This was such a unique topic for a book- the concept of every person having nine lives. It was like cats, but not. But also there were cats involved and I cannot help but wonder if that was purposeful? Anyway. Let us break this down into the stuff I liked versus the stuff I did not as much, because sure.
What I Liked:
- The concept! It's really interesting- it's basically an alternate universe I think, but where people have nine lives. But of course that creates... problems, because overpopulation and such, so there have to be advantages to burning off some of your lives.
- It's also quite thought-provoking. A lot of the situations that Julian finds himself in are tough- and it made me wonder what I would have done in his shoes. The answer isn't always as easy as we'd hope or think.
- There's also a lot of discussion about current topics. One of the main issues is how the poorer people are basically coerced into dying in order to stay afloat financially. There are a lot of other issues, but that's a pretty non-spoilery example of how poverty can snowball, and I thought it was insightful.
- It's full of action and a quick read. I was definitely entertained- and sometimes horrified. But never bored.
What I Didn't:
- Really, I just wanted more information about the world. In a concept like this, I wanted so many more answers about how and why the world has become this way. I think I would have been better able to understand the motivation behind a lot of the choices that people made if the world made more sense to me. It's a standalone for now, though I can see it being expanded upon too, so who knows.
- Some of the political stuff got a little convoluted. I think this probably goes hand-in-hand with the above point, because these were the people whose motivations I didn't always understand. Or why some of the rules had evolved the way they had, and so forth. But when I didn't get answers I might have started to get a little apathetic about the political aspects.
- A few bits were kind of predictable. Not terribly so, but some of the bigger stuff at the end I was pretty easily able to guess.
Bottom Line: A unique concept that is quite dark (yay if you enjoy darker reads like I do!), this book will certainly make you think- though you might also be thinking about how you'd like more world information, too.