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ashybear02's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Incest, Death, and Terminal illness
hammy91's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.75
Very interesting! I enjoyed the first two time periods so much that I didn't want it to end.
The last time period which is in the future was very hard to follow at first, but I want to believe it's because I do not know any Spanish so I had no idea of the Spanish words and conversations. But I later found out there's a glossary in the back so I was referencing it while I read which was very helpful!
As I said, the first two was amazing, I especially enjoyed Leah's story. The Mayan time period was interesting too but during the middle part I felt the plot dragged out a little bit but eventually picked up and things got INTENSE.
I love the ending which is basically all of Book 3 it was just so fun to see everything finally align together.
It wasn't an absolute five-star read but close enough! Definitely recommend!
The last time period which is in the future was very hard to follow at first, but I want to believe it's because I do not know any Spanish so I had no idea of the Spanish words and conversations. But I later found out there's a glossary in the back so I was referencing it while I read which was very helpful!
As I said, the first two was amazing, I especially enjoyed Leah's story. The Mayan time period was interesting too but during the middle part I felt the plot dragged out a little bit but eventually picked up and things got INTENSE.
I love the ending which is basically all of Book 3 it was just so fun to see everything finally align together.
It wasn't an absolute five-star read but close enough! Definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness and Vomit
library_of_alexandra_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Torture, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Gore, Body horror, and Blood
isabeau's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Incest
deedireads's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Oh my gosh, I loved The Acutal Star so much. It’s so creative and smart and well-written. Every chapter was a puzzle. This is one to savor and enjoy!
For you if: You like books with multiple timelines that have intersecting plotlines.
FULL REVIEW:
TL;DR REVIEW:
Oh my gosh, I loved The Acutal Star so much. It’s so creative and smart and well-written. Every chapter was a puzzle. This is one to savor and enjoy!
For you if: You like books with multiple timelines that have intersecting plotlines.
FULL REVIEW:
“The Cortada The cave began as nothing more than a softness. As the water pooled, the softness became a depression, the depression a cut, the cut a passage, the passage a cavern, and the cavern a world. In the time of the Maya, that world was the realm of the gods. In the time of Saint Leah, that world was a tourist attraction. In our time, I propose, that world may be most rightly understood as a theatre of the soul.”
Hi there. I’d like to introduce you to the next book I’ll be recommending to anyone who will listen: The Actual Star by Monica Byrne. It’s creative and smart, with intricate (but not overwhelming) world-building. It’s a standalone soft sci-fi novel, perfect for people who love to read fantasy too.
The story takes place in three timelines: the year 1012, focusing on the ruling siblings of the final great Maya empire; 2012, with a girl named Leah who travels to Belize in search of Xibalba, transcendence; and 3012, focusing on two members of the nomadic society that now worships Leah and evolved out of climate change, each urging a certain direction for the world’s next age.
This is a book that’s easy to read quickly but rewards you for reading slowly and paying close attention; I read it over the course of nearly three weeks (a very long time for me) and loved every minute. Each chapter is a puzzle, a treasure hunt. The three timelines and plots intersect early and often, and we as readers delight in every moment of overlap. You sense that you’re spiraling toward an epic conclusion, and Byrne absolutely delivers.
All three timelines are also carefully considered; Byrne carefully researched Maya history and traditions, and that part of the story is rich. I also appreciated the way she presented languages from Spanish to Kriol without direct translation, but in a way that allowed you to follow along. And I was fascinated by the future she imagined: one in which biological sex does not exist, pronouns are universal, and people’s identities (gender, sexuality, etc) are self-chosen and -communicated.
ANYWAY, I loved this book a whole heck of a lot and you should read it!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Incest, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
infinityofhats's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Incest
Moderate: Violence
eruanna317's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a book that centers around a real place—a cave in Belize known as Actun Tunichil Muknal (“The Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre”), or ATM for short—and focuses on storylines in three specific years: in 1012, it was a place sacred to the Maya people, and in this storyline we meet three young royals on the eve of an important ritual; in 2012, it is an archaeological site containing skeletal remains that tourists can pay to visit, and we follow a young American traveling to Belize on a quest for something she thinks she may find somewhere in its forbidden deeps; and in 3012, ATM is again a sacred site as part of a religion that takes hold in a post-capitalism and post-climate-change society, and we meet two philosophers whose ideological rift may transform the world as they know it. While spanning millennia and the globe, nonetheless this novel feels deeply intimate. All the stories are interconnected, the fates of these characters intertwined. This work has already garnered comparisons to Octavia Butler’s Earthseed series and David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, and I can see why, but it is really something altogether its own. Something new and daring, fresh and alive. And like the cave, which seems to draw people in with an almost magnetic force, this book will pull you in deeper and deeper, wanting to parse out its mysteries.
This story is not for everyone. In the author’s note, she mentions that there are scenes that contain cutting. There are also intense and vivid depictions of violent injuries, animal attacks, and rites of human sacrifice. These things are not pleasant, but I can definitely see why they are culturally and thematically necessary. It also contains detailed sex scenes, so depending on your personal threshold for that sort of thing you may want to take that into consideration. I will add that the author is white and cisgender, and writing about many characters who are not, but worked carefully with sensitivity readers to address any personal blindspots.
One other note: if you read this, please don’t make the same mistake that I did in the 3012 timeline. While flipping past the table of contents, I noticed that there was a glossary at the back of the book, explaining certain terminology used in this fictional future society. When reading the first 3012 chapter (the chapters alternate timelines in groupings of three), I made the mistake of coming to a word I didn’t know, immediately flipping to the glossary, and then jumping around to related entries before returning to the narrative. As a result, that initial chapter felt like a massive info-dump to me. Then what I found when I returned to the chapter was that a few sentences later, the term was put into context for me in a way that was much smoother and would not have taken me out of the story as much. Essentially, I should have trusted the author and stuck with the text for longer before flipping to the back for clarification, and I hope you will spare yourself my error and just trust that you’re in good hands. By the second 3012 chapter I had corrected course and enjoyed it much more.
I want to talk so much more about the characters, the themes, the imagined worlds of the distant past and far-flung future (the author’s note gives a great breakdown of the research and choices that went into constructing a story set within the ancient Maya culture, while ultimately acknowledging that many details have been lost to history and that as a result beyond a certain point any depiction is mostly a fiction). But at the same time I wouldn’t want to ruin anything. This is a book best discovered for yourself. One detail I will mention that I love so much is the way the chapters are structured like a descent into the cave. And the closer you get to the ending, to the depths of that inner space, the more you become drawn up in the interplay between the sacred and mundane, the practical and ideal, science and myth, past and present and future—this complex and glorious dance, this fervent tug-of-war, a dispersing and commingling that, by the book’s end, comes to a transcendent finale that I still feel thrumming in my bones weeks after reading it. Due out from Harper Voyager on September 14th, you can preorder a copy from your favorite book store or directly from the publisher here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-actual-star-monica-byrne?variant=33021717217314. I highly recommend it.
Full disclosure: I support Monica Byrne on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/monicabyrne) and was given early access to a copy of this novel in exchange for sharing my thoughts about it publicly before its release.
This story is not for everyone. In the author’s note, she mentions that there are scenes that contain cutting. There are also intense and vivid depictions of violent injuries, animal attacks, and rites of human sacrifice. These things are not pleasant, but I can definitely see why they are culturally and thematically necessary. It also contains detailed sex scenes, so depending on your personal threshold for that sort of thing you may want to take that into consideration. I will add that the author is white and cisgender, and writing about many characters who are not, but worked carefully with sensitivity readers to address any personal blindspots.
One other note: if you read this, please don’t make the same mistake that I did in the 3012 timeline. While flipping past the table of contents, I noticed that there was a glossary at the back of the book, explaining certain terminology used in this fictional future society. When reading the first 3012 chapter (the chapters alternate timelines in groupings of three), I made the mistake of coming to a word I didn’t know, immediately flipping to the glossary, and then jumping around to related entries before returning to the narrative. As a result, that initial chapter felt like a massive info-dump to me. Then what I found when I returned to the chapter was that a few sentences later, the term was put into context for me in a way that was much smoother and would not have taken me out of the story as much. Essentially, I should have trusted the author and stuck with the text for longer before flipping to the back for clarification, and I hope you will spare yourself my error and just trust that you’re in good hands. By the second 3012 chapter I had corrected course and enjoyed it much more.
I want to talk so much more about the characters, the themes, the imagined worlds of the distant past and far-flung future (the author’s note gives a great breakdown of the research and choices that went into constructing a story set within the ancient Maya culture, while ultimately acknowledging that many details have been lost to history and that as a result beyond a certain point any depiction is mostly a fiction). But at the same time I wouldn’t want to ruin anything. This is a book best discovered for yourself. One detail I will mention that I love so much is the way the chapters are structured like a descent into the cave. And the closer you get to the ending, to the depths of that inner space, the more you become drawn up in the interplay between the sacred and mundane, the practical and ideal, science and myth, past and present and future—this complex and glorious dance, this fervent tug-of-war, a dispersing and commingling that, by the book’s end, comes to a transcendent finale that I still feel thrumming in my bones weeks after reading it. Due out from Harper Voyager on September 14th, you can preorder a copy from your favorite book store or directly from the publisher here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-actual-star-monica-byrne?variant=33021717217314. I highly recommend it.
Full disclosure: I support Monica Byrne on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/monicabyrne) and was given early access to a copy of this novel in exchange for sharing my thoughts about it publicly before its release.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Self harm
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