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valgus's review against another edition
5.0
The beginning of the book quickly switches from scene to scene, each set in a different time period and location with the same basic characters playing out the same basic plot – a loved one has been lost – but are unaware of doing so. Adrianne/Adrian is in love with Antoine/Antoinette, sometimes romantically. Hector/Helen is a sometimes friend, and there are other repeated characters always in orbit as well. Throughout the novel, lines of code are dispersed, and it becomes apparent that there’s a program trying with slow success to run. About halfway through, the program stabilizes enough for the reader to figure out what is going on, while simultaneously complicating the story enough to reveal exactly how everything is interconnected.
kkaste's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting
I am very new to the afrofuturist genre. This was not my favorite book, but it was different. At first I had a very hard time understanding the story. The computer breaks did not make too much sense for me. I'm excited to read more in this genre, maybe I will like other stories.
I am very new to the afrofuturist genre. This was not my favorite book, but it was different. At first I had a very hard time understanding the story. The computer breaks did not make too much sense for me. I'm excited to read more in this genre, maybe I will like other stories.
amalelmohtar's review against another edition
4.0
Ambitious, original, and challenging. Review forthcoming in Lightspeed in March.
popestig's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that sets its aim firmly at clever, tricksy and ambitious and doesn't hit too far off the mark. I does rely on the reader piecing together the pieces of the puzzle and that is not a style I normally enjoy and when finished, I didn't get that lovely "yay, jigsaw"-feeling you're supposed to get when solving a puzzle.
The writing itself is occasionally very pretty, and the style occasionally very elegant - so even if I did not entirely fall for the characters, it was still a worthwhile read.
I think some readers will fall hard for this book and will frequently re-read it.
gretchening's review against another edition
5.0
I read this back in April while I was at AdaCamp. It was good travel reading!
It's hard to describe this book without spoiling it, but in brief, it's basically an increasingly layered destabilized reiterative experience. There are three or so personalities at play in each of many versions of a life, some where two are a gay couple, or a parent and child, or one has died of an illness and the other grieves. It's a fascinating book and I am really looking forward to reading more by this author.
It's hard to describe this book without spoiling it, but in brief, it's basically an increasingly layered destabilized reiterative experience. There are three or so personalities at play in each of many versions of a life, some where two are a gay couple, or a parent and child, or one has died of an illness and the other grieves. It's a fascinating book and I am really looking forward to reading more by this author.
daelly's review against another edition
4.0
I was intrigued by this book as it was chosen for a book club and reading the first few chapters I understood why some might be put off by it, but I also saw its potential charm at that point.
There are scenes, which seem all scrambled and jumbled, and although I might agree that it wasn't wrapped up as nicely as you could have liked, I did still find the ending satisfactory. There was a bit of "it was all a dream" over it, but in a more satisfying way where you can't trust the perspective of the narrator and you know something is wrong all the way through.
The mystery to find out what was wrong all that time, to find out how the scenes fit together, is the real drive of the book. I would recommend it if you have the time to truly focus on the story and don't mind being in a slight state of confusion which will drive your interest forward because you just must know.
There are scenes, which seem all scrambled and jumbled, and although I might agree that it wasn't wrapped up as nicely as you could have liked, I did still find the ending satisfactory.
The mystery to find out what was wrong all that time, to find out how the scenes fit together, is the real drive of the book. I would recommend it if you have the time to truly focus on the story and don't mind being in a slight state of confusion which will drive your interest forward because you just must know.
hairymclary28's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting concept, but the writing let it down. Not enough characterisation before the settings and characters changed: a recurring pattern throughout the book and with only superficial consistencies between the characters. I believe the author was trying to explore love in a variety of contexts but there was too much time spent describing actions and settings and too little on emotions. Disappointing.
katymm's review against another edition
4.0
I stumbled across this during a Google search for SFF written by WOC. It’s fresh and fascinating and I couldn’t put it down. Protagonists Adrian/Adrianne and Antoine/Antoinette cycle through genders, relationships to each other, and situations, as each story of their lives is cut off and rebooted by a computer program. Adrian/Adrianne loves Antoine/Antoinette in every iteration, but one thing throughout all the narratives is the same: one of them always loses the other.
Elysium tackles history, myths, identity, and soulmates, all amid an alien invasion, and it’s challenging to grasp what’s real and what isn’t throughout this novel. Once I got to the end, it made more sense. I was impressed with this debut, but my one complaint is with the problematic way the trans character Hector/Helen was portrayed. Apparently the author wrote a post addressing this, but the link is dead so I can’t read it.
Elysium tackles history, myths, identity, and soulmates, all amid an alien invasion, and it’s challenging to grasp what’s real and what isn’t throughout this novel. Once I got to the end, it made more sense. I was impressed with this debut, but my one complaint is with the problematic way the trans character Hector/Helen was portrayed. Apparently the author wrote a post addressing this, but the link is dead so I can’t read it.
spookyjane's review against another edition
I was listening to the audiobook from hoopla, and got about 54% of the way through... I think I'm putting this down for now. I generally remember the characters and the glitching between parallels of those characters, but not much of the plot, if there is much plot.. I guess just that all hell seems to be breaking loose? I don't think I'm in the right headspace, and haven't felt compelled to pick this back up in over a month. I may come back to it, and perhaps print is the way to go...