Review - It Doesn't Matter Anymore

It Doesn't Matter Anymore
by Natasha Yentrouc
Date: 2024
Publisher: Natasha Yentrouc
Reading level: A
Book type: prose novelette
Pages: 60
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon

I don’t know what year it is. I don’t know where I am. I don't even know my own name. None of that matters anymore. The only things that matter are the three things I know.

I am still alive.

Everyone else is gone.

I can’t die.

When that is your whole world, everything else just doesn’t matter. It doesn't matter anymore.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

My god, that was depressing. I'm sure it was supposed to be, but now I feel like I need to go read something about puppies and rainbows if I don't want to be sad for the next week.

This is a short story about a technologically enhanced human soldier who can't die. The reasons for this are explained, but weak, and I'm pretty sure I noticed a way that these soldiers could die if they really wanted to. That would've negated the morose ending of the book, though.

The main character, a woman who's been on her own for years after a worldwide war wiped out nearly everyone and everything, is highly unlikable. Even though the story is fairly short, it's long enough that I couldn't wait to get out of her head. She doesn't remember much from before she was tinkered with by the scientists, including her name. I suspect it may have been Debbie (as in Debbie Downer).

I was willing to overlook some of my minor quibbles in the beginning because the overall premise was interesting. I thought it might even be a three-star read. Eventually, though, as the character started to grate on me, I noticed more and more problems. Verb tenses switched back and forth. I couldn't tell who was talking half the time due to the way the paragraphs were divided. And the formatting on the e-book was just weird, switching between indented and unindented paragraphs throughout. All those little things pulled me out of the story.

If you're feeling too happy and want to pull yourself down a bit, give this story a try. Otherwise... maybe skip it.

Premise: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing: 2/5
Editing: 1/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.13 out of 5 ladybugs