Reviewed by ibeforem on
My first problem with it is that the narration style left me feeling very detached from the main character, Sam/Zoo. Some chapters focus on establishing the reality show — what happens at the beginning, and what is happening behind the scenes as the adventure continues. The other chapters are Sam/Zoo wandering on her own, trying to find her way to the end of the game through a world she thinks the producers have created. We’re introduced to all of these characters that mean very little in the end.
The second problem I had with it was that it just didn’t feel very believable by the end. I could buy her disorientation — something happens to her that makes that part believable — but I couldn’t buy her continued drive to complete the game nor her belief that everything she was encountering was created by the show. There was an uncomfortable amount of focus on a dead/not-dead baby/not-baby. And the ending relies on her misunderstanding a piece of information that shouldn’t have been a misunderstanding. It felt like blatant manipulation by the author rather than a honest turn of events.
In the end, I guess the premise was a little too far out for me. I finished it, but I questioned myself along the way.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 January, 2018: Finished reading
- 9 January, 2018: Reviewed