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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This book was very complicated and convoluted. It had threads and themes that really needed to be read to understand so I found the audio-book quite difficult to get along with. The alternate chapters with the Pseudoscientific paper were ok to listen to but as soon as it got into the story I found the narrators' voice quite distracting as she didn't really do a good job of differentiating between the different characters. The book itself was fascinating and I switched to a print copy as soon as I could.
This book was not good.
I struggled to finish this one, and I was even listening to it, which is often an easier way for me to consume novels. But I dreaded trying to slog through the last third, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
This book started off pretty strong for me. I love the parallel/alternate universe trope, and the alternate evolutions was a fun and interesting take on that. It was clear the the author has a deep understanding of the science of evolution; the alien species didn't develop just because, there were stated environmental pressures that led to their different evolution. And it was clear that this alternate evolution stuff and the world building around that were near and dear to the author, because they made up what felt like half the book. This aspect I grew tired of very quickly. The interludes were fun and mysterious until they weren't, because they happened after every chapter of actual plot. And they were often so long that by the time they were over I had completely forgotten what was going on in the story. They either should have been all very short, or used more sparingly throughout. By the time the big reveal of the author's identity came, I just didn't care. They broke up the narrative so much that I had trouble remembering the story, remembering the interludes, and following the plot.
The other thing that had me excited at the beginning were the gay women. If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a lesbian and I love reading about lesbians. So for the primary character to also be a lesbian was a great start. But as the book went on, the lesbians appeared less and less, until by the end they get the briefest of mentions. It was kind of like using the gays to bring me in, like bait, and then discarding them from the plot when convenient. The worst part was they discarded their storyline for a boring "will they won't they" straight couple, which also involves just a splash of cheating for good measure. I'm not suggesting that the entire book should be about the lesbians, but I guess I anticipated them being more explicitly involved. Instead I had to hear about government employees, always steps behind the rest of the action, try and do something.
On the topic of characters, this book had Way Too Many. Each chapter had numerous points of view, and not all the characters were fleshed out enough to warrant this. The fact that so much time was devoted to the henchman character and his inner moral arguments was just some of the dullest stuff. I also didn't really care for the treatment given to the sole trans character, who was a brilliant scientist but who's main conflict was people constantly misgendering her. I just feel like that character could have been approached/handled differently. In short, there were too many characters who's voices weren't different enough to know the difference between chapters.
My final issue with this book is that I have no fucking idea what happened at the end. I had to rewind to listen multiple times to understand what was going on. Not the groundhog day stuff, that I got (the Magicians tv show did that concept way better). Everyone died, and then no one died, and they mushed all the worlds together, right? They argued and then decided to stop arguing and then it was the epilogue and they were watching a video that explained something and then the lesbians went on a backpacking journey, right?? For a book to be so long and lead up to such a confusing and unsatisfying conclusion made me wish I had just given up when I was 46% in. But momma didn't raise no quitter, and I finished it to provide you all with this review. I doubt I have the mental energy to read more from this author.
I struggled to finish this one, and I was even listening to it, which is often an easier way for me to consume novels. But I dreaded trying to slog through the last third, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
This book started off pretty strong for me. I love the parallel/alternate universe trope, and the alternate evolutions was a fun and interesting take on that. It was clear the the author has a deep understanding of the science of evolution; the alien species didn't develop just because, there were stated environmental pressures that led to their different evolution. And it was clear that this alternate evolution stuff and the world building around that were near and dear to the author, because they made up what felt like half the book. This aspect I grew tired of very quickly. The interludes were fun and mysterious until they weren't, because they happened after every chapter of actual plot. And they were often so long that by the time they were over I had completely forgotten what was going on in the story. They either should have been all very short, or used more sparingly throughout. By the time the big reveal of the author's identity came, I just didn't care. They broke up the narrative so much that I had trouble remembering the story, remembering the interludes, and following the plot.
The other thing that had me excited at the beginning were the gay women. If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a lesbian and I love reading about lesbians. So for the primary character to also be a lesbian was a great start. But as the book went on, the lesbians appeared less and less, until by the end they get the briefest of mentions. It was kind of like using the gays to bring me in, like bait, and then discarding them from the plot when convenient. The worst part was they discarded their storyline for a boring "will they won't they" straight couple, which also involves just a splash of cheating for good measure. I'm not suggesting that the entire book should be about the lesbians, but I guess I anticipated them being more explicitly involved. Instead I had to hear about government employees, always steps behind the rest of the action, try and do something.
On the topic of characters, this book had Way Too Many. Each chapter had numerous points of view, and not all the characters were fleshed out enough to warrant this. The fact that so much time was devoted to the henchman character and his inner moral arguments was just some of the dullest stuff. I also didn't really care for the treatment given to the sole trans character, who was a brilliant scientist but who's main conflict was people constantly misgendering her. I just feel like that character could have been approached/handled differently. In short, there were too many characters who's voices weren't different enough to know the difference between chapters.
My final issue with this book is that I have no fucking idea what happened at the end. I had to rewind to listen multiple times to understand what was going on. Not the groundhog day stuff, that I got (the Magicians tv show did that concept way better). Everyone died, and then no one died, and they mushed all the worlds together, right? They argued and then decided to stop arguing and then it was the epilogue and they were watching a video that explained something and then the lesbians went on a backpacking journey, right?? For a book to be so long and lead up to such a confusing and unsatisfying conclusion made me wish I had just given up when I was 46% in. But momma didn't raise no quitter, and I finished it to provide you all with this review. I doubt I have the mental energy to read more from this author.
Apocalyptic infinite worlds speculative sci-fi. Visits to other Earths dominated by rats, fish-things, "plug-uglies" etc. Fairly dense read short on dialogue but still readable. It's fun but by the final 20% I was exhausted.
I appreciate that the villain was Rove.
I appreciate that the villain was Rove.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Tchaikovski loves to play with uplift scenarios for different species. In [book:Children of Time|25499718] and in [book:Children of Ruin|40376072] he had two or three main immerging intelligences to play with, in The Doors of Eden he has a multiverse at his disposal and can go wild.
To bad that all the view point characters are human.
This is a story about diversity and accepting the other rapped in an action flic about one species effort to put together a crack team of the multiverses finest minds in an attempt to prevent the collapse of said multiverse.
Sadly it is let down a bit by invoking a rather cartoonish main villain.
4.5 Stars
To bad that all the view point characters are human.
This is a story about diversity and accepting the other rapped in an action flic about one species effort to put together a crack team of the multiverses finest minds in an attempt to prevent the collapse of said multiverse.
Sadly it is let down a bit by invoking a rather cartoonish main villain.
4.5 Stars
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a convincing beginning! And it's really a fresh kind of Sci-Fi, that's for sure. That said: Things get very complicated and very advanced technology is just as difficult to describe as magic systems in Fantasy are.
At about 70% of the plot things are left to the math gurus and I was lost. Thus the twist - the solution to the unsolvable galactic dilemma - felt like deus ex machina for me.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
actual rating 2.5
Original review here: https://natachareadsandtravels.blog/2020/09/10/the-doors-of-eden-by-adrian-tchaikovsky-review/
First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book. Now about the book, unfortunately, I think that the story was a little more hard sci-fi than I can handle. I can appreciate may things that this book did but ultimately I don't think it was for me.
Things I liked:
●I really appreciate the imagination that when into the book. I mean the amount of detailed that Tchaikovsky created for each parallel word is impressive.
●There is GBTQ+ representation and I felt it was done well. The characters are how they are and he doesn't turn them into a big deal just like he would do for the straight characters in the book.
●I really liked Khan. She is very interesting, smart, witty, strong and stands for herself and demands people to respect how she is.
●I enjoyed the non-human character and their differences in personality in comparison to other species.
I both listen to the audiobook and read the E-Arc and I thought the narrator was really and she did a good job with different accents and coming up with how the other species might sound.
Things I didn't like:
●In my opinion, the main focus of the book was the world-building. It felt like the author really wanted to show his imagination and how far he can take it and as a result, the plot and the character felt to me like the took the back seat.
●We have six different POV and I think maybe it was a little too much. Because of this, I felt like we never really got the opportunity to get attached to the characters and explore their personality which meant that to my they were flat and one dimensional. They all have a personality trait (Mel was lost in another dimension, Lee is clinging to Mel, Julian is the inspector, Alison the computer freak, Khan the math freak, etc.) but that about it.
●Interludes. The author chose to tell us about all the different Earths and other dimensions using interlude in the forth of articles from a scientist. Unfortunately, I didn't like this format. It took me out of the story and felt like an infodump, I would have prefered if had learned about those alternative universes in a more organic way and to be somehow tidy into the action of the main plot. Even when Mal and Lee get stuck in another world we spend 2 half chapters there before they are conveniently taken back to our Earth and during this 2 half chapters is all about bombarding us with info instead letting the two characters show us this new world, it's inhabitants and their history.
●Even in the story we constantly get explanations, backstories and anecdotes that don't add anything apart from words count and if general it was too wordy for me for no reason.
Overall I think it was a little too hard Sci-fi for me and too much world-building and science. But I can see the appeal and I'm sure a lot of people, especially hard sci-fi fans will love this book.
Original review here: https://natachareadsandtravels.blog/2020/09/10/the-doors-of-eden-by-adrian-tchaikovsky-review/
First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book. Now about the book, unfortunately, I think that the story was a little more hard sci-fi than I can handle. I can appreciate may things that this book did but ultimately I don't think it was for me.
Things I liked:
●I really appreciate the imagination that when into the book. I mean the amount of detailed that Tchaikovsky created for each parallel word is impressive.
●There is GBTQ+ representation and I felt it was done well. The characters are how they are and he doesn't turn them into a big deal just like he would do for the straight characters in the book.
●I really liked Khan. She is very interesting, smart, witty, strong and stands for herself and demands people to respect how she is.
●I enjoyed the non-human character and their differences in personality in comparison to other species.
I both listen to the audiobook and read the E-Arc and I thought the narrator was really and she did a good job with different accents and coming up with how the other species might sound.
Things I didn't like:
●In my opinion, the main focus of the book was the world-building. It felt like the author really wanted to show his imagination and how far he can take it and as a result, the plot and the character felt to me like the took the back seat.
●We have six different POV and I think maybe it was a little too much. Because of this, I felt like we never really got the opportunity to get attached to the characters and explore their personality which meant that to my they were flat and one dimensional. They all have a personality trait (Mel was lost in another dimension, Lee is clinging to Mel, Julian is the inspector, Alison the computer freak, Khan the math freak, etc.) but that about it.
●Interludes. The author chose to tell us about all the different Earths and other dimensions using interlude in the forth of articles from a scientist. Unfortunately, I didn't like this format. It took me out of the story and felt like an infodump, I would have prefered if had learned about those alternative universes in a more organic way and to be somehow tidy into the action of the main plot. Even when Mal and Lee get stuck in another world we spend 2 half chapters there before they are conveniently taken back to our Earth and during this 2 half chapters is all about bombarding us with info instead letting the two characters show us this new world, it's inhabitants and their history.
●Even in the story we constantly get explanations, backstories and anecdotes that don't add anything apart from words count and if general it was too wordy for me for no reason.
Overall I think it was a little too hard Sci-fi for me and too much world-building and science. But I can see the appeal and I'm sure a lot of people, especially hard sci-fi fans will love this book.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book starts slowly and almost feels like it is just going to be a "normal" story, albeit each section includes a short chapter about an alternative timeline that the universe (and specifically, Earth) has taken. But as you read on, you realise that these timelines are coming together. A clever book, and it has been a while since I read a 600 page book so quickly.
3.5 stars.
This was a very detailed, intricate sci-fi story. Well written, lots of characters but you really have to pay attention. I had to rewind the audiobook a couple of times when my mind wandered, it’s definitely not a background listen! I’d maybe prefer physically reading a book that requires this much attention!
It’s my first book from this author and I’ll definitely give some of his other books a go.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.
This was a very detailed, intricate sci-fi story. Well written, lots of characters but you really have to pay attention. I had to rewind the audiobook a couple of times when my mind wandered, it’s definitely not a background listen! I’d maybe prefer physically reading a book that requires this much attention!
It’s my first book from this author and I’ll definitely give some of his other books a go.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.