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psyckers's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read where we follow the travels of a 'free long hair' as she is known in a world where most of the world population has genetically altered hair that can photosynthesise, negating the need for food.
Do not think that this is a good thing, as the book explains how an equity of wealth had magnified, among other issues that has resulted in this future.
The concepts are only grazed upon during the normal flow of the book, which in some cases is a shame, as these futurist concepts are worthy of fleshing out further.
The end is a tad sudden, but equally provoking in speculating of what will happen next.
Whether that was intentional or not, one can also speculate that too.
Do not think that this is a good thing, as the book explains how an equity of wealth had magnified, among other issues that has resulted in this future.
The concepts are only grazed upon during the normal flow of the book, which in some cases is a shame, as these futurist concepts are worthy of fleshing out further.
The end is a tad sudden, but equally provoking in speculating of what will happen next.
Whether that was intentional or not, one can also speculate that too.
draculaura21's review against another edition
2.25
This is the second wackiest book I have ever read (the first being up the Line by Robert Silverberg), but for all the wrong reasons. Adam Roberts' writing style threw me for a loop to being with, but I quickly came to enjoy his British turns of phrase. His deep understanding and bearing of the human psyche in dealing with trauma was absolutely riveting, my favorite line being, "There is a horror barely concealed in the past tense. That tense is where all the misery of the universe is cached." The weight of truth in that one sentence actually made me put the book down for a bit to contemplate it. I became giddy with the thought that maybe this "sci-fi" book was really about the human condition with science fiction elements in the background. How I so desperately wished that to be true.
I will admit, the beginning and end sections kept me up at night, eager to find out what was to come, but the second bit, the bit following the mother and her insufferable entitlement, is why it took me nearly 3 months to finish reading. It felt impossible to identify with her, but I suppose that may have been the point.
The final section detailing the experiences of Issa, I thought, was the clever use of a time jump so we could see both sides of Leah's abduction and recovery. This was, by far, my favorite part of this novel. Despite the sexual assaults Issa had to endure, it was written in the straight-forward, matter-of-fact style of an adolescent who doesn't yet understand their implications. By telling it this way, Roberts was able to create a disconnect between the reader and these events in the same way Issa disconnected herself from her entire situation.
Then the end came.The final 15 pages of the book where it was suddenly thrust upon us that Issa is in fact Leah, but this wasn't a time jump. This was happening now. She never made it home. She was never reunited with her family. Everything experienced previously had been about some other poor kidnapped girl. That is a heavy load to drop in the last 15 pages! It made me suddenly reevaluate what this book was even about: a commentary on social disparity? That families still suffer after that initial ecstasy of reunion? Or perhaps it's the old Fight Club adage that "only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."
Despite its shortcomings, this is not a story I will soon forget.
I will admit, the beginning and end sections kept me up at night, eager to find out what was to come, but the second bit, the bit following the mother and her insufferable entitlement, is why it took me nearly 3 months to finish reading. It felt impossible to identify with her, but I suppose that may have been the point.
The final section detailing the experiences of Issa, I thought, was the clever use of a time jump so we could see both sides of Leah's abduction and recovery. This was, by far, my favorite part of this novel. Despite the sexual assaults Issa had to endure, it was written in the straight-forward, matter-of-fact style of an adolescent who doesn't yet understand their implications. By telling it this way, Roberts was able to create a disconnect between the reader and these events in the same way Issa disconnected herself from her entire situation.
Then the end came.
Despite its shortcomings, this is not a story I will soon forget.
keryno's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating novel which opened my eyes to the variety of genres that you can interweave into a text. Although I started this on a sunny beach over the summer, it is one of those texts that you could also wrap up warm and read beside a fire. There were aspects where I felt the plot was a bit sketchy, but it all fell back into place.
bennought's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant dystopian look at the causes and effects of the global economy of growing food, as well as the underlying forces holding our global society together through the culture of work. Roberts writes beautiful prose, and weaves a fascinating, wonderful, scary future world which is also scarily believable. Definitely looking forward to picking up some more of his books.
askar16's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thissimoneb's review
1.0
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It sounded like such a great idea. But the reality was that I hated all of the characters, the plot dragged on and on without anything really happening, the overly descriptive prose didn't add anything to the story and I just wanted it to end sooner. I stuck it out because some of the reviews I read said that there was a twist at the end. It wasn't worth it. But I learnt something from this. If you don't like a book after the first few chapters, it's probably not going to get better. Do yourself a favour and choose another one.
gavreads's review
What if the poor could live by light alone? This is the question raised Adam Robert’s latest novel. All you need is ‘the bug’ and to grow you hair. Then you’ll be able to photosynthesise sunlight with your hair. And the world might turn in to a utopia by solving the worlds food crisis. It might, but not in this book. Instead Roberts presents a world where the rich keep their hair short and farms are turned over from staples to providing the currently luxury fad food.
It’s an interesting concept but what hooks you is the way it’s told and who is doing the telling. George and Marie are on holiday, skiing, with their daughter, Leah, and son, Ezra. A normal family holiday for the rich with the parents leaving the children with nannies and the babies brought out dinner at occasionally for parading and cooing. That is until Leah goes missing and the hotel security, and then local police, say soothing things but take no discernible actions to retrieve her.
And that is when you, as the reader, realise that the world isn’t a utopia and the world outside the hotel grounds is a very different place but Roberts cleverly doesn’t go to far into that world, not yet, a couple have just lost their daughter and that’s going to change their relationship and that needs to be explored.
As grotesque as they seem when we see the breakdown from George’s eyes you can’t help feeling for him. He’s not only lost his daughter and his wife but also that stability that unit gives. Though luckily that family is put back together at least temporally but not before Marie and George fall apart and their utopia with them.
This is only half the book. The second half deals with what life outside is like for a girl who has been bought and sold into slavery. And that is the darker side of this new world. Men don’t need to work but if women want children they need hard food and that can only be obtain by working while the men laze in the sun.
Not everyone is toiling for food and lazing. Some are talking revolution.
All good stories hold a mirror to society and humanity and I’d certainly see By Light Alone as a warning. A warning to the rich in their ivory towers and by that I’d include us, the West, who have engineered society in such a way that we are needed. But if in the future if we are not. Where does our safety come from? It won’t be by light alone.
I tend to take the easy route when reading science fiction by navigating to space opera Elizabeth Moon, Neal Asher, Gary Gibson, to name three favourites. Harder and more exporative SF I tend not to delve into that often. Most recent being Embassytown. And that’s because it was written by China Mieville.
Adam Roberts has created an emotive and evocative science fiction story that doesn’t require a love or understanding of technology. All that is needed is an interest in society and our future and the worry that we can’t keep on having it so well off.
By Light Alone is in the running for my novel of the year. Read it.
It’s an interesting concept but what hooks you is the way it’s told and who is doing the telling. George and Marie are on holiday, skiing, with their daughter, Leah, and son, Ezra. A normal family holiday for the rich with the parents leaving the children with nannies and the babies brought out dinner at occasionally for parading and cooing. That is until Leah goes missing and the hotel security, and then local police, say soothing things but take no discernible actions to retrieve her.
And that is when you, as the reader, realise that the world isn’t a utopia and the world outside the hotel grounds is a very different place but Roberts cleverly doesn’t go to far into that world, not yet, a couple have just lost their daughter and that’s going to change their relationship and that needs to be explored.
As grotesque as they seem when we see the breakdown from George’s eyes you can’t help feeling for him. He’s not only lost his daughter and his wife but also that stability that unit gives. Though luckily that family is put back together at least temporally but not before Marie and George fall apart and their utopia with them.
This is only half the book. The second half deals with what life outside is like for a girl who has been bought and sold into slavery. And that is the darker side of this new world. Men don’t need to work but if women want children they need hard food and that can only be obtain by working while the men laze in the sun.
Not everyone is toiling for food and lazing. Some are talking revolution.
All good stories hold a mirror to society and humanity and I’d certainly see By Light Alone as a warning. A warning to the rich in their ivory towers and by that I’d include us, the West, who have engineered society in such a way that we are needed. But if in the future if we are not. Where does our safety come from? It won’t be by light alone.
I tend to take the easy route when reading science fiction by navigating to space opera Elizabeth Moon, Neal Asher, Gary Gibson, to name three favourites. Harder and more exporative SF I tend not to delve into that often. Most recent being Embassytown. And that’s because it was written by China Mieville.
Adam Roberts has created an emotive and evocative science fiction story that doesn’t require a love or understanding of technology. All that is needed is an interest in society and our future and the worry that we can’t keep on having it so well off.
By Light Alone is in the running for my novel of the year. Read it.
pema66's review
4.0
A very interesting premise thought out to its logical conclusion. The novel is science fiction at heart but is written with such panache and grace, Roberts has a lively philosophical and inventive mind. He reminds me of Doris Lessing. He has a lot to say about the world we live in now as the future he imagines is only very subtlety different to today.
themoonkestrel's review
3.0
Interesting premise, very wordy and rambling development, which took a lot out of it. It was also frustrating that I had my suspicions about it all and there was a massive effort to disprove them, then at the very end it was all just as I thought it was.
nyx_who's review
1.0
The premise of this book was very intriguing. But my interest ended there. There was immense confusion throughout the book for me personally about what the central theme was. Is this a social satire, a feminist quest or a sci-fi post-apocalyptic mess? The answer seems to be all of the above in a confused combination.
The division of chapters was not fun. The first section takes over 20 chapters to get through about 200 odd pages. And then you have one massive block that covers 150 pages. There is next to no cohesion between the two. They read as entirely different stories. For a book with such a promising premise which is well written despite the reigning confusion, this book does not deliver on the promise it made.
The division of chapters was not fun. The first section takes over 20 chapters to get through about 200 odd pages. And then you have one massive block that covers 150 pages. There is next to no cohesion between the two. They read as entirely different stories. For a book with such a promising premise which is well written despite the reigning confusion, this book does not deliver on the promise it made.