This setup gives Castillo a long satirical runway, even some room for light sci-fi—all to the good. But Moderation is really a romantic comedy of the I-fell-for-my-boss variety. Though the love story left me cold...I applaud its trappings, which are daringly loveless, even churlish ... Castillo, despite some missteps, has the confidence to pull it off—but it’s a dangerous game.
Castillo has important things to say about the internet, trauma and true connection, but it’s a shame that this novel wasn’t polished to make it clearer or more enjoyable to read.
Canny ... Castillo has potent themes to work with ... Disappointingly, she seems more content to skim surfaces than probe depths. Her narratorial tactic of choice is to tell and tell ... Not without merits. Castillo is a writer of razor-sharp acuity who takes seriously the sinister instrumentalisation of storytelling, in a world increasingly veering right.
Sharp, compelling ... While cleverly interrogating interactions, communication, and relationships, Castillo again proves to be an enviably erudite chronicler of (racist) history, power structures, identity politics, and socioeconomic inequities
A winning combination of cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned romance ... Updates old-fashioned romance for the social media and virtual reality age.
Masterful ... Castillo shifts seamlessly in scale and tone, from a wide-angled systems novel to a love story, and from barbed satire to staggering emotional depth. It’s a triumph.
