Reviews

The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky

ktaylor6263's review

The format/style choice was just a massive nope

sarah2's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

An engaging story of obsession, loss, and sacrifice.  I thought the style presented an interesting challenge.  Each chapter is one side of a conversation the main character, Manet, is having.  Because you're only receiving half of the information, you are left to piece together what questions were asked to receive the provided answers and why those questions were asked in the first place.  There are also interesting philosophical discussions of how history is created that I found engaging.  Conceptually very cool.

emilygreen0110's review

4.0

Wow wow wow

I LOVE LOVE LOVE 2nd person narration, and this was such a treat to read. So unique, such a cool premise, and so much fun to explore in this way

I was so invested in the solving of this mystery, and I loved the writing so much

lordbrainless's review

3.0

Interesante lectura desde el punto de narración: segunda persona, sin que la protagonista "hable" en todo el libro y dejando que la historia se mueva a través de los "monólogos" de los otros personajes con los que se va encontrando.

La historia en sí es interesante, pero siendo un libro tan corto está comprimida y acaba de manera muy abrupta, ni siquiera diría que es un final abierto. Podría ser interesante una secuela, aunque preferiría que continuara con "A City Dreaming".

No recomendaría a nadie ese libro, a pesar de lo corto que es, a no ser que lo quisieran leer más por la manera en la que está escrito que por la historia y personajes.

liter_ely's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ypineda's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

lydiainspace's review against another edition

5.0

This novel draws you in and demands your attention and curiosity: if you lend it some, you become complicit in the story, embodying an investigator or interviewer yourself as you try to piece together the narrative of this world, and of its undefined protagonist. I love experimental and post-modern writing styles, but they can be hard to execute well while simultaneously trying to build fantastic worlds and plots. This book manages to do it all. As an audiobook, The Seventh Perfection is a tight, fast-paced, 3-hour listen: I was absolutely amazed at how much story could happen in so little time.

nelsonseye's review against another edition

4.0

The Seventh Perfection is a very unusual book. Trippy even. I found it very interesting, but I don’t know that I fully understood everything that happened. Which I guess makes sense in a book about memory and truth. Once I got used to it, I also liked the second person narration style. While I found the world intriguing, I would have liked to learn more about it. As a final note: the cover and its design are beautiful. All in all, The Seventh Perfection was a good start to my 2021 Goodreads Challenge.

enteka's review

5.0

An experimental sort of book, I think. Told through dialogue, no, a monologue... rather, told through the experience of the protagonist. Second-person. Mostly just speech, occasionally more. 

Destiny is ambition gilded, so bright and so beautiful it might excuse anything in its service, which is to say, in yours. What kindling did your God use, to see that blaze rise higher? 

The story unravels quite wonderfully, masterfully, for a book written like this. Or maybe it was the way it was written that makes the story unravel so wonderfully. The world that is built sounds so personal, and I love it a lot.

themorbidcorvid's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5