Reviews

The Seep by Chana Porter

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afalos's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

silvertongue001's review

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mxunsmiley's review against another edition

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3.0

I feel like this would have been a phenomenal novel had it been a lot less messy and more focused. I actually really like the ideas that the author put out there; I think it's probably one of the more interesting fictional works I've read in quite some time. The novel (it it can be called that? It is pretty short and a quick read--I read it in one sitting) unfortunately comes out reading a bit half-baked because it seems too underdeveloped in characterization and thin in the plot department. I read the acknowledgments and she mentions it was the thesis of her MFA and I'm not surprised.

Sounds like I really hated it but I did enjoy it, more because of the potential in it than anything. It gives rise to a lot of questions on the ideal world away from capitalism--because many of us do truly want a different world without this system, but differing ideas as to how it would work. This idealistic take on it also seems to be presumptuous at the same time (as in, "those damned anticapitalists want a utopian world but maybe it would actually suck"), though I think that's the point because alien life wouldn't understand humanity. Then again, that also thrusts assumptions on alien intent toward us should we encounter one another in this way--what gave the Seep the motivation to heal humanity's wounds, especially if they had to have seen the shitstorm of the world before deciding to aid it? There's a kind of inherent wary approach to this novel. I'm not assuming that alien life would be hostile toward us; more like, why should they want to help us in this monumental way? The novel begs too many questions that I don't think it adequately answers, or intends to answer.

It seems like there was an intent to cram as much as possible in so short a novel and it really shows. I think it would have benefited from more length and depth. It's more like a "What if?" kind of episodic adventure than anything else; its tone largely comes across that way as well. It comes off very indecisive and too rushed. I finished it and thought "That's it?" But like I said, one of the more interesting things I've read lately all things considered.