You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Murder
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really unusual book. There are plot points that don’t become clear until near the end, and they have significant bearing on the narrator’s character. The title character, too, is a bit of a mystery. On the plus side, the imagined future society was definitely terrifying (and terrifyingly realistic), and the caste stuff was handled skillfully. On the minus side, I’m not sure I ever figured out the characters’ motives. Or rather, they (King, at least) had so many motives that it wasn’t clear which were actually motivating him. But I guess that’s largely what the narrator was trying to figure out as she distanced herself from him. The descriptions of the Exes early protests vividly recalled Seattle in the 1990s. The use of language such as Exist, and the whole lexicon describing the Coconut empire, was clever, but not overly so. This is a rather disjointed review! Overall, I was really intrigued by the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fiction about future technologies that’s not actually sci fi.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Immortal King Rao confuses information with story. Despite its sprawling scope, it feels confined, its characters and world insulated by walls of explanation. It's like an entire book of prologue.