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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Good, but not my usual cup of tea.
Turnbull is a great writer and while I enjoyed the story, it's not the type of book I'd return to.
The writing style, and even the story a little bit, reminded me of when I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I can easily tell the writing is good. But I personally don't enjoy stories where I'm slightly confused; I don't recreationally read to have to think about what I'm reading.
The message of the book is strong and timely. If you want a book that is a "cosmic political thriller," then this is the book for you. Alas, that's not my favorite type of book.
Turnbull is a great writer and while I enjoyed the story, it's not the type of book I'd return to.
The writing style, and even the story a little bit, reminded me of when I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I can easily tell the writing is good. But I personally don't enjoy stories where I'm slightly confused; I don't recreationally read to have to think about what I'm reading.
The message of the book is strong and timely. If you want a book that is a "cosmic political thriller," then this is the book for you. Alas, that's not my favorite type of book.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
This was not something I would normally read. It was definitely strange, but very beautifully written. The writing is why I’m giving it four stars. There are a lot of characters and flashbacks, but Turnball pulls it all together.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Look I'm gonna just say that for a good chunk of this book I had absolutely no idea what was going on and there are a MILLION characters introduced, which was a little detrimental to the book because with so many of them you don't really get to know any of them in any meaningful way? I also felt like a lot wasn't explained, but I think it's a trilogy so maybe it will be later on? Regardless of those issues, I found this book so interesting and fascinating and I'm excited to get into the sequel.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
WOW!! Strange, complex, and confusing, but also compelling, well written, entertaining, thought-provoking, and so much more. NYT Top Ten fantasy/sci-fi of 2021. Written by an NCSU English Department professor.
A book I admired more than enjoyed... had accepted that it was meant as more of a meta/thematic novel than plot-driven fantasy mayhem, only for the rug pull of an ending that felt, narratively, like a post-credits scene in a Marvel movie.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
A bit more unstructured than I typically like, not helped by a typo in a chapter title, but good enough that I'll read the next one.