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osborne2read's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
librarybean's review
I got about 20% in and I needed to give up. The storytelling is overwrought. At this point in the story I feel like I should have a solid idea of what the plot is and why, but I don’t get that sense. I really really like the concept, I just don’t feel motivated to read the rest of this (probably too long) book.
drasis's review against another edition
5.0
Similar style as Space Opera by Catherynne Valente but much better
tkettel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's always tempting to DNF a book about a topic you know a lot about, and I have studied computational linguistics. This pushed the limit for me, but I'm glad I powered through. I had fun reading this, but I hesitate to recommend it universally. My biggest complaint is that although the book feeds you what feel like plot important details all the time, it's really unsatisfying to make predictions with them. They either never come back or they do in a way that's not much of a thematic payoff.
lhlew's review against another edition
Stopped in Chapter 17, p146 of 969. I just could not get invested in the characters or the plot, and the 'linguistics' was too annoying.
delsordbro's review against another edition
2.0
The blurb on the back of my copy has a quote: "It reads like Snow Crash had a dance-off with Gideon the Ninth [...]". Like a quarter way of the way in I just wanted to go read Snow Crash so I did that and had a great time, so thanks for that. Returning to and finishing this book, it seems like the Gideon the Ninth reference meant "the author was a fan of Homestuck" (I say this as a former fan of Homestuck). I will not be reading Gideon the Ninth.
mburnamfink's review against another edition
3.0
In reality, Isobel is an unemployed music publicist. But in VR, she's the Queen of the Sparkle Realm, all-time leaderboard champ of a series of dance-music themed action-RPGs. And then things get weird, as it turns out that Magic is Real, she's roped in as a junior researcher at a PR firm working with the creepy Governor of California and a legally-distinct-from-Scientology religious movement. But these earthly villains are obstacles before the Thundercloud, a multi-dimensional reality devouring monstrosity that only Isobel and her allies can stop.
Snow Crash runs through this book like a skeleton, and there's a lot of ways in which this is a kind of Gen-Z update of Stephenson's classic. Our real-life pauper/virtual hero protagonist, the idea that language can become a magic weapon, two shadowy cabals battling it our for the soul of California. The difference is that Battle goes cosmological in scope, hopping into alternate dimensions and across the universe chasing its quest, with the main character assuming literal godhood and cutting down skyscraper sized demons with her signature Blades Per Minute sword.
But the difference is that Snow Crash was built around a solid mythological/scientific core, and Battle runs entirely on vibes. And I gotta say, the vibes are real mid. The first time you cut down a gigantic horned reality eating demon, that's dope. Fifth time is a chore. The plot and characters just kind of float around, with vaguely anarchist politics that power is bad, mmkay, and those currently in power are least situated to wield it. The lack of limits erases any stakes, and the only part of the writing that's consistently enjoyable are the EDM-themed puns. Shame.
Snow Crash runs through this book like a skeleton, and there's a lot of ways in which this is a kind of Gen-Z update of Stephenson's classic. Our real-life pauper/virtual hero protagonist, the idea that language can become a magic weapon, two shadowy cabals battling it our for the soul of California. The difference is that Battle goes cosmological in scope, hopping into alternate dimensions and across the universe chasing its quest, with the main character assuming literal godhood and cutting down skyscraper sized demons with her signature Blades Per Minute sword.
But the difference is that Snow Crash was built around a solid mythological/scientific core, and Battle runs entirely on vibes. And I gotta say, the vibes are real mid. The first time you cut down a gigantic horned reality eating demon, that's dope. Fifth time is a chore. The plot and characters just kind of float around, with vaguely anarchist politics that power is bad, mmkay, and those currently in power are least situated to wield it. The lack of limits erases any stakes, and the only part of the writing that's consistently enjoyable are the EDM-themed puns. Shame.
adastra14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Oh, man. So sorry, but I did not like this book. The MC’s voice was so arrogant and unlikable, and nothing in the story ever checked her on these traits. All other characters are basically only defined by how much they like Isobel or find her a threat (oh, and their race and pronouns. I am someone that wants diversity in my books, but every time someone was introduced, we got a very unnatural “oh, and they’re white by the way”. And boy were 95% of them white, for a book that felt the need to explicitly state).
The plot wasn’t particularly comprehensible. Only giving it as high as a 2.5 because I think I’m possibly being harsh because of how much I did not like the main character. Even the WLW romance wasn’t saving this one for me.
The plot wasn’t particularly comprehensible. Only giving it as high as a 2.5 because I think I’m possibly being harsh because of how much I did not like the main character. Even the WLW romance wasn’t saving this one for me.