Reviews

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

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jsantucci's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

gardenfairyreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Normally I would cringe at pandemic recountings in books where it’s clearly intended to mimic COVID, but honestly this one just did it for me. I feel like I kind of knew what was going to happen towards the end of the book, but it didn’t take away from the reading experience at all; in fact I feel like it made me pay closer attention to everything I had read already and everything that was yet to come. I can definitely see how this book may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was definitely mine. The story had layers, but definitely wasn’t so over complicated and convoluted that I felt like I couldn’t follow what was going on. After reading some other reviews, I’ve realized that this kind of multi-timeline-multiple-POV-shocking-reveal-about-a-main-character book has many different versions out on the market right now, but tbh I eat it tf up every time.

I would say this reminds me of “the ten thousand doors of January” and “the starless sea” and I’ve heard that “cloud atlas” is similar as well (I plan to check it out), although january and starless are more fantasy, urban myth based than sci-fi.

longstorysteph's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

aseel_reads's review against another edition

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4.25

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parano's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

nataliegoodman13's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a re-read for me, but wow do I love this book. I can’t think of much more to say that hasn’t already been said. Mandel’s writing always ends up being 5 stars for me. A resonant, powerful novel that I think everyone should read at some point. It made me more excited for the tv show!