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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
The writing style of this book, and many aspects of its storytelling, were pretty decent. Character interactions, the fine detail that makes things real, the anecdote that reveals larger things about who someone is -- that sort of thing was well done. But it had two main problems: I was able to correctly forecast the tragic arc of the novel's main character by the second chapter, and the world-building was so shallow that it undercut the credibility of its setting and characters.
The forecasting problem is simple mechanics of how much we're told up front, and where the focus turns after that. The world-building problem is more systemic; it is set in the late 21st century, yet none of the economy, technology, energy, weaponry and so on has apparently advanced from our own present. The narrative could just as plausibly have begun in the 2020's. Drastic sea rise is mentioned, but climate change has no real impact on the story. (Almost the opposite, in fact: a united North African empire has implausibly become a superpower despite the explicit point that much of North Africa is no longer inhabitable.)
Probably the biggest flaw, however, is the absence of one of the defining characteristics of American history and society: race. It boggles the mind that you could write a novel of a theoretical 2nd American Civil War -- set along roughly the same cultural fault lines as the first -- yet never mention race once. That a recruiter for the rebels could lecture on Southern "pride" and nationalism without even a veiled reference to race. That a black Hispanic lesbian could be embraced by that cause without hesitation or even comment by anyone involved. And so on.
It's particularly baffling that an author -- though not American by birth or upbringing -- who evidently covered the Ferguson, MO protests as a journalist could still lack a comprehension of the influence of race in America. But its glaring absence in this book goes beyond tone-deafness to the point where his characters, their motivations, and increasingly the entire world they are set in (however well-written in a general sense) become hopelessly incoherent. It's a jarring disconnect through which, alas, all this novel's potential power gradually leaked away.
The forecasting problem is simple mechanics of how much we're told up front, and where the focus turns after that. The world-building problem is more systemic; it is set in the late 21st century, yet none of the economy, technology, energy, weaponry and so on has apparently advanced from our own present. The narrative could just as plausibly have begun in the 2020's. Drastic sea rise is mentioned, but climate change has no real impact on the story. (Almost the opposite, in fact: a united North African empire has implausibly become a superpower despite the explicit point that much of North Africa is no longer inhabitable.)
Probably the biggest flaw, however, is the absence of one of the defining characteristics of American history and society: race. It boggles the mind that you could write a novel of a theoretical 2nd American Civil War -- set along roughly the same cultural fault lines as the first -- yet never mention race once. That a recruiter for the rebels could lecture on Southern "pride" and nationalism without even a veiled reference to race. That a black Hispanic lesbian could be embraced by that cause without hesitation or even comment by anyone involved. And so on.
It's particularly baffling that an author -- though not American by birth or upbringing -- who evidently covered the Ferguson, MO protests as a journalist could still lack a comprehension of the influence of race in America. But its glaring absence in this book goes beyond tone-deafness to the point where his characters, their motivations, and increasingly the entire world they are set in (however well-written in a general sense) become hopelessly incoherent. It's a jarring disconnect through which, alas, all this novel's potential power gradually leaked away.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-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
This may be the best book I've ever read and I didn't enjoy any of it. Every page is a kick in the teeth, every plot turn a smack in the head. Do not read this if you're in a bad place mentally. Reading it in the first month of a second Trump term didn't help my headspace either but honestly that fact validated the vision el Akkad articulates so masterfully.
It is a spectacular examination of the relentless and ruthless wheel of war and its cataclysmic destruction of everyone it touches. It articulates the mad, sad, and frustrating turn of radicalization. If I were teaching a college class, this would be mandatory reading for my class.
Read it. Because it's necessary.
It is a spectacular examination of the relentless and ruthless wheel of war and its cataclysmic destruction of everyone it touches. It articulates the mad, sad, and frustrating turn of radicalization. If I were teaching a college class, this would be mandatory reading for my class.
Read it. Because it's necessary.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Heartbreaking, and I pray it's not prophetic.
There are a couple of pretty amazingly-coincidental plot turns, but this one will still be keeping me up tonight.
There are a couple of pretty amazingly-coincidental plot turns, but this one will still be keeping me up tonight.
dark
emotional
sad
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
This was a look at a near future scenario involving the devastating effects of global warming destroying parts of the South, and a second Civil War revolving around it and the stubborn continued use of fossil fuels and forced environmental policies . Brutal at times, but it captures the effects of fear tactics, manipulation of the civilian population, and world involvement during times of war.
I can’t get a handle on this book. I know an above average amount about the US civil war, and this book is vague on both race and religion. Big whiff on causes for a potential second civil war here imo. However, the writing was great and the depiction of war appropriately horrifying.
A dark war saga. The war is southern states banded together against the northern states, in 2075 - 2090. The author puts climate change and oil availability, against environmental alternatives as the basis for the ongoing. This was a futuristic read, but, in parts, felt almost present day, given the current state of politics in the USA.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thought the book had an interesting premise, but it was hard to suspend my disbelief because the setting -- both environmental and cultural -- either didn't feel right, or didn't feel developed enough.
While the Mississippi Delta may have been flooded, it seemed like a normal-enough place, with none of the oppressive heat or humidity that one might expect would accompany a radically transformed environment.
And, oddly enough, for a novel that explored the future of North and South in the United States, there was hardly any discussion about racism.
This is a good summer read, but it left me wanting more.
While the Mississippi Delta may have been flooded, it seemed like a normal-enough place, with none of the oppressive heat or humidity that one might expect would accompany a radically transformed environment.
And, oddly enough, for a novel that explored the future of North and South in the United States, there was hardly any discussion about racism.
This is a good summer read, but it left me wanting more.