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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
sad
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence
An absolutely brutal read but worth every page. Heed content warnings (but as someone who is generally pretty squeamish, I was alright).
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In Seth Dickinson's afterword on Exordia, he calls this the "fun" book that was meant to come between installments of the mammoth Baru Cormorant series (which remains unfinished and conspicuously sidestepped). At the outset this seems to be the case: in the first few chapters we are inundated with an endearingly deranged woman's irate inner monologue which contains treasures like anal bead wordplay and metaphysical liver fondling.
As things progress, however, it becomes clear that to call Exordia "fun" to write requires one to redefine "fun", to utilize a new pathologic definition of the noun. This fits neatly next to my new pathologic definition of the verb "read", which is what I did to Exordia for eleven straight hours last night. We do not have time for cozy or light. We are trailblazing, in a state of perfect prajna, we must know, until there is nothing left to learn. I consumed it all and then I slept for three hours and now I am writing this review in a state of something else. Apologies.
I have read Dickinson do political fantasy, and now I have read Dickinson do hard science fiction. In the process, like the alien artifact at the heart of Exordia's plot, I have begun to read Dickinson himself and appreciate his patterns. He loves a shit person as the protagonist, just an absolute asshole at the helm of your mind. In Baru, the protagonist was one person; in Exordia, it is arguably two or three or five or seven-- wait. Whichever prime number we settle on, it is arguably the case that Exordia unzips the concept of the woman Baru Cormorant, the two halves of her at war, and extrapolates them into people nearly caricatures: Clayton the reptilian pragmatist driven by the math of a hypothetical, and Erik the perfect humanitarian driven by his heart. Others exude from the expansion as well: Anna the Kurdish survivor of her own utilitarian guilt, Ssrin the rebel alien and survivor of her own genocidal guilt, Chaya the Filipino-Ugandan physicist and survivor of her own Christian guilt. Dickinson likes guilt. He also likes gay women. I understand.
I say this book must have been some other type of "fun" to write because the scope of what it attempts to wield in service of plot is preposterous. This book contains flippant references to Compton scatter and prompt neutrons, as well as earnest efforts to explain the difference between Shannon and Kolmogorov complexity. It contains a new set of alien archetypes which can give meaning to the human soul. It concerns itself with the profane truths of a Christian and alien Hell. It brandishes the word "supersanity" and imparts an empathetic sensation so vulgar and upsetting therein that it kept me awake until 4 am, hoping to resolve what had caused it. This is me gushing.
I don't know if I can explain how badly I had to keep reading this book. Is it funnier than Between Two Fires? I don't know. Is it more devastating than Gone Away World? Probably not. I don't know how happy I am with the ending (though to be honest I think if I were happy with it, it would mean something went wrong). This may only end up my third favorite book of all time, behind The Gone Away World and House of Leaves. Dickinson redefines fun. I redefine reading. This book redefines science fiction.
As things progress, however, it becomes clear that to call Exordia "fun" to write requires one to redefine "fun", to utilize a new pathologic definition of the noun. This fits neatly next to my new pathologic definition of the verb "read", which is what I did to Exordia for eleven straight hours last night. We do not have time for cozy or light. We are trailblazing, in a state of perfect prajna, we must know, until there is nothing left to learn. I consumed it all and then I slept for three hours and now I am writing this review in a state of something else. Apologies.
I have read Dickinson do political fantasy, and now I have read Dickinson do hard science fiction. In the process, like the alien artifact at the heart of Exordia's plot, I have begun to read Dickinson himself and appreciate his patterns. He loves a shit person as the protagonist, just an absolute asshole at the helm of your mind. In Baru, the protagonist was one person; in Exordia, it is arguably two or three or five or seven-- wait. Whichever prime number we settle on, it is arguably the case that Exordia unzips the concept of the woman Baru Cormorant, the two halves of her at war, and extrapolates them into people nearly caricatures: Clayton the reptilian pragmatist driven by the math of a hypothetical, and Erik the perfect humanitarian driven by his heart. Others exude from the expansion as well: Anna the Kurdish survivor of her own utilitarian guilt, Ssrin the rebel alien and survivor of her own genocidal guilt, Chaya the Filipino-Ugandan physicist and survivor of her own Christian guilt. Dickinson likes guilt. He also likes gay women. I understand.
I say this book must have been some other type of "fun" to write because the scope of what it attempts to wield in service of plot is preposterous. This book contains flippant references to Compton scatter and prompt neutrons, as well as earnest efforts to explain the difference between Shannon and Kolmogorov complexity. It contains a new set of alien archetypes which can give meaning to the human soul. It concerns itself with the profane truths of a Christian and alien Hell. It brandishes the word "supersanity" and imparts an empathetic sensation so vulgar and upsetting therein that it kept me awake until 4 am, hoping to resolve what had caused it. This is me gushing.
I don't know if I can explain how badly I had to keep reading this book. Is it funnier than Between Two Fires? I don't know. Is it more devastating than Gone Away World? Probably not. I don't know how happy I am with the ending (though to be honest I think if I were happy with it, it would mean something went wrong). This may only end up my third favorite book of all time, behind The Gone Away World and House of Leaves. Dickinson redefines fun. I redefine reading. This book redefines science fiction.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a book of quantum dynamics, defending an over-powered alien invasion, and a book of manipulative group dynamics on multiple scales.
It's definitely too long (especially Act 3), is a tad overcomplicated, and has a almost-an-end but not quite kind of ending. But I ended up really enjoying the character dynamics and learning a bit of mathematical theory while reading.
Not a book for everyone and has a lot of drawbacks, but I really enjoyed Anna and her messiness as a main character and not really knowing how the international team assembled would solve the problems facing them.
It's definitely too long (especially Act 3), is a tad overcomplicated, and has a almost-an-end but not quite kind of ending. But I ended up really enjoying the character dynamics and learning a bit of mathematical theory while reading.
Not a book for everyone and has a lot of drawbacks, but I really enjoyed Anna and her messiness as a main character and not really knowing how the international team assembled would solve the problems facing them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
sad
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
I enjoyed the high-concept bits of the book very much; the author contributed some of the best writing to Destiny, (which you probably already know if you're going to read this book), and it reminded me a lot of that. Some of the POV character voices were a bit grating to me, and the "end on a bombshell reveal" pacing got a bit old, but it was a really enjoyable read nonetheless. It especially picked up towards the last third and ended in a way that could set up a really intriguing sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War
Moderate: Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lots of good ideas, and it starts off fantastic, but the middle 50% of this book was a slog for me. Too much military/physics jargon, too many characters, way too many flashbacks to events I didn't really need to see. I think Seth did way too much research for this book and felt the need to exposit all of it at the expense of a tight plot. Also, kind of a downer.
That said, the universe they've built is super interesting, a couple of the main characters are really compelling, and I would probably read a sequel if it ever gets written. Still excited for whatever they write next.
That said, the universe they've built is super interesting, a couple of the main characters are really compelling, and I would probably read a sequel if it ever gets written. Still excited for whatever they write next.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was amazing.
Learning that Dickinson originally wrote it as a series of novellas made a ton of sense. As a single novel, the genre of this story hops around a lot (while always staying in the overall umbrella of science fiction), from a slipstream examination of the horrible ways trauma will fuck you up as an adult to a Michael Crichton thriller to Independence Day if it was realistic to *REDACTED FOR SPOILERS*. Through it all the characters are complex and weird and even when I agree with them most are generally unlikeable but in that wonderfully fascinating way that makes me constantly want to see what they will do or say next. They are all very charismatic. There are also at least two prominent PoV characters that are actually very likeable, and gay, so that rocks.
This book was also gross, some really spine-tingling body horror, some fascinating big ideas, a whole heaping of ETHICS (in the best way), some really fun action, and some of the coolest aliens/worldbuilding I've ever read. I'm extremely pleased to report that Seth Dickinson is capable of writing incredible books that aren't Baru, and I'm incredibly excited to read whatever he writes next.
Learning that Dickinson originally wrote it as a series of novellas made a ton of sense. As a single novel, the genre of this story hops around a lot (while always staying in the overall umbrella of science fiction), from a slipstream examination of the horrible ways trauma will fuck you up as an adult to a Michael Crichton thriller to Independence Day if it was realistic to *REDACTED FOR SPOILERS*. Through it all the characters are complex and weird and even when I agree with them most are generally unlikeable but in that wonderfully fascinating way that makes me constantly want to see what they will do or say next. They are all very charismatic. There are also at least two prominent PoV characters that are actually very likeable, and gay, so that rocks.
This book was also gross, some really spine-tingling body horror, some fascinating big ideas, a whole heaping of ETHICS (in the best way), some really fun action, and some of the coolest aliens/worldbuilding I've ever read. I'm extremely pleased to report that Seth Dickinson is capable of writing incredible books that aren't Baru, and I'm incredibly excited to read whatever he writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror