Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The good:

It's a fast and fun ride of murder and mayhem guided by a light, even friendly, touch. If you think that's rather unusual, then so be it. The circumstances, while clear, are rules we must obey. Clones, replicants, whatever, aren't really considered murderable. So be it. And yet, this almost feels like a light-hearted comedy.

The okay:

Since they are all pretty much identical to the original Lulabelle and they all understand that they're pretty expendable, the whole tale isn't so much about the ethics of it, but the fact that this one character is living out many different aspects of their potential lives, living it fully, and yet, must still go through its own complicated version of psychoanalysis writ large. Can one hate oneself over-much? How about love? All the what-ifs. It isn't bad.

The bad:

I'm so tired of all these similar-themed clone-killing books being a metaphor for mental-health issues. Why? Almost ALL of them tend to go the fame and fortune route and, at least to me, it's so not very interesting. Everyone is living their wish-fulfillments in these many, many copycat books. Sure, it's a thing, but I guess I'm starting to get burned out because it's just feels like another disney princess burnout with yet another message to love oneself. Then again, maybe I'm just a grouch. Maybe I'd have loved something much closer to Orphan Black after all. *shrugs*


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

Arctunn.com

View all my reviews