Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An imaginative spin on genetic experimentation gone awry, and a definite inspiration for other, more acclaimed books.
This was my first Greg Bear novel, and I am undecided as to whether I’ll pick up another. His writing style is punchy and powerful, yet the story slows to an infuriating crawl just when it needs it least. This seesaw happens a few times, and really threw off the rhythm of an otherwise tremendous story.
The conclusion does somewhat make up for the unsteady approach, as Bear lands perfectly straddling the line between revulsion and brilliance.
Recommended, but fair warning - there’s a bit of body-horror involved throughout.
This was my first Greg Bear novel, and I am undecided as to whether I’ll pick up another. His writing style is punchy and powerful, yet the story slows to an infuriating crawl just when it needs it least. This seesaw happens a few times, and really threw off the rhythm of an otherwise tremendous story.
The conclusion does somewhat make up for the unsteady approach, as Bear lands perfectly straddling the line between revulsion and brilliance.
Recommended, but fair warning - there’s a bit of body-horror involved throughout.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
That ending.
My book club is a gift.
And what makes this book even better is that of the three book options for May, the vote winner was the filler option. Democracy!
The book itself
The book is pretty much two parts:
- Half is a mild-horror light SF concept, part Cat’s Cradle without the fun, part Lucy (2014 movie) for the internal/external theme and aesthetic of getting next-level perception.
- The second half made me google types of interchanges just for this review. This transition is like a "cloverleaf interchange", going from something that could have been an action movie to name-dropping Teilhard de Chardin and moving to a more spiritual set of themes with some strong Narnia imagery.
And then the first half looked at the second half and said 'I knew I shouldn't have gone to the tattoo parlour until I was sober'.
No, seriously, there is a lot of snow, a wardrobe and an orphan girl with two brothers. I wonder whether Greg Bear got the Christmas Carol treatment from C.S. Lewis because that ending took a sharp explicit turn into the wardrobe and the book didn't set up space Narnia. Either that or there is a 'Snyder cut' original version that the editors read, dumped into a filled bathtub and sent it off the way Edward sent Vergil. What.
Other points
I think there are one or three plot lines that weren't closed. They weren't key, but they didn't lead anywhere
- April Ulam, Vergil's mother - I didn't get why Vergil called her a witch, nor why the twins picked that up. It seemed a word that wouldn't have been in Vergil's register. What was her conclusion?
- The twins - what were the joggers and what happened to them in the time they blanked? What was the point of that episode? What happened to them?
- Suzy and her family
- Bernard linking with the keyboard was also reminiscent of Lucy (2014)
Similarities with other books/movies
- Teilhard de Chardin also features in the Hyperion duology
- Strong Lucy (2014) and Narnia imagery
-People linking together comes up in Foundation's Edge
-Cellular genetic memories come up in Dune and particularly Heretics of Dune
- For more, as always, I recommend <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/BloodMusic">the tropes database</a>
Also, surprisingly on point about reactions toCovid-19. Flights cancelled, panic and xenophobia
My book club is a gift.
And what makes this book even better is that of the three book options for May, the vote winner was the filler option. Democracy!
The book itself
The book is pretty much two parts:
- Half is a mild-horror light SF concept, part Cat’s Cradle without the fun, part Lucy (2014 movie) for the internal/external theme and aesthetic of getting next-level perception.
- The second half made me google types of interchanges just for this review. This transition is like a "cloverleaf interchange", going from something that could have been an action movie to name-dropping Teilhard de Chardin and moving to a more spiritual set of themes with some strong Narnia imagery.
And then the first half looked at the second half and said 'I knew I shouldn't have gone to the tattoo parlour until I was sober'.
No, seriously, there is a lot of snow, a wardrobe and an orphan girl with two brothers. I wonder whether Greg Bear got the Christmas Carol treatment from C.S. Lewis because that ending took a sharp explicit turn into the wardrobe and the book didn't set up space Narnia. Either that or there is a 'Snyder cut' original version that the editors read, dumped into a filled bathtub and sent it off the way Edward sent Vergil. What.
Other points
I think there are one or three plot lines that weren't closed. They weren't key, but they didn't lead anywhere
- April Ulam, Vergil's mother - I didn't get why Vergil called her a witch, nor why the twins picked that up. It seemed a word that wouldn't have been in Vergil's register. What was her conclusion?
- The twins - what were the joggers and what happened to them in the time they blanked? What was the point of that episode? What happened to them?
- Suzy and her family
- Bernard linking with the keyboard was also reminiscent of Lucy (2014)
Similarities with other books/movies
- Teilhard de Chardin also features in the Hyperion duology
- Strong Lucy (2014) and Narnia imagery
-
-
- For more, as always, I recommend <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/BloodMusic">the tropes database</a>
Also, surprisingly on point about reactions to
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lost all interest midway through this short novel and can’t bring myself to continue.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes