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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No
A fun inter-dimensional romp interspersed with detailed hypothetical "what-if" divergent evolution scenarios. All very interesting but perhaps slightly too long.
A small detail, but I found the treatment of the trans character to be particularly interesting. I liked how some characters would misgender her but correct themselves and get progressively better at using the proper pronouns. Conversely, the primary antagonist intentionally misgenders her, and yet another character has a genuine change of heart when he realizes the harm being caused by forcing gender conformance on someone. I found that genuinely touching.
A small detail, but I found the treatment of the trans character to be particularly interesting. I liked how some characters would misgender her but correct themselves and get progressively better at using the proper pronouns. Conversely, the primary antagonist intentionally misgenders her, and yet another character has a genuine change of heart when he realizes the harm being caused by forcing gender conformance on someone. I found that genuinely touching.
I'm not even sure where to start with this book, what a ride!
Despite having to look up every other word, this book had me spellbound from the very first page. It has the feel of some of my favourite things; think Fringe, The Long Earth, Walking with Dinosaurs, The Hitchikers Guide...all crammed together into one unforgettable read.
Towards the end I got a little bit tangled up with the timeline, but this soon became clear. The characters flew right off the page (my particular favourite being Dr Khan, that sweary minx!), in a world that felt so real I had to take a few extra moments to return to my own universe every time I lifted my eyes from the page. Whilst the science went completely over my head, it was written with such conviction that I have to question whether the author isn't in fact a dimension-jumping quantum-physicist himself!
Alongside the incredible plot was subtext pointing towards our own damaged universe; a lesson in diversity and acceptance magnified to encompass an entire cosmos.
I have already added more of the author's work to my Amazon Wish List and can't wait to get stuck in. This could be one of my favourite books of the decade, nay, millenium.
Despite having to look up every other word, this book had me spellbound from the very first page. It has the feel of some of my favourite things; think Fringe, The Long Earth, Walking with Dinosaurs, The Hitchikers Guide...all crammed together into one unforgettable read.
Towards the end I got a little bit tangled up with the timeline, but this soon became clear. The characters flew right off the page (my particular favourite being Dr Khan, that sweary minx!), in a world that felt so real I had to take a few extra moments to return to my own universe every time I lifted my eyes from the page. Whilst the science went completely over my head, it was written with such conviction that I have to question whether the author isn't in fact a dimension-jumping quantum-physicist himself!
Alongside the incredible plot was subtext pointing towards our own damaged universe; a lesson in diversity and acceptance magnified to encompass an entire cosmos.
I have already added more of the author's work to my Amazon Wish List and can't wait to get stuck in. This could be one of my favourite books of the decade, nay, millenium.
I really like this story! Especially the little snippets of alternate evolution. It’s so interesting to imagine these other worlds. I also really like that there’s a trans character. A fun little detail is that all of the other human characters and the alternate species are unperturbed by her being trans except for the old nationalist billionaire who wants to end the world. I like when authors normalise diversity.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
This one took me a long time to get through. I really liked the theme and the general storyline, but switching to the academic explanations of the various timelines really slowed things down and threw off the rhythm of the story for me.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Yes
Tchaikovsky is very good at stories about non-human sentience and sociology. The Doors of Eden is basically a vehicle for him to go off in this regard, so it was easy to love this one.
Some next level world building here. Truly original setup and ideas. And just a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to read more from this author.