#Rafat Kosik

[libertyreads]

March Wrap Up 2024--

What a month that was. Did I read more than what I was supposed to? Yes. Am I mad about it? No. My goal for the year is to stay between 52 and 104 books read which means I need to read roughly 8 books per month (technically 8.6 or something like that) at the maximum. All this basically means is that I have to stick to reading 8 books next month. I blame the fact that my library hold came in 2 weeks early and I really didn't want to get back in line for it since it took so long to come in. Let's get to what I read and what I rated what I read.

Comics/Graphic Novels-- 1. Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo--3.75 stars (original rating).

Novellas-- 1. Must Love Hockey by Sarina Bowen (Kindle)--3.75 stars.

2. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark (NetGalley)--4 stars.

Novels-- 1. No Coincidence by Rafat Kosik--1.75 stars.

2. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu--3 stars.

3. The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah--3.75 stars.

4. Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Library)--4 stars.

5. Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes (NetGalley)--3.25 stars.

6. The Foxglove King by Hannah F. Whitten--4.25 stars (original rating).

The average star rating for the month ended up being 3.5 stars which was such a surprise given that this is the month with my worst rated book of the year so far. Not too shabby though.

[muatyland]

Cyberpunk 2077. No coincidence

A Night City, un gruppo di sconosciuti ha appena messo a segno un audace colpo su un convoglio Militech che trasporta un misterioso container. Cos’hanno in comune i membri della banda? Sono tutti sotto ricatto, e non possono esimersi dall’eseguire gli ordini. Costretti dunque a portare avanti il lavoro, non hanno idea di quanto sia esteso il raggio d’azione del loro mandante, né quale misterioso…

[bekah-reading]

17/50

4/5

This is a book that you definitely need to be experienced in the Cyberpunk world for. This takes place in Night City, around the time as the video game. This author even was part of the writing team for Edgerunners.

This was a good book. It had tons of action, it was a bit slow at times. The chapters were long. But I really enjoyed it. My enjoyment came from loving the game and just coming back to Night City and experiencing it from a different perspective.

The characters were well done; and the writing was good. It wasn’t my favourite book of the year so far- but it’s definitely at a honourable mention. I loved it, but I don’t recommend it unless you’re already a fan of Cyberpunk.

[libertyreads]

March TBR--

I'm hoping the month of March goes a little better for me reading wise. I felt like I got a decent amount read in February (while still sticking to my goals for the year) but a lot of it was so mid. I'm ready for any of these books to just grab me by the throat and keep me hooked. I have two rereads in preparation for new releases later this year. I also have two NetGalley ARCs and a hockey romance (because I've read one every month of the year so far, why not keep that going?).

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah-- This is one of those books you hear about a ton on the bookish spaces of the internet and I decided it was finally time to see what all of the hype is about. In this one, we follow Loulie al-Nazari as she and her jinn bodyguard are forced to help the sultan find an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land. There is a ton more in the synopsis, but like a lot of reviewers these days, I feel like synopses are starting to give too much away. I'm hoping for some City of Brass vibes and lots of adventure.

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten (Reread)-- I read this one a year ago and I'm excited to dive back into it before the next book comes out. In this one we follow Lore who escaped from a cult beneath the city of Dellaire over 10 years ago. Lore's job as a runner sustains her, but when a run goes wrong and her power is revealed she's forced to work for the Sainted King to find the person in his court responsible for the deaths of entire villages on the outskirts of the country. Thrust into the Sainted King's glittering court, Lore becomes tangled in politics, religion, and forbidden romance. This was my favorite book of January last year so I'm excited to reread.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu-- A first contact with aliens story that's been translated from the original (and set to be released as a Netflix show soon) and follows the outcome of a secret military project that sent signals into space to establish contact with aliens. Will the alien civilization on the brink of destruction be welcomed on Earth or will there be a fight against an invasion?

Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo (Reread)-- Before the next in the graphic novel series comes out, I plan on doing a quick reread of this one. Number one in this series introduces us to Raven who is forced to move to New Orleans following the accident that takes her foster mother's life. But that accident has also taken her memory. Then strange things start happening. This is a fun series and I'm glad I get the chance to reread it.

No Coincidence by Rafat Kosik-- Translated from the original Polish, this is the first novel in the Cyberpunk 2077 series. Apparently, this series includes collected editions of limited series, standalone graphic novels, and also full length novels. There are four authors who have contributed to it. It is all based on the game Cyberpunk 2077. My understanding is that you can start in a few different places. I hope it's true. Let's talk about the actual book now. This one appealed to me because of the cover. But the synopsis really got me. A misfit group is forced to do a heist thanks to some good, old-fashioned blackmail. The gang includes a veteran turned renegade, a Militech sleeper agent, an amateur net runner, a corporate negotiator, a ripperdoc, and a techie. They must come together to pull off the deadly heist. Also...is this the third book in this TBR about people being forced to work for people above them??

Must Love Hockey by Sarina Bowen (Kindle)-- This short hockey romance follows a woman who has an allergic reaction at a hockey game and is rescued by an equipment manager whose name she doesn't manage to catch. I've read and enjoyed Sarina Bowen before so I'm hoping this is a fun and quick read.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark (NetGalley)-- The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats. Nor do they have tails. But they are most assuredly dead. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins--resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories--have only three unbreakable vows. First, the contract must be just. Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Third, once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. Eveen's newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn't supposed to remember and a vow she can't forget.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes (NetGalley)-- When I tell you that I was squealing the day I found out I got access to this book, please, do picture it as a cute and dainty squeal instead of the insanity that actually unfolded. I loved Dead Silence from this author so when I saw they had a new space horror novel I HAD to try to get an ARC. Space exploration can be lonely and isolating. Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray is assigned to a small exploration crew and she is determined to make a difference. But as they begin establishing residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that the crew is hiding something. Her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer's hasty departure than opening up to her. That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. I cannot wait to read this one.

This TBR is giving me such a good feeling. There's Sci-Fi, there's Fantasy, there's Romance, there's Sci-Fi/Horror (a beloved genre pairing for me), there's a graphic novel. I'm just hoping March is such a good reading month. I kind of need it.

[libertyreads]

Book Review #17 of 2024--

No Coincidence by Rafat Kosik. Rating: 1.75 stars.

Read from February 28th to March 6th.

There are a few things I want to mention right off the bat to get them out of the way. First, I love this fucking cover, it's what drew me into reading the synopsis at the bookstore. And NO the cover does not have anything at all to do with this fucking book. Second, the 1.75 stars I gave this book was GENEROUS. I have been struggling with this one for over a week. I disliked it so much that I read other books while reading this one. Which is not something I generally do with my reading life. I am a one book at a time girly. A monogamous reader if you will. But I got to a point where I just couldn't anymore with this one. I would read a chapter a day while reading my three shortest items on my TBR. But then I hit a point where I just had to buckle down and finish this one. I plan on reading another translated work next in the hopes that it will do well when placed next to this one.

What is this book about? Great question, I would love to tell you. If I knew. The premise is that a ragtag group is forced to work together for a heist, one job, but then they're forced to work together again and again. They run up on different problems they have to face together. It really almost sounded like a cyberpunk version of Leverage to me. (Or do I just love comparing things to Leverage? Who's to say?) And this was just bad. It's poorly written and it struggles to identify what kind of story it's trying to tell. The author will switch POVs throughout a page, literally from paragraph to paragraph, which makes it feel so jumpy and it also makes it nearly impossible to follow at times. Not to mention the blatant misogyny in the whole construction of this novel. I know people will want to jump in to say that it's just the way the world would be if the story actually played out in the real world. Okay, but the female characters of this story and how they're displayed for the reader (yes, displayed, not portrayed, because that's what the author fucking does here) is so over the top misogynistic. They are characters who are so fucking flat but let's just give them a tiny plot as a care taker or a tiny plot as some icy bitch who is supposed to be powerful but isn't actually. While the men in the story have characters arcs about revenge (and questions about revenge and who really gets hurt) or about trying to get ahead in a world that will do everything it can to take and take and take or about what can happen when you lose yourself to the distractions placed in front of you. These men are given such strong plots and character developments while the women are just here because it would be fucking weird for there to be a world without them. Or, no wait, they're also there to be fucked or ogled.

I think there was potential to write a good story about a group of misfits who are all pulled together for a job, but who keep getting dragged back into more and more shit. All with an overarching plot of conspiracy and with a futuristic SciFi setting. But what I spent 8 fucking days reading was not it.