luanagomes's reviews
1022 reviews

This book is good, no doubt about that.
I had high expectations after seeing this everywhere online, and every time I go into a book with that much hype, I expect it to be amazing, just like everybody else says it is. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

I think this book is a good fantasy that works better for a younger audience (new adult kinda thing), as it has a female protagonist that is insufferable right in the beginning, but as the story develops, she tries to put things right, to do the right thing, and discovers that her right is actually very wrong and entitled. You see the protagonist pulling the veil from her eyes and learning more about her surroundings, the society she takes part in, and how progress is not really progress at the cost of so many people suffering ( hello, capitalism).  It's a book trying to teach something important in its themes and concepts, but kinda on the nose most of the time, with constant repetition. 

It was very well written, the ideas were interesting, and I loved that everything was able to fit in a standalone.  But the hype said it was super complex, with incredible characters and super plot twists, and I saw nothing of it in there. When I hit the 30% mark, I knew exactly where the story was going, even with the romantic subplot, so no surprises for me here.

Would recommend to friends who don't read fantasy as much, or love romantasy and  are looking for something more.

A mysterious tower in the sky is seen over England. No one seems what to think about it or how to make contact with it, until 13 people are suddenly "beamed" and appear at its base, prompted to "ascend" it, as it is the only way to survive. But what happens when they reach the top?

If you have seen the movie "Cube", the concept is similar  - people have to work together, overcome its fears at each level, and confront important philosophical topics. At each floor of the tower, there's a new theme, a new gain, a new loss until things get a different turn, and you see what the chosen people are really fighting for there.

I liked that the book seem to cross genres, but kept the speculative theme on point. There's adventure - it felt like a movie with all the action -, it has thriller elements, sci-fi splashes and even horror. My issue with it was very personal, as I was just expecting the author to up the ante, but somehow I felt that even as each level had its own uniqueness, it felt the resolution in each one was kinda flat. Some characters were just there to be cannon fodder, as some levels were just there to further the plot.

That being said, there are some gems in it, and you need to read it to find out -Watch out for Leia !

 Thank you to Angry Robot, NetGalley, and Dan Hanks for giving me an eARC of The Way Up is Death in exchange for my honest review. 

will return to it later

Fast, funny, crazy. There's no punctuation, no chapters, just the words flowing, which is kinda perfect if you take in the main theme. 
 A slap in the face of the struggles of office workers worldwide. Loved it.