Reviews

This review might feel more negative than I intend, but coming back to this book there's just so much that's on the border of totally irritating that it's hard not to nitpick and complain, despite the book being, on the whole, quite good. On the surface, Too Like the Lightning presents as a mystery/thriller, a crime has been committed and the protagonist must go around, interview suspects, make connections, come up with theories, and uncover deep secrets. In reality, a number of things stand in the way of making this work - intentionally though, let's me clear.

First, the crime is completely opaque. Ada Palmer (to her credit) throws you in the deep end, and much of this strange future/past world is left for you to discover on the way yourself. This is fine. The problem is once things do get explained, the crime is so particular to the world it's hard to see exactly how it affects things. Fine though, it's world stuff. Second, the narrator himself is intricately wrapped up in the crime himself, and a tangled web of politics we have to discover. Again, this is really cool.

But. What this means is that the structure of the book is a mystery without a mystery, a crime without a plot, and an investigation in which no characters are actually interested in solving things. Instead, we get a revolving door of characters, new ones every chapter many of whom are hard to distinguish from each other - every character is exceptionally hot (this book is horny as hell), every character has a very particular philosophy that we dive into in detail. In the end we don't get many answers or much plot has happened. We go into book two, where the real action occurs.

Instead, this feels like Palmer's personal dollhouse to show off her knowledge and writing ability, mixing in enlightenment thinkers and science fiction tech. This is a delightful book to read, Mycroft's voice is so strong, present, and vivid, and so many of the future ideas are just fantastic, how they've evolved, how they interplay with each other, and the ideas of the past revived.

But that's the end - a world built, but to what end? There's so much good here, but it feels unsatisfying. Maybe this is just due to the break in the novels, and the two really should've lived as one. We end off and... I guess I gotta read another book now.

bastrat's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

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

3.5

tonyleachsf's review against another edition

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2.0

Captivating and original in places - but also self-indulgent and banal in others. Celebrity orgy and pseudo-philosophy overbears the otherwise-interesting bits about people with phenomenal powers.

Good enough to want to read book 2 after, but maybe not more than that.

notably_bookish's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

moki's review against another edition

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I think there is something good here; unfortunately I also think it's layered under an attempt at 18th century prose that shatters when dialogue happens, a weird obsession with Japan, and infodumping about philosophy. I might try again, but probably not.

bartonstanley's review against another edition

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3.0

I found the characters and plot thoroughly compelling, but I was disappointed to find out toward the end that I would have to read a second book to get a resolution. I was looking forward to being done moving on to something else. I now feel that to enjoy and truly understand the second book that I will need to re-read this one and takes notes so that I have a better grasp of what is going on. It is really not worth my time to plow through the second book without a better understanding the characters, their relationships, and their Hives.

At the same time I respect the breadth and depth of what the author is trying to achieve and I don't want to downplay that or discourage anyone from reading it. She has created a fictional world order that is more complex and cohesive than other attempts at such that I have read. Add to that a healthy dose of 18th century philosophy along with a chaser of social commentary and you have a richly-textured narrative at many levels.

Ultimately however, I feel that the author's ambition outstrips her capability to realize it at this stage in her development as a writer. This doesn't mean this novel is not worth reading, it just means you may find yourself mourning the an opportunity she missed more than once along your way.

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