No Life But This - DNF Rant

No Life But This (UniCorp #2)
by Anna Sheehan

What is it about:
Rose spent most of her life asleep. Otto spent his as an object.

Rose Fitzroy woke from her long sleep to a changed world and new life. Her friend Otto watched her from afar, longing for what he felt he couldn't have. But just when things seem to be going right, his own biology backfires, sending him into a deathly spiral that neither of them can stop. His only hope lies on the distant ice moon of Europa, where an experimental treatment might bring him back from the brink.

But Europa is in a state of revolution, and Otto's brother Quin is tangled up in it. With Otto going slowly insane, and Rose haunted by ghosts of her old life, more than one world may soon be destroyed around them.

What did I think of it:
*Warning: I will spoil the crap out of at least two events in this book, one that made me throw this book aside*

So I really enjoyed A Long, Long Sleep and this book was about my favorite character from that book: Otto.

At the start of this book it turns out Otto is desperately in love with Rose. He knows she doesn't feel that way about him, because when he touches people he can read their surface thoughts. He has a code of ethics that makes him stop to delve further in people's minds. On top of his feelings for Rose, he is feeling unwell, and might be dying from a condition that others like him have died from in the past.

So far, so good. It started to go wrong for me when Otto invites Rose into the pool to show her why he usually doesn't swim with other people. Here it is revealed that because of the water he feels Rose and her thoughts and emotions all over his body. I will confess this squicked me out a bit. Not what he feels, but that he only tells Rose this once she's in the water with him. It felt like a huge intrusion of her privacy. I know I wouldn't like someone to feel my emotions all over his/her being/body without me knowing about it and having chosen to share something so intimate.

A bit leery of Otto by this I read on.

Then the thing happened that made me toss the book:

Otto is getting worse and needs to travel to Europa in hope for a cure. He needs to be put in stasis, a procedure that might kill him. Rose volunteers to stay with him until the moment he's put in stasis. Otto is feeling very sorry for himself, because he might die, and because his feelings for Rose aren't mutual.

So what does Otto do?

He uses his telepathic powers to convince Rose's subconsciousness that he is her boyfriend from before she was put into stasis for 62 years, so he can kiss her (and maybe more)...

WTF!?

I don't care that Otto tries to tell himself it's ok, because conscious Rose supposedly knows it's Otto and not her old boyfriend! I don't care he thinks it's unfair he's going to die! I even don't care if he might feel sorry for this mind rape later! Because: Yes, this is Mind Rape!

I put the book down right there and then. Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe Otto will grovel for the rest of the book to make it up to Rose. Still: I just wasn't interested in finding out what happened to Douche Canoe Otto after this second huge breach of privacy and trust. You just don't do this kind of shit to people! Ever!

You bet this book is not a keeper and will be donated to the charity shop asap.

Why should you read it:
Maybe you want to find out if Otto can redeem himself.


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