Scan barcode
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Neom last year was one of my favorite SFs, I loved the stacked story within a story structure of it and Lavie Tidhar has done it again. The Circumference of the World is a similarly structured story that begins simply enough with a woman seeking her missing husband. From there the story spirals out, the book he was seeking - others are seeking it. Then we see the madness that drives some people to seek the book and ultimately the strange way reality has twisted for individuals affected by a religion that idolizes? Uses? the book. I spent so much of the book going ‘what the hell?’ in the best way and by the end, I’m not going to lie I was so amused.
First off, I’m going to say as he says at the end. The religion in this book is fictional and not based on any real world religion. But if you know you’re history of religions… or cults… you may see some interesting parallels to some real world things.
And that is the real selling point for me here. This is a story about a book. Is the book truth or is it fiction? And are the people who are interacting with the book genuinely experiencing these things or is it simply giving voice to deeper problems. I would 100% would have read so many more of these stories to see more people in this world (and universe) and how they were/are affected by the actions and items here.
It was a wild ride, a fun ride, and one I loved. I really recommend this for my fans of weird SFF or for a fan of religion/cults in fiction. It will likely tickle your nerd buttons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Vomit
More...