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kalkn's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish. Couldn't get into the story. Didn't care what was happening. Book was a whole lot of nothing.
nyne's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aproposofnathan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tildahlia's review against another edition
5.0
What a weird but wonderful book. Wasn't sure how I'd go with a doomsday undercurrent given it's a touch close to the bone in many ways, but the story was so compelling that it felt like escapism (albeit in a reality not as divorced from my own as I'd like!). The writing was imaginative, funny and original. Just a great page-turning read.
cattytrona's review
2.0
i found this pretty whatever. whistle stop tour of why: boring prose, flat world, flat characters, not enough aliens, not enough eureka, long but for what, ‘All his life he'd known, starting from the first day his parents had shown him a picture of one in a book’ about turkeys, unpleasant energies, rushed, ambiguities seemed like gaps. made me think of the end of the affair and this one james tiptree jr short story, which respectively do faith/relationship crises and human/alien social clash, and do them better, deeper, darker.
klparmley's review against another edition
2.0
This is very slow going and simply stopped in the middle. I regret the time I spent reading it.
It's like watching a video of a dropped glass that is halted just before the glass hits the floor. You will never know if the glass shatters or bounces.
It's like watching a video of a dropped glass that is halted just before the glass hits the floor. You will never know if the glass shatters or bounces.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
I've given this five stars. I didn't actually want to, but I couldn't think of any reason to lower the rating.
This is a book that seems to be two books in one, and there's a lot in there that is unsaid, that is background to the story but could actually fill volumes by itself. I've never read Faber before, and the size of this did make me wonder, but it's very readable and accessible.
Is it science fiction? Is it post-apocalyptic dystopia? Is it a story about faith? About marriage? Or all of them?
Peter is a preacher, leaving behind his wife Beatrice and cat to go on a mission, far away. We realise just how far a couple of chapters in as our own disorientation dissolves and Peter's begins as his flight ends and he arrives at a very unique destination.
Peter starts a new life with his new 'flock' and also his fellow pioneers. His only method of communication with Bea is via a Shoot that sends message back and forth across the vast distance separating them, and it isn't long before Peter (and the reader) is feeling disconnected with home and just how far away all the troubles appear to be.
I don't want to go into detail. I will say that I loved the structure, Peter's life with his converts, his life at the base, his messages with Bea and how they change over time to reflect their changing relationship and Bea's struggles by herself without her husband. I also liked the history of Peter and other characters.
The religion side of the story for me was interesting. I have no idea on the author's beliefs or quite what message he's putting across. I did feel anger almost from the start though, about the evangelisation of foreign peoples, how absurd it seems taking a local deity to foreign climes - just why would they embrace the idea, the words, the characters? Especially when the words for them do not exist in their language and culture.
Peter's dealings with this tribe are fascinating, the description of them, their homes, their language, all very nicely done.
There's a, not exactly twist, but a revelation or two along the way that surprises and really causes consternation in Peter but also did in me, and made me consider the nature of being human and what makes us the success that we are. There is also the very sad side of the story given by Bea's messages, of natural and man-made disasters at home and what life for her is like without her husband.
I was puzzled by the chapter headings. I realised partway through that each chapter is headed by the last few words at the end of that particular chapter. Still can't work out why. All answers on a postcard please...
Some very good writing, loved the relationship aspect, the religion is fascinating to me, the sci-fi element wonderfully created, and I really would have liked to know more about Bea's side of things, though that would have defeated the purpose of keeping Peter to distanced from it all.
An amazing creation (if that's not a pun at all), And a great cover too (mine is the gold swirly one).
This is a book that seems to be two books in one, and there's a lot in there that is unsaid, that is background to the story but could actually fill volumes by itself. I've never read Faber before, and the size of this did make me wonder, but it's very readable and accessible.
Is it science fiction? Is it post-apocalyptic dystopia? Is it a story about faith? About marriage? Or all of them?
Peter is a preacher, leaving behind his wife Beatrice and cat to go on a mission, far away. We realise just how far a couple of chapters in as our own disorientation dissolves and Peter's begins as his flight ends and he arrives at a very unique destination.
Peter starts a new life with his new 'flock' and also his fellow pioneers. His only method of communication with Bea is via a Shoot that sends message back and forth across the vast distance separating them, and it isn't long before Peter (and the reader) is feeling disconnected with home and just how far away all the troubles appear to be.
I don't want to go into detail. I will say that I loved the structure, Peter's life with his converts, his life at the base, his messages with Bea and how they change over time to reflect their changing relationship and Bea's struggles by herself without her husband. I also liked the history of Peter and other characters.
The religion side of the story for me was interesting. I have no idea on the author's beliefs or quite what message he's putting across. I did feel anger almost from the start though, about the evangelisation of foreign peoples, how absurd it seems taking a local deity to foreign climes - just why would they embrace the idea, the words, the characters? Especially when the words for them do not exist in their language and culture.
Peter's dealings with this tribe are fascinating, the description of them, their homes, their language, all very nicely done.
There's a, not exactly twist, but a revelation or two along the way that surprises and really causes consternation in Peter but also did in me, and made me consider the nature of being human and what makes us the success that we are. There is also the very sad side of the story given by Bea's messages, of natural and man-made disasters at home and what life for her is like without her husband.
I was puzzled by the chapter headings. I realised partway through that each chapter is headed by the last few words at the end of that particular chapter. Still can't work out why. All answers on a postcard please...
Some very good writing, loved the relationship aspect, the religion is fascinating to me, the sci-fi element wonderfully created, and I really would have liked to know more about Bea's side of things, though that would have defeated the purpose of keeping Peter to distanced from it all.
An amazing creation (if that's not a pun at all), And a great cover too (mine is the gold swirly one).