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elisenic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
lizlbarrett's review
4.0
I'm not sure how to review this one. I had a lot of problems with it but ultimately enjoyed it.
There's a trend in speculative fiction right now where authors take real history and change the names and call it fantasy. Maybe a small fantastical element is sprinkled in, but the book largely reads like a Wikipedia page. Examples of this trend to me include The Grace of Kings and Victory City.
Generally I have a problem with this trend because real history doesn't have a linear plot, and when I sign up for a speculative fiction I want a strong plot. These kinds of books can come across as overly long, meandering, and without a point. I read them and think "this had a kernel of a good idea but needed a strong editor to cut 2/3 of the filler out."
The Stars Undying falls into this camp. I would in fact describe it as overly long, meandering, and in need of a ruthless editor. And yet... I still enjoyed it.
The worldbuilding and ideas were new enough that it didn't read like a textbook. It innovated enough on the core history that it felt fresh. I connected with the characters and thought it had an impressive sense of scale. Do I think giant swaths of it are only included because it's what Caesar actually did and don't add anything of value? Yes. Was I still emotionally moved when Caesar is, more than I would have thought possible? Also Yes. Do I think marketing it as an epic lesbian romance when that takes up less than 10% of the novel at the very back end is a bit disingenuous? Yes but I'm willing to blame the marketing team.
This book managed to transcend my general dislike of this trend, and so I will give it a salute and 4 stars. It is a good book that is composed of a great book being choked by 200 pages of filler
There's a trend in speculative fiction right now where authors take real history and change the names and call it fantasy. Maybe a small fantastical element is sprinkled in, but the book largely reads like a Wikipedia page. Examples of this trend to me include The Grace of Kings and Victory City.
Generally I have a problem with this trend because real history doesn't have a linear plot, and when I sign up for a speculative fiction I want a strong plot. These kinds of books can come across as overly long, meandering, and without a point. I read them and think "this had a kernel of a good idea but needed a strong editor to cut 2/3 of the filler out."
The Stars Undying falls into this camp. I would in fact describe it as overly long, meandering, and in need of a ruthless editor. And yet... I still enjoyed it.
The worldbuilding and ideas were new enough that it didn't read like a textbook. It innovated enough on the core history that it felt fresh. I connected with the characters and thought it had an impressive sense of scale. Do I think giant swaths of it are only included because it's what Caesar actually did and don't add anything of value? Yes. Was I still emotionally moved when Caesar is
Spoiler
killedThis book managed to transcend my general dislike of this trend, and so I will give it a salute and 4 stars. It is a good book that is composed of a great book being choked by 200 pages of filler
monstergirlreading's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
gracedl's review
2.75
maybe would have been better if i remembered it was about cleopatra earlier but all the names were way too similar so it was mostly confusing and a little boring
valvallie's review
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
textunes's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meannlissa's review
I can’t… maybe it is because I’m doing audiobook but i’m not sure what i just listened to.
who is who?
what is their names?
what’s this religion?
what time period am i listening to?
who is who?
what is their names?
what’s this religion?
what time period am i listening to?
batesbarb's review against another edition
I wanted to like this. I first tried it as a print book, and when I couldn't quite get a grip on it, I got it as an audiobook. A SciFi retelling of Cleopatra sounded like a really compelling premise, and much of the early dialogue and worldbuilding was well-crafted.
But, as things moved on, the characters didn't seem to develop any internal life or motivations beyond the plot needing to adhere to the historical events. I also found the mash up of the far-future interstellar scifi and the early Roman empire problems and timelines incredibly awkward. So many of the issues of an empire that extends beyond fast or easy travel seemed like they should have been fairly smooth allegories, and I've seen other books work with the parallels incredibly effectively. But, this book just seemed to be clunky and inelegant with that setup. I found myself frequently thinking "oh, the author needed this to be hard because it had to fit in with the way that Caesar or Cleopatra approached it. Nothing ever seemed to come organically from the world of the story or from the characters and their personalities or motivations.
But, as things moved on, the characters didn't seem to develop any internal life or motivations beyond the plot needing to adhere to the historical events. I also found the mash up of the far-future interstellar scifi and the early Roman empire problems and timelines incredibly awkward. So many of the issues of an empire that extends beyond fast or easy travel seemed like they should have been fairly smooth allegories, and I've seen other books work with the parallels incredibly effectively. But, this book just seemed to be clunky and inelegant with that setup. I found myself frequently thinking "oh, the author needed this to be hard because it had to fit in with the way that Caesar or Cleopatra approached it. Nothing ever seemed to come organically from the world of the story or from the characters and their personalities or motivations.