, mayhem, it was teeming with possibility. The dialogue between the love interests was so clunky and odd. So much storming off and awkward conversation. The parts I was most excited for were rushed through and the end of the book show more resolved way too quick and tidy. There were genuinely good ideas here but this read like a first draft. I didn’t need 1/4 of the book to be about setting up camp every time they moved locations or where they sat while eating. Too much mundane daily play by play. I wanted to know more about Eliza and her experiences exploring her powers. So much of the important parts were glazed over. I hope to see more from this author in the future, but this fell flat. show less

Echo is the head librarian at the People's Library, where patrons can check out "virtus" or virtual renderings of historical figures. But not everyone agrees with the existence of the library and human.exe stages a resistance led demonstration, covering Echo in dark slime. And later a darker demonstration, leading to a death at the library.
I liked this book, especially the variety of virtus met in the course of the story. Echo is a valiant defender of her library's resources and a show more resourceful champion. show less