Review: Engaging characters, and interesting twists.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 24, 2013
This is Nic's wife writing the review.Michelle Browne is an engaging writer- I've read some of her other stuff, too. She does pick fun concepts, and has unique twists to add to the dystopian formula. I don't think these stories are some of her stronger work, since although the characters are well written, they aren't quite able to build a society around the dystopian elements.In the first one, especially, the information on the evolution of the thought-police type state is pretty vague. At any rate, I had a hard time looking to see what the "profit" would be in maintaining the kinds of violent dystopias displayed here.The characters are well written, and the cuss-word idiosyncrasies in Word Thieves (the second story) are hilarious. Browne is a competent storyteller, and creates some unique visuals, and some very visceral worlds. I just wish these felt like they had something to really vocalize about the societal trends leading to the formation of the dystopic systems, or the system's financial or cultural interest in maintaining itself. They were fun, but the lack of the sociological worldbuilding meant that they didn't stick with me as much as some of her other work has.They're still well worth a read, though, and I hope you go on to read The Loved, The Lost, The Dreaming next, since those stories show the true range of Browne's literary skills.