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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Dear reader, I have finished it. My mind, she is blown.
This book is incredible but (imo) only for a select few readers, a narrow audience perhaps. Also Must be taken in conjunction with it's partner, Seven Surrenders, or it becomes a part finished thing. Can't believe I almost didn't read this one because of my initial frustrations with how it was written. Haven't read a book which made me think as these two do in quite some time. I think a book which makes it hard to proceed with your life is not for everyone, but if you would like to be shaken, persist with these two novels.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
A truly unique imagining of the future of society, with an unconventional writing style that draws on Palmer's scholarly roots. This universe dug into my brain and wouldn't leave, and I devoured this book in 24 hours and immediately started the next. It takes a bit of onboarding but the world here is supremely interesting, the world-building intuitive and the characters are all deeply flawed and compelling.
This book took me a while, because I was in need of a fast ’n’ easy read, and this is NOT THAT. Palmer has created a rich and layered world, a future utopia/dystopia peopled with lots of intriguing characters, many of whom go by more than one name, and an unreliable narrator who speaks with 17th-century flourishes. This is for readers who love a challenge, less on the Hard Science side and more on the English Lit side. The book is brimming with ideas, both philosophical and futuristic.
I loved it, though it’s clearly primarily a set-up for the sequel, which Palmer says is “much better!” I believe her, and can’t wait to read it.
I loved it, though it’s clearly primarily a set-up for the sequel, which Palmer says is “much better!” I believe her, and can’t wait to read it.
Too Like The Lightning is a masterpiece of world-building. That much is surely indisputable. Its precarious utopia governed with an apparently light touch by seven Hives which vary between the remnants of our world's geo-political blocs, and more ideologically-minded groups, is rich in detail. Much of which appears trivial, but of course frequently becomes more important later on in this 500 page adventure.
The problem is, although events gradually build towards an exciting climax, we never quite get it in this book. It feels like 500 pages of setup with no real conclusions. The two plot elements: a small boy with the potential to change the world, and the theft of what appears to be an annual Movers & Shakers list, are just enough to send Mycroft Canner on his way as he responds to the various demands for his time, but the boy is forgotten for hundreds of pages at a time, and characters literally line up to describe the list's theft as trivial.
Much of this world's ideology is inspired by the philosophy of the French Enlightenment, which feels like a fresh concept for this kind of SF, and it gives this future history some intellectual rigour. Unfortunately, I've read Voltaire, Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and even a bit of the Marquis de Sade and this world didn't quite mesh for me as a futuristic realisation of Enlightenment thought. Not least because there are quite a few embarrassing errors in the French dialogue that peppers certain scenes.
I found this book dense, frustrating, and frequently hard-going. And yet I was compelled to see it through, and it's undeniably highly-crafted and painstakingly written. I will not be going on to read the rest of the quartet, but I'm glad I gave this one a spin. Literary-minded SF fans will enjoy this.
The problem is, although events gradually build towards an exciting climax, we never quite get it in this book. It feels like 500 pages of setup with no real conclusions. The two plot elements: a small boy with the potential to change the world, and the theft of what appears to be an annual Movers & Shakers list, are just enough to send Mycroft Canner on his way as he responds to the various demands for his time, but the boy is forgotten for hundreds of pages at a time, and characters literally line up to describe the list's theft as trivial.
Much of this world's ideology is inspired by the philosophy of the French Enlightenment, which feels like a fresh concept for this kind of SF, and it gives this future history some intellectual rigour. Unfortunately, I've read Voltaire, Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and even a bit of the Marquis de Sade and this world didn't quite mesh for me as a futuristic realisation of Enlightenment thought. Not least because there are quite a few embarrassing errors in the French dialogue that peppers certain scenes.
I found this book dense, frustrating, and frequently hard-going. And yet I was compelled to see it through, and it's undeniably highly-crafted and painstakingly written. I will not be going on to read the rest of the quartet, but I'm glad I gave this one a spin. Literary-minded SF fans will enjoy this.
Una de las lecturas más duras que jamás he completado, pero muy satisfactoria. Entre los numerosísimos personajes, el trasfondo filosófico y teológico que todo lo permea, el ambiente (también lingüístico) con inspiración en finales del siglo XVIII y que es una novela de inmersión… telita.
No me esperaba que el Rey de España fuera un personaje relevante en una utopía (más o menos) del siglo XXV, pero no se puede tener todo.
No me esperaba que el Rey de España fuera un personaje relevante en una utopía (más o menos) del siglo XXV, pero no se puede tener todo.
Objectively, I appreciate this unique style of storytelling. Unfortunately, it is not something I am interested in deciphering at the moment.
Massive book, so many characters and a crazy amount of world building. It takes a while to get into. I’m not sure about the world leaders obsession with sex. In the midst of complex political questions they can all get completely side tracked by sex, which seems unrealistic. I’m not sure about the Mycroft character, very unreliable, and the plot is furthered because he refuses to give all the information at the relevant time. Is about a world where religion and gender is out-lawed, though we quickly find out its all still there, men hold most of the powerful positions and they all still have god delusions. Instead of nations people find their allegiance in what they enjoy doing. There are seven of these collections. It turns out three of them have an alliance against the two most powerful. They have been using a technologically advanced house to keep the world in balance through assassinations. No wit turns out two characters are able to perform miracles and there are forces who seem intent on provoking war
A curious telling of a future-history phrased in the language and culture of renaissance Europe. The latter part of the book discusses in some detail the intersection of cultural taboos. The jumps between esoteric political discussions and horrific violence were (intentionally) jarring.