Member Reviews
Grant does it again with a horrific novella tver takes the reader/listener on a wild journey.
the audio is very well done and gives a nice atmosphere to the book that physical reading might not give. the speaker does a very nice job and i definitely recommend the audio!
I don’t want to talk too much about the actual book - it’s a dystopian horror more is not necessary to know to go into this and i personally think it’s best to just go into this with just that because the story moves in a well timed pacing and gives the reader the story in nice pieces so that everything you need to know will be given at the right moments.
it’s not a horrendously bloody and brutal horror - more of a people dystopian horror with more elements to it - and while there is blood and some gore overall in would say that if you have read Grant before? this is one that’s a bit on the milder side of gore.
My recommendation: start this when you have enough time to read/listen to this in one go because once you start you will be want to know what is going on.
The concepts here were fascinating as you would expect from a Mira Grant story and the tone was enjoyable. For me though, this was just too short to do full justice to the ideas at play. I think I would have absolutely loved a full length novel set in this world.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book was awesome and crazy and a little creepy! What is called the great incursion happens and the fabric of reality is ripped. When this happens sisters Katharine and Susan get separated into two different realities of the same world. One world was full of monsters and the other was a world of science and study. I loved this book. I am a fan of Mira Grant and haven’t been disappointed in anything that I have read. Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
I think this audiobook was very well done and kept me engaged in the story. I really enjoy sci fi horror and have also loved books from Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire before. This leans to science fiction but definitely has horror elements in it, I feel like that is generally the case with the Mira Grant books I have read in the past. I really liked the characters in this, which is something I feel this author always does well. I can easily see this being the first in a series of novellas and I would continue to read them if that were the case. This was a quick and enjoyable audiobook for me and I would recommend it if you like these genres.
Just in case you didn't know, Mira Grant is also Seanan McGuire. Once you read a Grant title, you would recognize the McGuire writing. She couldn't hide her talent if she tried.
When the world is ripped open and monsters charge forward, lives are changed, some lost, some forever changed, some pushed to the limit as you fight for your life. The story finds two sisters who must now figure out how to get back to each other as they apply their skills to survival. The narration is excellent. Tension and emotions are perfect, you'll be carried along into this new world. Wow!
Thanks to NetGalley for an audio arc.
An awesome novella (now) with an equally amazing audio narration to go with it.
Square3 is a novella that tells the story of siblings who are trying to survive in a world that has been overrun by monsters. The story is infused with cosmic horror elements that, while not scary in the traditional sense, is monstrously delightful, and the sibling relationship at its core adds a layer of heart to the action-packed narrative. Mira Grant, also known as Seanan McGuire, has crafted a compelling tale that is sure to captivate readers with its monstrous twists and turns.
I struggled to listen to this entire book. It is short, so it was fast-moving, and I felt it rushed through parts where more detail was necessary.
Kitty’s character was not fleshed out, and Susan was inconstant and flat.
Too little science in the science fiction and too much awkward dialogue made this a very difficult read for me.
I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.
This story follows the aftermath of extradimentional rifts opening around the world, leaving behind dramatically altered landscapes and releasing Kaiju like monsters upon the world. Susan Black, separated from her sister Katharine during the event, studies the zones left after and tries to understand them and see if there is a way another event can be predicted.
I absolutely loved this book. The amount of world building that got packed into such a short book is fantastic. You really get a feel for the new world that has been left behind by this event. Things have drastically changed on the side that was twisted by the rifts down to the animals, plants, and people and it’s written in a way that makes everything strangely believable. Susan is such an amazing character. I was really rooting for her toward the end of the book. I can’t get too deep into plotmsince this is such a short book but I loved her arc over the course of the story. The “monsters” are creative and interesting/horrifying. I almost wish they were in the story more but their presence could have gotten stale if they showed up too much. They don’t show up much but when they so they really make an impact. This is definitely more of a character study than a monster story but I think things balance out well in the end.
I listened to the audiobook version of this and it was fantastic. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.
Overall I highly recommend this for sci-fi and horror fans alike. I just hope we get more and longer books in this series in the future. I would love to read more about this world.
Square³ is a fast-paced, novella-length story with plenty of momentum and interesting characters. It feels like the beginning of a solid science fiction series, and that may be one of its flaws.
Square³'s short length keeps moving so quickly from one incident to the next that you don't get to linger or get to know the characters as well as you want to. The characters that you do get to know? They're the start of something great: the wild child sister who has to become a rule follower, the neglected sister who becomes a force, the young scientist who infiltrates the government labs, the children from the other side with - let's be honest - superpowers. The story is there, I just wish it had been longer.
Rachel F. Hirsch does a very good job narrating the story, and I honestly think she was the perfect voice for Susan. The only issue with her narration were the scenes between Susan and Kitty - Hirsch does not give the sisters different voices, which makes their conversation completely confusing. However, that was the only issue I had with her performance, which was very enjoyable.
This was a lot of fun, but I kept wanting more. I'm used to her having a VERY scientific approach, and this was just too short for that. I liked what I read but kept expecting more depth. More character development, more description, more science. It was still very well written and I don't regret reading it at all! But I'd love a full length novel instead.
Could not get into this world, felt extremely abrupt and out of place and like we were dropped into a story already in process - wh9ch makes sense to an extent, but the author could have done a better Job of smoothing that out;
This was my first Mira Grant book, and enjoyed it. Will need to find more. Enjoyed the characters, plot, and pacing. The narrator also made the book enjoyable. #Square³ #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for a copy of this audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.
Mira Grant's novel is an exploration of a world after monster/kaiju/interdimensional creatures make a sudden appearance around the globe. Sisters Susan and Katherine Black are separated when the dimensional portals open - with Susan left to live in a world without her sister. Driven by a determination to find Katherine, Susan becomes a researcher of the new physics the creatures left behind.
What I have given above is a poor plot introduction, but the book itself is everything I have come to love in a Mira Grant title. Science fiction, blended with a bit of horror - a mystery to be solved, a sudden sense of urgency. For me the only downside was how short the story was - I wanted more.
I listened to the Tantor audiobook version, narrated by Rachel F. Hirsch. I found the voicework brought the characters to life, with compelling inflection and timing. I would happily listen to more narrated by Hirsch, especially if it was more Mira Grant.
Definitely give this one a go.
Audio review: Great narrator who brought plenty of nuance to the characters.
Main review: Really enjoyed this short, punchy novella that looks at rifts through the multiverse and the bond between sisters. There was some great tongue in cheek dry humour here too and Susan, the sister left behind, was a dynamic and very engaging character. This was a lot of fun, with believable science and hints of more Brightburn-esque superhero qualities rather than the fluffier superhuman equivalent. Great book.
"When the great incursion occurred, no one was prepared. Of all the things physicists had predicted, "the fabric of reality might rip open and giant monsters could come pouring through" had not made the list. But somehow, that was precisely what happened.
For sisters Susan and Katharine Black, the day of the incursion was the day they lost everything. Their home, their parents, their sense of normalcy . . . and each other, because when the rift opened, each sister was stranded in a separate form of reality. For Susan, it was science and study and the struggle to solve the mystery of the altered physics inside the zones transformed by the incursion. For Katharine, it was monsters and mayhem and the fight to stay alive in a world unlike the world of her birth."
I've been in a bit of a reading slump and this short story helped pull me out. For being such a short story it certainly packed a punch with great world building and well fleshed out characters. This one kept me engaged from beginning to end, with a few surprising twists along the way. I feel like there is so much more that can be written about this world and the characters.
I have my fingers crossed for another book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this ALC.
On Sale Now.
Audiobook provided to me for free by NetGalley!
I was thrilled to be approved for this book-Seanan McGuire (writing as Mira Grant here) is one of my favorite authors and the concept was intriguing. It’s kind of X-Men taking place in a world very similar to Pacific Rim- rifts open and monsters enter our world and super powered children result from that. Sisters Susan and Kitty end up on separate sides of a rift, and we follow them (mainly Susan as she becomes a government scientist) as they survive and try to reunite. This is a quick 3 hour audiobook with a great narrator and excellent pace. I do think it could be setting up for a longer series, but I’m happy enough with it as a standalone.
I loved the authors previous work, so when I saw this book I knew I had to check it out.
Square3 is a sci-fi dystopian with dark scary creatures that come from a rift. Two sisters, Susan and Katharine Black,must fight to stay alive. One in the rift and another here at home. Fighting to protect each other from not only the monsters but from the government itself.
The narrator, Rachel F. Hirsch did a phenomenal job portraying Susan and Katharine. The variety of tones and inflections used elevated the book for me.
I haven’t read a dystopian book in awhile and this one was an amazing listen and I thoroughly enjoyed being lost in this world.
Thank you to Tantor Audio and Netgalley for the gifted ALC of SQUARE³ by Mira Grant! When I saw a new audiobook from Mira Grant it was an instant request and I was thrilled to be approved to read and review!
SQUARE³ is set in a world that has been torn apart on the day known as the incursion.. Sisters Susan and Katherine were torn apart when tears in reality opened, monsters came out. Large areas of land were lost within these tears and Katherine wound up on the inside and Susan on the outside. Susan has made studying the incursion and the aftereffects her life’s work. When she sees a signal emerge from within the zone around the area permanently changed by the incursion, she knows it is her sister reaching out.
I have really enjoyed the Mira Grant books I have read in the past (INTO THE DROWING DEEP always comes to mind when thinking of favorite horror books) so I requested this title without really knowing anything about it beyond the author. I do think that going in relatively blind is a great way to go, especially as this is a novella and therefore the full synopsis on Goodreads gives away quite a bit that you don’t find out for a while in the story.
I think this story worked really well as a novella, giving the author enough time to create this altered world and glimpses of the way our reality would react if such a thing were to happen without getting bogged down in too much detail. I really enjoyed the sister dynamic in this story as well. We see two girls who trust each other implicitly, but forces beyond their control have kept them apart for years. This makes for an interesting dynamic as they have reason to reconnect and rely on that bond after all these years.
I thought that this was a really fun read overall and a fantastic audiobook. Both the ebook (released at the end of 2021) and the audiobook (released last week) are available now!
This was an interesting book! I would love to hear more of this story as it's an intriguing concept! I will definitely be looking for more books by this author!
#Square³
#NetGalley