Devi Nair
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Emily Rankin ā± Duration: 14 hours š Genre: Fantasy š·ļø Publisher: Penguin Audio š Read as: Book Club January Read
Oh boy. This one tested my patience. Fourteen hours of listening, and I still couldnāt quite figure out what story Augustus Rose was trying to tell. Each section felt like a completely different book, part YA dystopia, part art-history thriller, part sci-fi conspiracy, and part strange philosophical allegory. Duchamp art codes, urban exploration, dark net vibes, all wrapped in a runaway teen's gritty survival story. The premise screamed "addictive puzzle" with Philadelphia's abandoned corners as the playground. But after investing a full 14 hours in Emily Rankin's narration (which was solid, by the way), it just... unraveled into disappointment. Thereās ambition here, Iāll give it that, but ambition without cohesion just makes for narrative whiplash.
The most frustrating part is that none of these ideas are bad on their own. A secret society obsessed with Duchamp? Homeless teens navigating hidden spaces in a city? A hacker sidekick? All solid concepts. But the execution is scattered. Just as one thread starts to feel interesting, the book pivotsāresetting tone, stakes, and sometimes even genre, leaving everything before it feeling strangely irrelevant. Emily Rankinās narration is the saving grace here, clear, emotive, and well-paced, but even her skill couldnāt tie together the storyās disjointed moods.
What hurts most is the time sink: 14 hours is a big commitment for something that never gels. Lee is a tough, compelling heroine, and the urban hideouts had cool potential, but the disjointed structure killed the momentum.
Would I recommend it? Not really. Unless youāre deeply into avant-garde storytelling with surrealist vibes and donāt mind wandering through confusion for hours, this oneās a tough sell. For me, it was all style and no soul.
Genre-Hopping or Genre-Flopping? What Do You Say? Have you ever stuck with a long audiobook hoping it would finally click, only to realize it never would? Or do you love genre-bending stories that refuse to stay in one lane? Iām curious where you land on this one. Letās talk in the comments.
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Emily Rankin ā± Duration: 14 hours š Genre: Fantasy š·ļø Publisher: Penguin Audio š Read as: Book Club January Read
Oh boy. This one tested my patience. Fourteen hours of listening, and I still couldnāt quite figure out what story Augustus Rose was trying to tell. Each section felt like a completely different book, part YA dystopia, part art-history thriller, part sci-fi conspiracy, and part strange philosophical allegory. Duchamp art codes, urban exploration, dark net vibes, all wrapped in a runaway teen's gritty survival story. The premise screamed "addictive puzzle" with Philadelphia's abandoned corners as the playground. But after investing a full 14 hours in Emily Rankin's narration (which was solid, by the way), it just... unraveled into disappointment. Thereās ambition here, Iāll give it that, but ambition without cohesion just makes for narrative whiplash.
The most frustrating part is that none of these ideas are bad on their own. A secret society obsessed with Duchamp? Homeless teens navigating hidden spaces in a city? A hacker sidekick? All solid concepts. But the execution is scattered. Just as one thread starts to feel interesting, the book pivotsāresetting tone, stakes, and sometimes even genre, leaving everything before it feeling strangely irrelevant. Emily Rankinās narration is the saving grace here, clear, emotive, and well-paced, but even her skill couldnāt tie together the storyās disjointed moods.
What hurts most is the time sink: 14 hours is a big commitment for something that never gels. Lee is a tough, compelling heroine, and the urban hideouts had cool potential, but the disjointed structure killed the momentum.
Would I recommend it? Not really. Unless youāre deeply into avant-garde storytelling with surrealist vibes and donāt mind wandering through confusion for hours, this oneās a tough sell. For me, it was all style and no soul.
Genre-Hopping or Genre-Flopping? What Do You Say? Have you ever stuck with a long audiobook hoping it would finally click, only to realize it never would? Or do you love genre-bending stories that refuse to stay in one lane? Iām curious where you land on this one. Letās talk in the comments.
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.