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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Once you get past the writing style and the fact that it takes itself very seriously it is a halfway decent novel. Palmer is an excellent world builder.
Too brain-dead to read this now. Going back on the to-read shelf until I have more brain.
And now that I've finished this, I want everyone else to read it so that I can talk to people about it.
So good! First rate story telling about a utopian world that may not be quite as utopian as it thinks it is.
Philosophy, history, thinking about gender and identities of all sorts.
And now that I've finished this, I want everyone else to read it so that I can talk to people about it.
So good! First rate story telling about a utopian world that may not be quite as utopian as it thinks it is.
Philosophy, history, thinking about gender and identities of all sorts.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
First dnf of 2025. I figured I gave this book a fair chance. The story started out very promising, and that particular plot line is actually what interests me the most, however we are soon dragged to another sub-plot which at first glance a mystery, but it was wrapped in too many politics with too little explanation. The author seemed to have a great time explaining arts and linguistics, but not the actual relevant details.
The way of storytelling is interesting enough, it was the main character writing a memoir and he would address to readers (in his world). Sometimes there would be imaginary reactions from the readers of that memoir. At first it feels interesting, but the more I read on the more I cannot tell if that's a literary device or it was just the author taking her editor's comments on her manuscript and including them in the book to make it look interesting?
I'm very sad to dnf this book, as the themes that the author wanted to discuss are very interesting. But the pace is extremely slow, and we spent way too much time in the mystery plotline instead of the one in the synopsis, and I don't really care what happened and what would happen. The author tried to show us how great the stakes are, but she failed to explain and convince me that it actually mattered more than a boy with god-like power.
The way of storytelling is interesting enough, it was the main character writing a memoir and he would address to readers (in his world). Sometimes there would be imaginary reactions from the readers of that memoir. At first it feels interesting, but the more I read on the more I cannot tell if that's a literary device or it was just the author taking her editor's comments on her manuscript and including them in the book to make it look interesting?
I'm very sad to dnf this book, as the themes that the author wanted to discuss are very interesting. But the pace is extremely slow, and we spent way too much time in the mystery plotline instead of the one in the synopsis, and I don't really care what happened and what would happen. The author tried to show us how great the stakes are, but she failed to explain and convince me that it actually mattered more than a boy with god-like power.
Extraordinarily well crafted and stunningly inventive, Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning is a book of anachronisms and contradictions. One part spy novel, one part utopian fantasy, and one part 18th-century philosophical dialogue, the plot of TLTL is so richly layered and its threads so interconnected that it's nigh impossible to explain without sounding like a lunatic. The same holds of Palmer's prose style, which is simultaneously dazzling and infuriating. This is a challenging book, and like many debut novels, it's occasionally heavy handed, but it packs one helluva punch. Highly recommended.
A new Foundations trilogy. The writing is incredible, rich and highly developed, but there’s simply too much political intrigue for my tastes so I’m DNFing at 25%. Very much a personal rating; for the right reader, this demands all the accolades.
This was excellent. I really enjoyed the world building, and I loved the way the author plays with perceptions of gender. I've seen other reviews complain about the archaic writing style, but it didn't feel that archaic to me, and it definitely worked. I actually quite liked it. The story was well done too, although the ending certainly leaves you hanging. Looking forward to the next book now!
With unique language, the blending of fantasy, scifi, history, philosophy, and ethics, and a nontraditional story structure this book feels like it should have been a difficult read, but turned out to be very smooth. The author carefully kept it at a comfortable level by giving us a narrator who jumps in to explain things in their own voice whenever the book strays too far from comfort.
The Age of Reason celebrated the possibility that science would improve the human condition generation by generation; Rousseau agreed, but cried that this would only make us wretched by pushing us further from the Noble Savage’s lost tranquility.
I don't know how to describe this book. The blurb doesn't begin to cover it.
It's an amalgamation that draws on philosophy as much as science and the Enlightenment as much as Star Trek. It reminded me of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials; it reminded me of the works of John LeCarré.
It took me a while to get into it and I have no idea who I'd recommend this to, but I've got to read the sequel.
I don't know how to describe this book. The blurb doesn't begin to cover it.
It's an amalgamation that draws on philosophy as much as science and the Enlightenment as much as Star Trek. It reminded me of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials; it reminded me of the works of John LeCarré.
It took me a while to get into it and I have no idea who I'd recommend this to, but I've got to read the sequel.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes