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lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
That was certainly how his mind felt now; like something weak and porous, absorbing the seeping residue of other lives.
3.5 stars. Such an interesting novella! I was really pulled into this from the very beginning, and because I went into it blind, the themes and reveals were all very pleasantly surprising. I love sci-fi about multiverse stuff, and the plot of this particular story was so innovative and unique in the way the author made it play out. Listened to the audiobook as read by Tim Gerard Reynolds, which was great, because you got to hear the different accents. Would have been nice to have different narrators, but also, it's kinda more interesting (and fits with the theme) that it didn't. Very engaging for a novella; I'm glad I read it!
snazel's review
Multiverses, all of which look interesting, and none of which we get to look at very long.
murderbot42's review against another edition
All characters are men with one exception: the love interest.
I could not roll my eyes harder.
I could not roll my eyes harder.
aweichenlaub's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audiobook of this on the Tor.com Collection Season 2. Really enjoyed the book. It does require a listener to pay very close attention, but it's worth it. I appreciate the subtle touches that the reader adds in narrator voicing.
suncani's review against another edition
4.0
Great concept, really enjoyed the stories. While the switching of names constantly does disorientate you to start with, it works really well to place you in the changes going on. Really good short, definitely worth reading.Has a completely different feel to Tallerman's Giant Thief books so even if you didn't enjoy those still give this a try
verkisto's review
3.0
I recently read an article about how fantasy and science fiction don't fit the novella mold, since the shortened length limits the world-building, which the author felt was critical to the genres. I guess this is true, but it's easy to draw a fantasy or science fiction world with broad strokes. In Patchwerk, Tallerman leads us into the story with a character whose body modification -- a set of gills -- will be used to clear the toxins from the air, for which he will be paid a small stipend, but which will also kill him before that stipend will be of any use to him. Already, we know several things:
- This is the future.
- In this future, the pollution is severe.
- In this future, body modifications are common.
Once could make some assumptions here, too (the man knows he will die sooner than normal, and won't personally gain from his modification, so he must be doing it for a greater good, such as the future of the planet, or his children, or something else entirely), but those things above we know for a fact. The curious thing about this scene is that the character in question isn't even the main character. Instead, Tallerman is using him to tell us about the world and its society.
This is important, because this story is about shifting realities. Every ten pages or so, Tallerman is describing a new world, one acutely similar to but profoundly different from the preceding one. The main character has invented a machine that detects parallel worlds, and can pull people in and out of them at will. Unfortunately, other people have learned of his invention, and they want to use it for more sinister purposes, so the novella is one of trying to stop them from getting control of it.
The story has a cool idea, but I didn't find I could connect with it through the characters. The main character's ex-wife makes an appearance, and the two of them drive the action (and the shifting between universes), but I couldn't care about them. As far as good-versus-evil, I could root for them, but I didn't get torn up over what happened to them. They were serviceable, but not much beyond that.
It's a little difficult to follow the story until you understand what's happening with the changes in setting and names, and then once you figure out what's going on, you start to anticipate those changes, which can distract some from the story. I felt like I was missing details because I was jumping ahead to the next paragraph to see if everything was still the same. This might not be an issue with other readers, but for anyone who's anticipatory, it could be a detriment.
Patchwerk is a neat idea, written by someone who obviously has a talent for writing, but it was lacking in a couple of areas that prevent me from gushing over the story. It only takes a couple of hours to read, so anyone who likes ideas in their science fiction will likely eat it up, but folks who want strong characters and real emotion might be disappointed. It's a great idea, but I find the execution of the story didn't quite work.
- This is the future.
- In this future, the pollution is severe.
- In this future, body modifications are common.
Once could make some assumptions here, too (the man knows he will die sooner than normal, and won't personally gain from his modification, so he must be doing it for a greater good, such as the future of the planet, or his children, or something else entirely), but those things above we know for a fact. The curious thing about this scene is that the character in question isn't even the main character. Instead, Tallerman is using him to tell us about the world and its society.
This is important, because this story is about shifting realities. Every ten pages or so, Tallerman is describing a new world, one acutely similar to but profoundly different from the preceding one. The main character has invented a machine that detects parallel worlds, and can pull people in and out of them at will. Unfortunately, other people have learned of his invention, and they want to use it for more sinister purposes, so the novella is one of trying to stop them from getting control of it.
The story has a cool idea, but I didn't find I could connect with it through the characters. The main character's ex-wife makes an appearance, and the two of them drive the action (and the shifting between universes), but I couldn't care about them. As far as good-versus-evil, I could root for them, but I didn't get torn up over what happened to them. They were serviceable, but not much beyond that.
It's a little difficult to follow the story until you understand what's happening with the changes in setting and names, and then once you figure out what's going on, you start to anticipate those changes, which can distract some from the story. I felt like I was missing details because I was jumping ahead to the next paragraph to see if everything was still the same. This might not be an issue with other readers, but for anyone who's anticipatory, it could be a detriment.
Patchwerk is a neat idea, written by someone who obviously has a talent for writing, but it was lacking in a couple of areas that prevent me from gushing over the story. It only takes a couple of hours to read, so anyone who likes ideas in their science fiction will likely eat it up, but folks who want strong characters and real emotion might be disappointed. It's a great idea, but I find the execution of the story didn't quite work.
mark_cc's review against another edition
5.0
This was suuuuuuper fun. A surprisingly earnest look at what a multiverse might mean with a tongue hovering in just-outside-the-cheek range. The audiobook really helps the experience as the narrator changes his accent from section to section as the multiverse stuff happens, and he really does a great job.
the_bard's review against another edition
4.0
A short, punchy, pulpy adventure story of science, espionage, and infinite universes. It's the kind of high-imagination weirdness that I love so much.
jurassicreader's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't a bad book it was just a little weird and hard to follow at times. I think it would have worked better as a novel instead of a novella. I also wasn't a fan of the whole thing being just one chapter. Still it was well-written and I definitely want to check out other books by the author.
ir85's review against another edition
2.0
Eh, I liked the premise but I did not like the execution. Mostly it's a type of "action scene fatigue" that made it not work for me: most of the story felt like one long action scene with severe pacing issues. I did, however, like the one-line-to-next transitions, made me at first wonder if it was a typo and then smile when I finally figured out what the writer had done: so kudos on that.