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is one of those "once-in-a-decade" type of stories that end up defining an era. It's also one of the most original science fiction novels
[image]
is one of those "once-in-a-decade" type of stories that end up defining an era. It's also one of the most original science fiction novels I've read in my life.
Written in a new genre of science fiction called NEON SCIENCE-FICTION, "5 Stars" follows the story of 5 people who try to outlive the end of the world by securing a seat on the last shuttle to depart the planet. But to get on the shuttle, each one of them must beat the "Neon God's Algorithm", an omnipresent A.I. that has infiltrated into every technology that caries a microchip and is ruling over the metropolis on New Vega through orwellian, 1984-style Black Screen and their propaganda machine. In order to escape the planet, each character must secure 5 Gold Stars, which is a merit-based currency awarded by the Neon God only to those he deems "worthy", and since the A.I. is a psychopathic digital hive-mind with a penchant for Mind-Games, these Gold Starts become extremely tricky to procure.
My favourite character is Aurora, the mother of a prematurely-born baby with an amputated arm and our POV character. She is a starving, emaciated but resilient young woman who will do ANYTHING to protect her tiny baby.
The story is fast-paced, multi-layered and teeming with original, never-before-seen high concepts like: - Virtual Visors that feed into your cognitive bias, distort reality and determine your world view - Plasma katanas that need to be fueled via luminiscent fuel-cords (see artwork, it's awesome) and various weapons that turn you inside-out or teleport you at the edge of the observable universe - the Dark - a living, caustic, dark fog-of-war that awakes your darker impulses (a Jungian concept). It encircles the city like an impenetrable darkness and turns the entire area into a battle-royale-style arena - original, mind-blowing technologies like you've never seen nor read before in a science fiction novel, not once, not ever (and I have read most of them)
The story is original and a perfect blend of the Matrix, Blade Runner, Squid Games, Ready Player One and 1984.
The settings are grandiose and mind-bending. You will often feel overwhelmed by a sense of awe and wonder, even in such a decrepit, gritty, dying world as that of 5 Stars.
The characters are archetypal, highly complex and the soul of the novel. You will love to love/hate them at points. The main villain of the story (or is He?), the ubiquitous Neon God running the city is truly one of the most compelling villains I've read in a long time. He is a failed A.I. and therefore represents humanity at its worst.
The twists and turns in this story are staggering and yet organically flow into each other.
And now I got to talk about the ending. My god, the ending. I didn't see any of it coming. Just when I finished reading the novel after an edge-of-your-seat, satisfying ride through Neon and Dark, the author decides to turn everything on its head and throw what must be the biggest twists in fictional history. Not since "Pincer Martin", the "6th Sense" and "The Usual Suspects" did I experience a bigger twist than this one. Honestly, I saw a picture circulating on Reddit where a reader had included "5 Stars" on a list of "mindfuck books" and "biggest twists in literature" and I think it's entirely merited. I never, not once, saw that coming, but boy, does it explain everything to a T!
This review is already turning out to be longer than I anticipated. Honestly, just get "5 Stars" and experience it for yourself. It's probably one of those "once-in-a-decade" type of stories that end up defining an era....more
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