Reviews from Goodreads
Average 3.81 out of 5 stars
"If you like love stories, character driven stories, and a look into a crazy technology filled future this novel was great. I was not a fan of sci/fi until recently. I quickly became attached to the characters and couldn't wait to find out what would happen to their stories. In a future that is not all that hard to imagine, when social media and technology rule the land, and death is not always the end (if you are pretty you can be frozen and maybe revived by some one rich who wants to marry you); love and relationships take on whole new meanings. one of the best books I have read in a while. "
"The premise here is fascinating. The world building is superb. I got very invested in many of the characters and their stories.
I particularly appreciated how differences in poverty and wealth affected access to all the new technology, a variety of technologies, ranging from extremely nifty to unbelievably creepy, but all plausible, and all germane as it relates to the world today.I can recommend this book to fans of speculative fiction, especially those readers who enjoy character driven books and stories about the not too distant future on earth, and those who enjoy reading books that take place in NYC, even if the NYC in the book differs significantly from that city’s present and past."
"Found this book to be well worth reading. It had a very original concept, and the futuristic society that he has created is utterly plausible. It has a solid plot too, not so much in the way of twists and turns, but with real depth and a chilling premise of how a corporation can hold fragile humans in its grasp. Great stuff."
"The premise here is fascinating. The world building is superb. I got very invested in many of the characters and their stories.
I particularly appreciated how differences in poverty and wealth affected access to all the new technology, a variety of technologies, ranging from extremely nifty to unbelievably creepy, but all plausible, and all germane as it relates to the world today.I can recommend this book to fans of speculative fiction, especially those readers who enjoy character driven books and stories about the not too distant future on earth, and those who enjoy reading books that take place in NYC, even if the NYC in the book differs significantly from that city’s present and past."
"Found this book to be well worth reading. It had a very original concept, and the futuristic society that he has created is utterly plausible. It has a solid plot too, not so much in the way of twists and turns, but with real depth and a chilling premise of how a corporation can hold fragile humans in its grasp. Great stuff."
Reviews from Amazon
Average 4.3 out of 5 stars
"Pros: creepy premise, realistic characters, fantastic world-building
Cons: little action, all but one plot revolves around interpersonal relationships
This is a book about the complexity of relationships - between friends, family and lovers. It's a book about people and how they act and react to different situations. It's about death and bringing someone back to life - how that act changes them, changes you.
McIntosh has created a cast of characters that feel like people you know in real life. From the attention hog Lorelei, to the utterly depressed and despondent Rob, doing all he can to keep a promise. Veronika, who knows she's not glamourous enough for the guy she loves, and Lycan, a super shy genius, who has trouble talking to women. And the bridesicles, Mira and Winter, trapped in a living death, desperate to get out, not knowing when or if they'll be revived again. These are all people, unhappy with life and unsure of how to make things better. As their stories weave together they grow, change and learn. And their stories touch you."
"If Love Minus Eighty has a central theme, it's this: love is complicated. It's particularly complicated if you've fallen in love with a dead woman. Love Minus Eighty explores love in a light-hearted way from a variety of perspectives: characters are in love (both requited and unrequited), or want love, or are faking it, or fear it, or substitute manipulation and drama for actual love. Still, Love Minus Eighty will never be mistaken for a traditional romance novel. It's smart and funny, not trashy"
"Love Minus Eighty is an SF rom-com-drom that knocks it out of the park. After Soft Apocalypse I wasn't expecting much, but wow, this was a charming story that could be a Sundance movie with lots of tantalizing future society nuggets thrown in and seen from the user's viewpoint with little technical description, which somehow makes it more realistic. You'd have to be pretty jaded for this book not to grow on you."
Cons: little action, all but one plot revolves around interpersonal relationships
This is a book about the complexity of relationships - between friends, family and lovers. It's a book about people and how they act and react to different situations. It's about death and bringing someone back to life - how that act changes them, changes you.
McIntosh has created a cast of characters that feel like people you know in real life. From the attention hog Lorelei, to the utterly depressed and despondent Rob, doing all he can to keep a promise. Veronika, who knows she's not glamourous enough for the guy she loves, and Lycan, a super shy genius, who has trouble talking to women. And the bridesicles, Mira and Winter, trapped in a living death, desperate to get out, not knowing when or if they'll be revived again. These are all people, unhappy with life and unsure of how to make things better. As their stories weave together they grow, change and learn. And their stories touch you."
"If Love Minus Eighty has a central theme, it's this: love is complicated. It's particularly complicated if you've fallen in love with a dead woman. Love Minus Eighty explores love in a light-hearted way from a variety of perspectives: characters are in love (both requited and unrequited), or want love, or are faking it, or fear it, or substitute manipulation and drama for actual love. Still, Love Minus Eighty will never be mistaken for a traditional romance novel. It's smart and funny, not trashy"
"Love Minus Eighty is an SF rom-com-drom that knocks it out of the park. After Soft Apocalypse I wasn't expecting much, but wow, this was a charming story that could be a Sundance movie with lots of tantalizing future society nuggets thrown in and seen from the user's viewpoint with little technical description, which somehow makes it more realistic. You'd have to be pretty jaded for this book not to grow on you."