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Citizen L
Welcome to the Labyrinth, formerly known as Earth. A man in L682, a megacity in the North West, decides to take his own life. A woman, his neighbor, is at the pinnacle of her career. What happens when two unlikely opposites meet, in a post-apocalyptic world run by corporations?
A novelette which explores themes of love and reality in a dystopian corporate-governed Earth, where the ways we communicate and interact nowadays are relics of the past.
A novelette which explores themes of love and reality in a dystopian corporate-governed Earth, where the ways we communicate and interact nowadays are relics of the past.
78 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2018
TL;DR - A fascinating dystopian world and a plot with real potential that is not only unrealized but completely buried beneath shoddy character development and a horrific abuse of the English language. It wasn't a total waste of an hour and a half, but I kinda wanted to gouge my eyes out by the time I was done.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book on the understanding I would write an honest review. I did so voluntarily for no monetary gain through a third-party service. As I received an advanced copy, some of my comments (especially in the Grammar section) may not apply to the version available for sale.
This review contains no spoilers.
Let's start with the good stuff:
• The Labyrinth - The basic world concept of Citizen L is a wonderful white-washed futuristic mega-corps controlled dystopia. Think 1984 kidnaps Star Trek's holodeck with a weird capitalist/socialist Matrix vibe. Not a whole lot of the world structure or history are touched upon in this novella, but the glimpses of it we get are promising. Part of what I love about it is that the technology, while futuristic, feels like a plausible development from today. Everywhere you go you're bombarded by 3D holographic ads complete with sound, some even including artificial flavors and aromas! Talking out loud has become a thing of the past, now everybody communicates through text messages sent via brain implants. My inner conspiracy theorist was purring like a PixelPet holographic kitten.
• The Story - I'm not a fan of spoilers and the summary isn't a horrible representation of the plot, so all I'll say about it is this: I really enjoyed it, and while I saw the ending coming, it unfolded in a way I didn't expect.
And the not-so-good stuff:
• Characters - While August and Gina were perfectly likable as main characters, they felt one dimensional to me. Their depths were only hinted at obliquely and what little growth they displayed through the story felt rushed and out of character. How it could be out of character when they had so little character to begin with, I haven't the faintest idea, but it was. Excepting Dr. Jackson, all the rest of the characters might as well have been named "Plot Point A", "Plot Point B" for all the value they had.
• Pacing - I will readily admit that I read primarily novels, so my sense of this may be warped, but I thought the pacing of the plot was rushed and the foreshadowing a bit heavy-handed.
• Writing Style & Grammar - Oh boy. If I didn't know better I would've believed this was written by a fourth grader and I suspect this was neither written nor edited by a native English speaker. Honestly, it was so bad I don't even know where to begin. The story was told in first person rotating back and forth between the two leads, August and Gina. Sometimes the chapter titles gave you an indication as to whose perspective you were reading from, but not always, so it ended up being confusing and I don't think the author managed to achieve the closeness with the characters you typically expect with first person. My absolute biggest problem with Citizen L was the incredible overabundance of telling instead of showing. It felt like the leads were constantly telling things, "I felt [emotion]", "I liked [thing]", "It was supposed to be [this] but it wasn't because [that]" Writing in first person does not mean you're allowed to start every sentence three paragraphs in a row with "I"! All the telling was so heavy-handed that what little bit of showing there was felt forced, stilted, and misplaced, like it had been copied out of another story instead of made for this one (note: this is not in any way, shape, or form any accusation or implication of plagiarism or copyright infringement). I'm no paragon of grammarly virtue, but the grammar in this story is atrocious. There are tense changes mid-sentence, run-on sentences (although who am I to judge?), incomplete sentences, and sentences with vital words omitted in addition to dozens of your more fiddly errors like the wrong form of "then" and misplaced commas that I'm praying are caught before the finished copy. I am flabbergasted this passed an editor because it still desperately needs one.
In summary: This story showed just enough promise that I was horribly disappointed by the execution. I would've loved to read a version of this that had gone through more rigorous editing.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book on the understanding I would write an honest review. I did so voluntarily for no monetary gain through a third-party service. As I received an advanced copy, some of my comments (especially in the Grammar section) may not apply to the version available for sale.
This review contains no spoilers.
Let's start with the good stuff:
• The Labyrinth - The basic world concept of Citizen L is a wonderful white-washed futuristic mega-corps controlled dystopia. Think 1984 kidnaps Star Trek's holodeck with a weird capitalist/socialist Matrix vibe. Not a whole lot of the world structure or history are touched upon in this novella, but the glimpses of it we get are promising. Part of what I love about it is that the technology, while futuristic, feels like a plausible development from today. Everywhere you go you're bombarded by 3D holographic ads complete with sound, some even including artificial flavors and aromas! Talking out loud has become a thing of the past, now everybody communicates through text messages sent via brain implants. My inner conspiracy theorist was purring like a PixelPet holographic kitten.
• The Story - I'm not a fan of spoilers and the summary isn't a horrible representation of the plot, so all I'll say about it is this: I really enjoyed it, and while I saw the ending coming, it unfolded in a way I didn't expect.
And the not-so-good stuff:
• Characters - While August and Gina were perfectly likable as main characters, they felt one dimensional to me. Their depths were only hinted at obliquely and what little growth they displayed through the story felt rushed and out of character. How it could be out of character when they had so little character to begin with, I haven't the faintest idea, but it was. Excepting Dr. Jackson, all the rest of the characters might as well have been named "Plot Point A", "Plot Point B" for all the value they had.
• Pacing - I will readily admit that I read primarily novels, so my sense of this may be warped, but I thought the pacing of the plot was rushed and the foreshadowing a bit heavy-handed.
• Writing Style & Grammar - Oh boy. If I didn't know better I would've believed this was written by a fourth grader and I suspect this was neither written nor edited by a native English speaker. Honestly, it was so bad I don't even know where to begin. The story was told in first person rotating back and forth between the two leads, August and Gina. Sometimes the chapter titles gave you an indication as to whose perspective you were reading from, but not always, so it ended up being confusing and I don't think the author managed to achieve the closeness with the characters you typically expect with first person. My absolute biggest problem with Citizen L was the incredible overabundance of telling instead of showing. It felt like the leads were constantly telling things, "I felt [emotion]", "I liked [thing]", "It was supposed to be [this] but it wasn't because [that]" Writing in first person does not mean you're allowed to start every sentence three paragraphs in a row with "I"! All the telling was so heavy-handed that what little bit of showing there was felt forced, stilted, and misplaced, like it had been copied out of another story instead of made for this one (note: this is not in any way, shape, or form any accusation or implication of plagiarism or copyright infringement). I'm no paragon of grammarly virtue, but the grammar in this story is atrocious. There are tense changes mid-sentence, run-on sentences (although who am I to judge?), incomplete sentences, and sentences with vital words omitted in addition to dozens of your more fiddly errors like the wrong form of "then" and misplaced commas that I'm praying are caught before the finished copy. I am flabbergasted this passed an editor because it still desperately needs one.
In summary: This story showed just enough promise that I was horribly disappointed by the execution. I would've loved to read a version of this that had gone through more rigorous editing.
January 26, 2018
💘LOVE AMONG THE RUINS🏢🏥
It's a Dystopian world🌎 where corporations own everything, the workers exist in a sad artificial environment solely to support the corporations.
August👱 is a lonely man in this lonely 🌎earth world, living in L682, a huge metropolitan area controlled and owned by a corporation. He covets his neighbor, Gina👩, but never does anything about it. He is planning on killing himself somehow on his 39th 🎂birthday, a year away. Suicide is strictly forbidden and measures are taken to prevent it, but August👱 vows he will find a way.
The world outside his apartment is a distracting, confusing jumble of electronic commercialism, continually assaulting the senses.
All the while, the nuclear fallout of a trashed, dying 🌎world continues to kill the residents a little bit at a time.
This world is just too depressing to continue living........
Here the book takes a cue from the Charlton Heston movie, Soylent Green, and people that want to die, or be decycled, In corporate speak, are treated to a wonderful movie about a beautiful🌻🌈 🌎earth world they have never known. Then they are gently put to death.
I love sci-fi but am not a fan of dystopian novels. I want to think of the distant future as a cup half full that can be refilled, not a cup almost empty.
ARC Received from HG for a Voluntary and Honest Review.
It's a Dystopian world🌎 where corporations own everything, the workers exist in a sad artificial environment solely to support the corporations.
August👱 is a lonely man in this lonely 🌎earth world, living in L682, a huge metropolitan area controlled and owned by a corporation. He covets his neighbor, Gina👩, but never does anything about it. He is planning on killing himself somehow on his 39th 🎂birthday, a year away. Suicide is strictly forbidden and measures are taken to prevent it, but August👱 vows he will find a way.
The world outside his apartment is a distracting, confusing jumble of electronic commercialism, continually assaulting the senses.
All the while, the nuclear fallout of a trashed, dying 🌎world continues to kill the residents a little bit at a time.
This world is just too depressing to continue living........
Here the book takes a cue from the Charlton Heston movie, Soylent Green, and people that want to die, or be decycled, In corporate speak, are treated to a wonderful movie about a beautiful🌻🌈 🌎earth world they have never known. Then they are gently put to death.
I love sci-fi but am not a fan of dystopian novels. I want to think of the distant future as a cup half full that can be refilled, not a cup almost empty.
ARC Received from HG for a Voluntary and Honest Review.
April 3, 2018
I receive this book from Hidden Gems in exchange for my honest review.
This dystopian future novella tells the story of neighbors August and Gina.
In a future where super-production and even more super-consumption are requirements of every citizen, Augeust plays by the rules, therefore he is looking at losing his job which is the worst thing that could happen. Gina, on the other hand, is one of the best producers in her field and has no trouble consuming whatever she can. The story really gets going when August, who really likes Gina, tries to get together with her and their relationship reveals the sinister underbelly of the world they live in.
I am usually not that much of a novella reader, but I am very glad I chose to review this book as I found the story interesting and was upset when it ended as I wanted to know more about the world the author created. I hope to see more so the author can fully develop this dystopian earth and the people who live there.
This dystopian future novella tells the story of neighbors August and Gina.
In a future where super-production and even more super-consumption are requirements of every citizen, Augeust plays by the rules, therefore he is looking at losing his job which is the worst thing that could happen. Gina, on the other hand, is one of the best producers in her field and has no trouble consuming whatever she can. The story really gets going when August, who really likes Gina, tries to get together with her and their relationship reveals the sinister underbelly of the world they live in.
I am usually not that much of a novella reader, but I am very glad I chose to review this book as I found the story interesting and was upset when it ended as I wanted to know more about the world the author created. I hope to see more so the author can fully develop this dystopian earth and the people who live there.
January 22, 2018
I received a Hidden Gems ARC in of a review. I enjoyed Citizen L, where citizens work to benefit of others living more in simulations dreaming of decycling to a better ever after. However, decycling may not be what it seems. August wants more, something more real. He bonds with neighbor Gina and finds a reason to live and/or fight. I enjoyed the book. I hope to someday have more an ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews