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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
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
challenging
dark
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
Dark, with a narrator that is very interesting- not exactly unreliable but kind of. Got a little repetitive with the political commentary but the mystery and story were well worth getting through what felt like a slight lull for me around the 40% mark.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A tyrannical world government sends intellectual dissidents to an alien planet as prisoners to study alien ruins. The planet is brimming with parasitic symbiotic life yet there is no sign of the intelligence that created the ruins.
The protagonist is forced to work on this problem under harsh conditions which leads to a failed revolution. He is then forced into manual labor in the wilderness where his party is stranded and are forced to walk for days to get back to the safety of the human settlement. On this journey the surviving party members become infected with the local microbial life and are joined to what we later learn to be an ecological wide neural network that is strangely conscious.
Upon returning to the human colony the group uses their newfound communication abilities to start another revolution but this time they employ the help of the local alien life.
I did enjoy the thought experiment of what an ecological consciousness may look like but I found this version of it a bit too far fetched, even for a sci-fi novel. It's just physically not possible for a quick thinking consciousness to exist via the show interaction of smells and microbial life floating in the air.
I also found the writing style to be uncomfortable and generally off putting. It feels cramped and overly stylized.
The protagonist is forced to work on this problem under harsh conditions which leads to a failed revolution. He is then forced into manual labor in the wilderness where his party is stranded and are forced to walk for days to get back to the safety of the human settlement. On this journey the surviving party members become infected with the local microbial life and are joined to what we later learn to be an ecological wide neural network that is strangely conscious.
Upon returning to the human colony the group uses their newfound communication abilities to start another revolution but this time they employ the help of the local alien life.
I did enjoy the thought experiment of what an ecological consciousness may look like but I found this version of it a bit too far fetched, even for a sci-fi novel. It's just physically not possible for a quick thinking consciousness to exist via the show interaction of smells and microbial life floating in the air.
I also found the writing style to be uncomfortable and generally off putting. It feels cramped and overly stylized.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Decent read - reads like le guin but through the eyes of an exiled ecologist on a far away planet. The last half dragged on and on though
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
I love reading about humans exploring alien planets and this one is so brilliantly alien and different to our own.