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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
The vibe was hard to feel out here. The heavy drinking, 20's femme fatale reversal thing didn't draw me in immediately and it quickly wore thin. The dialogue earlier on is wholly insufferable and hurt establishing Tesla and Shal as characters instead of caricatures. The writing for Fantine hurt to read. It felt like a knockoff version of Sorkin at his worst.
My biggest frustrations with the book both centered on the privilege and disability. I don't think the work had much to say on either despite focusing so heavily on both. Just because Tesla acknowledges the money she casually throws around or hesitates briefly before dressing down the help doesn't mean anything. The disability inclusion could have been really cool, too, but it just felt short. It didn't consistently interact with the plot in a meaningful way. I was even onboard with the DBPS concept, and I assumed the over reliance on it could have led to some interesting loss of sensory interactions, but instead we were just left with static "blinding white pain" sentences that didn't impact the surroundings whatsoever. I do think the trauma aspects were handled decently and integrated into the story meaningfully, though. So one win for inclusion.
The story did pick up at the end which helped me finish it out. I think there were enough breadcrumbs throughout that the resolution made sense but I was a little disappointed with how disparate some of the pieces felt.
It's just barely scraping up on that 3 star rating but I think I'd have a difficult time recommending this to somebody who wasn't already sold on sci-fi and mysteries.
My biggest frustrations with the book both centered on the privilege and disability. I don't think the work had much to say on either despite focusing so heavily on both. Just because Tesla acknowledges the money she casually throws around or hesitates briefly before dressing down the help doesn't mean anything. The disability inclusion could have been really cool, too, but it just felt short. It didn't consistently interact with the plot in a meaningful way. I was even onboard with the DBPS concept, and I assumed the over reliance on it could have led to some interesting loss of sensory interactions, but instead we were just left with static "blinding white pain" sentences that didn't impact the surroundings whatsoever. I do think the trauma aspects were handled decently and integrated into the story meaningfully, though. So one win for inclusion.
The story did pick up at the end which helped me finish it out. I think there were enough breadcrumbs throughout that the resolution made sense but I was a little disappointed with how disparate some of the pieces felt.
It's just barely scraping up on that 3 star rating but I think I'd have a difficult time recommending this to somebody who wasn't already sold on sci-fi and mysteries.
I've been wanting to read MRK's books for years now, and this was a great introduction into her body of work! Anyone who knows much about MRK won't be surprised to hear my primary praise of her scientific worldbuilding details and wholesome central romance.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I want to be Tesla's best friend!!
Oddly, it's Nick and Nora Charles - and their little white dog - in space. And, oddly, it works. I love that Tesla, our hero, is physically as well as mentally disabled, and is brave and smart and saves the day. I love her service dog and the tactical way she uses his cuteness to further her goals. The mystery was well-plotted and the surprises kept coming until the end, although in retrospect it had to rely on some pretty involved contortions to make it work out (which I won't enumerate here for spoiler reasons). The unescapability of the interplanetary cruise ship - better than any country mansion in a snowstorm - was masterfully conveyed and made me wonder whether, when literary critics look back at books written in the early 2020s, they will be able to identifya kind of pandemic literature, not written about the pandemic but written under the conditions of the pandemic.
A really fun vibe and overal cool adventure. I didnt find it groundbreaking but it was everything i expected of it.