Review: Lifel1k3

Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, Mister Kristoff, how dare you.

Second off, Mister Kristoff, of course you dare. You're the most rockstarinest author in YA, after all. You call your fans "droogs" fershitsake, ya goddamn edgelord, you.

Still, though...there's a reason or two why I named the villain in my current WIP after you. And it's not just 'cause I'm pretty sure you reached into my brain, saw the names Alex and Gabe, and decided to use them a hell of a lot differently than I do for my own favorite Snow Bros.

No, it's 'cause, just like your other stories, the Illuminae Files and the Nevernight Chronicle, you're giving us some of the most bloodydamn killer cool storytelling in the industry. And in order to achieve that bloodydamn killer cool factor, you just have to reach into our lifelike little hearts, rip them out, crush them, stomp on them with your Doc Martens (or whatever's your preferred footwear, but boy's intuition tells me it's Doc Martens), and finally eat them raw.



Please, leave some hearts for the rest of us writerly types to tear out, starting with the wannabe prettyboy writing this review. (Yeah, between this book and Illuminae, it's pretty clear that "prettyboy," all as one word, is a Kristoff signature.)

It's a shame that this book hasn't gotten nearly the same attention and traction as Illuminae and sequels, that I've noticed. Sure, this one gets off to a bit of a slow start, but when cometh the second half, Kristoff straight-lines a ton of hookups and betrayals that all combine to give exactly the emotional roller-coaster promised by all those leaving their "HOW DARE YOU"s in Mister Kristoff's mentions.

I'm sorely tempted to mail my copy up north to Oregon just 'cause I know a certain Wulf of the Chrono variety (true cert' I can't stop won't stop shouting out my best bloody bro) who would love this book. I mean, the guy hooked me on Altered Carbon. It's time I returned the favor.

Oh, and one more thing - did Mister Kristoff name BioMaas after SJM herself? Just curious.

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