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majd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is the end of Time Travel Sci-fi for me.
There is no following up this masterpiece.
This is it; the genre is fullfilled.
This book is immersive and incredibly detailed and well told. I wouldn't call it a light read but it is absolutely the kind that pulls you in and you can't fully remove yourself until the book ends. It's riveting, at times hilarious, at times tragic, but always one step ahead of the reader. If you like having things explained (but not overexplained) and seeing plotlines be consistent, you'll be thrilled to find that every fibre of this story holds its weight and earns its place. Every time I thought I had the upper hand, the "uh huh I see what you're doing there...", he took my expectations and turned them inside out. Mastai has said he spent 15 years writing this novel and I can see that dedication in the quality of this book.
I'm a massive fan of sci-fi from Isaac Asimov's era and you can see this same appreciation reflected in Elan Mastai's alternate-dimension time-traveller. The adventure in this sci-fi is not rocketships shooting lazer beams amongst the stars but in the philosophical queries of the human mind... I borrowed the audiobook (read by the author and oh so excellent!) from my library but I'm gonna be hunting down a copy to live on my shelf now!
There is no following up this masterpiece.
This is it; the genre is fullfilled.
This book is immersive and incredibly detailed and well told. I wouldn't call it a light read but it is absolutely the kind that pulls you in and you can't fully remove yourself until the book ends. It's riveting, at times hilarious, at times tragic, but always one step ahead of the reader. If you like having things explained (but not overexplained) and seeing plotlines be consistent, you'll be thrilled to find that every fibre of this story holds its weight and earns its place. Every time I thought I had the upper hand, the "uh huh I see what you're doing there...", he took my expectations and turned them inside out. Mastai has said he spent 15 years writing this novel and I can see that dedication in the quality of this book.
I'm a massive fan of sci-fi from Isaac Asimov's era and you can see this same appreciation reflected in Elan Mastai's alternate-dimension time-traveller. The adventure in this sci-fi is not rocketships shooting lazer beams amongst the stars but in the philosophical queries of the human mind... I borrowed the audiobook (read by the author and oh so excellent!) from my library but I'm gonna be hunting down a copy to live on my shelf now!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Grief, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
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