Book Club: Alex + Ada
How SEXY is our custom cover?
Bader has really been outdoing himself lately. This cover is actually more expressive than all three parts of Alex + Ada so. Not gonna lie.
LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS BECAUSE IT'S REALLY SHORT AND NOT PRETTY.
Our Review
No Spoilers:
Look. The premise was great. The plot is based on the age-old Man Vs. Machine dilemma; can machines evolve to think and have free will? Can machines feel the way humans can feel?
The story takes place in a futuristic setting where technology has evolved to everything we could hope for, from smart homes to robot servants to super-advanced bluetooth. I don't even know if it's called bluetooth. I don't know.
We follow the story of a man named Alex in a world where people are beginning to feel conflicted about machinery and how dangerous they could be if things suddenly went wrong. Alex finds himself in the middle of the dilemma and the commotion when a robot enters his life and sparks the debate in his own head and behavior.
The premise was great, the setting and context were riveting, but the direction of the plot went south too fast, leaving us more than just underwhelmed, but irritated, to say the least. Volume One does an insanely good job at setting up the story, and it unanimously left each of us excited and unable to wait to get into Volume Two. That's what made the underwhelming nature of Volume Two and Three so enraging; all that potential! It was so clear, based on how captivating Volume One was, that the writers were capable of soaring with the plotline into so many creative directions! WHY DIDN'T THEY? WHY DID THEY JUST STOP?
The story's first part leaves the reader with a glimpse of the unlimited possibilities to come, we had so many things to look forward to! Those things were shot down quickly when the plot was suddenly rushed and moved forward quickly, contradicting the slow unraveling of the storyline in Volume One. The scope became narrow fast, and only got worse as we opened up Volume Three, for an underwhelming and rushed ending. Why? WHY?
Even outside of the plotline, so many characters were introduced that were eventually concluded to be useless, annoying at best. It was confusing to keep up with all the characters who, frankly, sounded and looked the same at so many points that we often had to stop and check before moving on through the pages. They seemed to add no value to the story, even a moment where Alex's friends decided to actually do something useful lasted a minute.
The art was shallow and showed no animation in the characters, which is very rare as all the graphic novels we've read so far at least had artwork we identified as an elevating factor that made certain plotpoints more enjoyable. The proof is in the pudding (the covers) of the three volumes; not only did the cover of Volume Three reveal what happened, but there was nothing creative in the artwork or different in the characters' faces.
The character development was also, no surprise, superficial and rushed. We were supposed to realize that a certain character was in love with someone else based on one conversation, as it later becomes a plot-mover, but that character really just comes off as annoying and paranoid. Alex's friends were all presented similarly, so you don't REALLY get the sense of who's close or who's just an acquaintance, except that one person maybe gets more panels in.
I guess the writers really gave it their all and took their time for Volume One, only to have them rush to finish volumes Two and Three? It's such a shame.
If anything, we'd suggest you read Volume One just because it was such an exciting set-up, as long as you know not to bother with the rest of the stories.
On the bright side, this is the first book from our list that we DIDN'T fall in love with. So, it's always good to have a cherry popped. Refreshes you. Not everything is great, and we needed to learn that.
What a shame, though. They could've done so much...
OH and our cover is so sexy, though, so that's another plus. It's the perfect illustration and summation of Alex + Ada.
It's certainly more expressive.
TL;DR Our Review
Bader: 2 Stars
Noor: 2 Stars
Reem: 1 Star
Ali: 1 Star
1.5/5 Stars
WE DON'T RECOMMEND IT
THANKS FOR READING IF YOU ACTUALLY READ EVERYTHING!
Let us know what you think. Do you hate us? Do you disagree with every single thing I said? TELL ME.
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