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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Zeroboxer in Books

Jan 23, 2020

Zeroboxer

Fonda Lee | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Zeroboxer is obviously a book farrrr from my range. In fact, it's literally out of bounds. A sports-themed book is the last thing I'll ever read – I'll read contemporary romance any day over that.

But Fonda Lee's book is something different. Something completely different and out of bounds from what I usually read, and I didn't think I would actually enjoy her novel as much as I did. It's about boxing in zero gravity! On the moon! And Mars! Happy dance ensues – I'm a space nut.

Zeroboxer focuses on Carr Luka, a zeroboxer from Earth who is slowly rising the charts in the zeroboxing world and has dreams of becoming the Lowmass Champion of the Universe. But as Carr becomes more famous on Earth for zeroboxing and his career grows, he finds out something that could ruin not only his career, but his life as well.

Lee's debut novel is very fast-paced, which isn't surprising from a book based on boxing out in space. The book mainly focuses on Carr's career as a zeroboxer and how he grows career-wise in the span of two years. Putting all of that in a 350 page made everything – Carr's career, his relationship with his brandhelm – seem to go by a lot faster than it actually would. In all honesty, it's been a long time since I've last read a book that has a span of more than a year in one book instead of several.

The world Lee builds is an entirely different world and it takes a while to get used to all of the slang and abbreviations that are used throughout the book. It's clear from early on that Zeroboxer is set really far away in the future – Earth isn't exactly a dominant planet anymore compared to those who found a home on Mars and the moon, and some of the places have definitely changed (New Shanghai, Asialantis, etc). The technological advances were really interesting and I would love to see an actual version of how the colonies on the moon and Mars really look like as civilizations with cities, towns, etc. Oh, and I would actually like to see a zeroboxing match one day.

Zeroboxer may be completely out of bounds from what I'm usually drawn to, but I highly enjoyed the entire journey. It's fast-paced and something different. I might feel a little biased here, but I can't ask for anything more from a debut novelist.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-zeroboxer-by-fonda-lee/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

Joelene Marie (28 KP) rated Vassa in the Night in Books

Oct 1, 2018

I enjoyed this book, more than I expected in the beginning. it's been on my tbr list for a while and I was excited to finally read it but it didn't hook me from the start like I'd hoped. I stuck with it and as the action picked up I couldn't put it down. I would have liked a little more backstory on bea and babs and vassa's mom and I think vassa herself could have used a little more development but overall I was pleased with the story. Even tho it's based on a Russian folk story I think it stands alone for those, like myself, who aren't familiar with the original. the characters are unique and beautiful prose is scattered throughout. the ending was nicely done, tying things up but also leaving it open for a sequel should the author choose to write one.