DISCO SOUR by Giuseppe Porcaro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In a post-civil-war high-tech world where voting has been relegated to cell phones and just about everything is trademarked, I was struck by how close to Malka Older's work this was. Voting blocks are ideological and boundaryless in a true sense and even children can vote.

It's truly democratic... but, unfortunately, random.

Not so for the plot. This bit of worldbuilding is fairly interesting but in my opinion, wasn't explored to great lengths. I kinda wish it had been.

Rather, the plot took over as a breakup gone bad, tons of alcohol, travel misadventures and crossed wires with hookup apps. I came away with this thinking that the whole novel was a commentary on the political systems we already have in terms of making real relationships work.

In other words, it takes effort, not just saying the right things.

Proper enough, I thought, but while it was a rather easy read, it was, on the other hand, not deep enough. I wanted it to keep digging and keep digging, not just saying the right thing.

Fortunately, I enjoyed the character and the basic idea well enough and felt some sympathy, so I can honestly say I'll keep reading more from this author! And thanks for the review copy! :)

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