Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Sea of Tranquility

A mind-blowing and existential read. Books that involve time travel sometimes fall into the trap of trying to be too clever and ending up with loads of plot holes and very little closure. This is not that kind of book. I love the way everything was wrapped up in this book in a way I would never have expected, and how all the tiny details mentioned earlier in the book had their own place. It also asks some really interesting questions about fate - if you knew when and how everyone you know was going to die, what would you do? Would you try and prevent those deaths regardless of the possible consequences?

I’m not sure if I’ll ever really enjoy a pandemic novel (which this book briefly becomes - I lived through it and I don’t fancy experiencing it again thanks), and I do think that the pacing was a little all over the place (the beginning, for example, is extremely slow and leans more into historical fiction than sci-fi) but the ending is more than worth the wait.

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dforestgamble's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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maddie_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious 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

Found it a bit slow to get into.
The writing and the characterization is so good that even though you're only with each of the initial characters for a short period of time (time both in terms of chapters, and time in terms of a very short period of their lives), you care for them and get a sense of who they are. Loved the writing style. Loved how everything came together at the end.

The only thing I want from this book is more

more details about the colonies, how the time travel works, more about the time institute, more about the characters

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dinipandareads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Whoa. That's how this book left me feeling by the end. I was concerned for a minute that maybe I wasn't smart enough for this book because I found myself getting confused by what was happening around the 66% mark. The writing kept me gripped though and I'm glad that I didn't waver because when it did click, it was wow. How clever and neat and entirely not what I expected! As I was reading two books of similar genres and styles came to mind: The Chronicles of St. Mary by Jodi Taylor and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and I think that's what made me love this more.

The synopsis is vague and for good reason. There's not much I can say about this that won't give the plot away entirely but I thoroughly enjoyed this "cosy-esque" science fiction about time travel. Despite my initial confusion around halfway through, this was a relatively accessible SF story that doesn't get overly technical about the physics or mechanics of time travel as a concept, which I appreciated. This was (somehow) my first book by Emily St. John Mandel but I can say that it won't be the last. Her writing has a dreamy and hypnotizing quality to it that, at times, makes you question what's real and what's not, but it's entirely captivating and I was easily swept along for what turned out to be a wonderfully thought-provoking ride! I found the images played out like a movie in my head and even though each character's chapters weren't long, I found myself fully immersed in their settings and stories and I felt emotionally connected to all of them.

Overall, I think this is going to be a story that sticks with me for a while after I finish reading it. As it is, I'm still thinking about how brilliantly St. John Mandel wove everything together for that ending. I loved it and I would definitely recommend it if you're curious, enjoy science fiction or would like to dip your toe into a genre that you're not entirely comfortable with.

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