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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
I was super happy to see a new Sheri Tepper book at my local library, and excited to read it. I didn't realize till i was a good way through, that this is a sequel to the Plague of Angels. But you don't need to have read POA in order to read this (but it was a good book so you might as well read it). This is not as good as some of my favorite books by her, but it's better than a lot as well. I enjoyed it. Every day I kept wanting to rush to read it, although i kept being interrupted. It's not a super quick read, there's a lot to process, lots of details and storylines, which I love. The characters seemed really filled out to me, and not just the main two people. Precious Wind, one of her guardians, became one of my favorite characters as well as of course, Abasio. Even Alicia, one of the bad people, was complex and i ended up feeling really sorry for her. I won't give away the plot, but this is set in the future, after most of the people of the earth have died off, and the waters of the earth are rising because of all the damage we've done to it. There are stories in stories, so once some things are solved, there are still other problems. It was a little weird at the end, but i liked the imagination there. Def a good book to read!
Couldn't really get any traction in two attempts at this one. I don't know whether this was the issue or not, but there is an AWFUL lot of expository conversation.
Tepper is a interesting writer, who often deals with environmental issues. In The Waters Rising, she describes a world that initially seems to be a typical fantasy world with castles and magic. Soon, however, we see that the world is *our* world, after environmental and societal upheaveals. The "magic" is leftover tech and the changes wrought by water level rising planetwide have left our world almost unrecognizable. The characters here are strong and appealing, but the green message is sometimes delivered with a heavy hand and the exposition can stilted and unnatural. Lots of telling, when she could be showing. For Tepper's fans it is a must-read. For others, it will work best if you can immerse yourself early on. Wish I could give it 3.5.
I really like Sheri S. Tepper's books, but this one was not one of my favorites, which was particularly disappointing because the previous book set in this world with one of the same characters ("A Plague of Angels") is an engrossing, thought-provoking novel. "Waters" got off to a super-slow start -- way too much set-up, not a lot of which was relevant to the plot -- but then finally got good about halfway through.
Read my full review here:
http://www.kansas.com/2010/09/12/1489539/the-waters-rising-starts-slow.html
Read my full review here:
http://www.kansas.com/2010/09/12/1489539/the-waters-rising-starts-slow.html
Initially, this book seems to be set in a different era, in a place that could possibly have been the world we know. There is little technology, clothing seems to be vaguely medieval, there's belief in curses and soul bearers, and there are dynastic issues regarding who rules what. I've never read a Tepper book before, and I truly enjoyed this side of it. The mentions of a Before Time and a Big Kill, of knowledge lost and waters rising were interesting, as was the adventure of getting from the Wold to Merhaven without attracting too much attention.
Xulai's meeting Abasio and finding (being found by?) Fisher start off the trek, and getting to know them and Precious Wind, Bear and the others was somewhat slow going but still interesting. Ditto the intrigue in the Abbey, and Alicia/Mirami/Old Man plotting regarding Norland.
Where the book lost me was the grinding halt that came as the backstory, one of suicide killers and nuclear weapons and sectarian hatreds and global warming, was introduced. Suddenly I felt as though I was reading another book entirely, as manipulated as Xulai was regarding the genetic manipulation and climate change issues. When the Sea King essentially says that the only way humans will be allowed to survive is as another species capable of less harm, my interest in the book's ending ended; the final "battle" with the Old Dark Man seemed tacked on. The two themes are (IMVHO) clumsily tied together, which lessens the whole
ARC provided by publisher.
Xulai's meeting Abasio and finding (being found by?) Fisher start off the trek, and getting to know them and Precious Wind, Bear and the others was somewhat slow going but still interesting. Ditto the intrigue in the Abbey, and Alicia/Mirami/Old Man plotting regarding Norland.
Where the book lost me was the grinding halt that came as the backstory, one of suicide killers and nuclear weapons and sectarian hatreds and global warming, was introduced. Suddenly I felt as though I was reading another book entirely, as manipulated as Xulai was regarding the genetic manipulation and climate change issues. When the Sea King essentially says that the only way humans will be allowed to survive is as another species capable of less harm, my interest in the book's ending ended; the final "battle" with the Old Dark Man seemed tacked on. The two themes are (IMVHO) clumsily tied together, which lessens the whole
ARC provided by publisher.
The book has some interesting concepts but the story is poorly executed and the end is just weird. I haven't read anything else by Tepper, so I don't know how representative this is, but while she clearly has technical writing skills, she doesn't know how to create consistently realistic characters or write situations that feel natural. It's clear the author knew what she wanted to happen, and mushed the rest of the book into that form without regard to the plausibility of the story flow.
For example:
-A character meets another and thinks to self that her group should be secretive about its intentions/history/identities. When she meets a third person, she immediately shares everything.
-Two characters have a few brief interactions with no hint of a romantic relationship. Suddenly they are talking about loving each other.
-A character decides that she shouldn't kill some bad guys in order not to tip off the guy behind them because she doesn't want their deaths suspiciously attributed to the fact that they were following her. She arranges to have them kill themselves then tells some wolves to eat the bodies--effectively negating her earlier rationale, because since no one observed who killed whom, the end result is still dead guys.
Furthermore, the main "good guys" have some degree of personality (even if it flip flops around unnaturally to the author's whims), but the "bad guys" are hilariously clichéd and simplistic, making the book feel very much like a children's story. With the heavy-handed and unnatural way the exposition and worldbuilding are forced in via conversations between characters (which would never happen that way because people don't talk about obvious things everyone knows), this book needs a lot more polishing to make it read as more than an amateur attempt.
For example:
-A character meets another and thinks to self that her group should be secretive about its intentions/history/identities. When she meets a third person, she immediately shares everything.
-Two characters have a few brief interactions with no hint of a romantic relationship. Suddenly they are talking about loving each other.
-A character decides that she shouldn't kill some bad guys in order not to tip off the guy behind them because she doesn't want their deaths suspiciously attributed to the fact that they were following her. She arranges to have them kill themselves then tells some wolves to eat the bodies--effectively negating her earlier rationale, because since no one observed who killed whom, the end result is still dead guys.
Furthermore, the main "good guys" have some degree of personality (even if it flip flops around unnaturally to the author's whims), but the "bad guys" are hilariously clichéd and simplistic, making the book feel very much like a children's story. With the heavy-handed and unnatural way the exposition and worldbuilding are forced in via conversations between characters (which would never happen that way because people don't talk about obvious things everyone knows), this book needs a lot more polishing to make it read as more than an amateur attempt.
Absolutely terrible novel which unashamedly advocates for what is effectively a program of eugenics and mass punishment as a solution to climate change. Between this, the sexualisation of children/childlike figures, and the rape apologetics, and the slug-like pace, it's simply awful. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/pedo-snore-screed-of-a-octafish/
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1911090.html[return][return][return]All strength to Sheri S. Tepper! She will turn 83 this summer (she was born seven months after Philip K. Dick, three months before Ursula Le Guin) and keeps on turning out works dancing on the borderline of fantasy and science fiction, with deathly earnest political purpose. Her works repeatedly test Clarke's Third Law to destruction, which is why it is appropriate enough that this latest novel has been nominated for this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award.[return][return]I don't think it will win. There is a brilliant concept behind it all of the future of humanity in a world where environmental catastrophe will swallow the land, and some impressive description and also misdirection of the reader as to where the focus of the plot really is. But I'm afraid there is also too much infodumping in the early chapters. Still the overall vision is daring - how will the first post-human children be born? - and well executed after the early glitches. And it is good to see a writer who I think has not received her due appearing on the shortlist even at this late stage of her career.