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fdallachy's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was a pretty solidly middle of the road book for me. It kept me interested, but it's not especially memorable. It has the kind of broad-brush social satire about human wastefulness that makes it more tiresome than incisive, and the endless references to everyone pre-flood as 'Fuckwits' are irritating in a social-media-smug-self-righteous-everyone-but-me-is-an-idiot kind of way. For a few brief moments the author explores the idea that human nature is constant and that those who survive would fall into the same patterns of behaviour as their predecessors (although mostly in the afterword, which is a little late), but there's no real development or nuance to these ideas, so this ends up largely a 'told you so' novella which will mostly be read by people who already agree with its message.
The main character, Tetley, does develop but most of the others around her get very little time and it's very difficult to understand any of them well enough to actually like them. The most convincing relationship is between Tetley and a prototype Alexa-like smart device, which I suppose is perhaps intentional! Overall, although it seems like the author wants Tetley to be a positive, unshakable character who sees the joy in life no matter what happens, this ends up feeling like a cynical misanthropic story in which a misunderstood central character discovers that other humans are, at best, unreliable and, at worst, unforgivably selfish, and that you're better off talking to animals, plants, and half-finished AIs.
The main character, Tetley, does develop but most of the others around her get very little time and it's very difficult to understand any of them well enough to actually like them. The most convincing relationship is between Tetley and a prototype Alexa-like smart device, which I suppose is perhaps intentional! Overall, although it seems like the author wants Tetley to be a positive, unshakable character who sees the joy in life no matter what happens, this ends up feeling like a cynical misanthropic story in which a misunderstood central character discovers that other humans are, at best, unreliable and, at worst, unforgivably selfish, and that you're better off talking to animals, plants, and half-finished AIs.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
The main character can legally be abused by others in their community in any way short of murder. Although most of the descriptions are brief and vague, there are many potentially triggering comments throughout.
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