As someone with depression, it was interesting to see the topic of suicide viewed through a purely philosophical lens. It definitely resonated in ways I wasn't expecting, and it brought things into perspective, especially how absurd the idea is (and yet how easy it is to reject reason in favor of it due to emotional response). This is definitely a good precursor of The Rebel, since it follows a similar line of reasoning.

I get the premise and while I do think its points are ones that should be examined more, this one was just a struggle to get through. The comedic style at times just completely killed any horror atmosphere and I found it taking me out of the story more than it was contributing to it. The characters were enjoyable but at the same time, I felt like there could have been more done with some of their story arcs. Truthfully, there are a lot of books that do "institution horror" better imo.

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but it is a very balanced approach to Plato and his effects on Grecian politics. The author cites sources and offers some differing opinions, which I enjoyed, while also mentioning the opposing viewpoints so you do get a measured POV of the events. Definitely an interesting read and would highly recommend!

Ironically for a story that claims to exist in a post-God world, a lot of the structure and parables directly relate to the styles of Biblical teachings, which tracks given Nietsche's upbringing. This is a tale of finding meaning beyond gods, beyond religion, with the expectation that to surpass those beliefs woukd create a superior human. The story winds and twists, but it still delivers its points in a very stylized way. Definitely worth the read.

If you love Black Mirror, you'll love this. The ending snippets were great. The story itself was perfectly paced and it was a wild ride from start to finish.