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hank's review
4.0
So I am definitely a fan but this did not turn out as 5 star-ish as I was hoping in the beginning. Byrne's brain is weird (at least the part of it she puts on paper) and her endings are way out there. This concept of stories spanning millenia has been done frequently recently. Cloud Atlas, Cloud Cuckoo Land, and most recently for me and most similar, Salvation by Hamilton. The three time periods 1012AD, 2012 and 3012 all inter-relate and are chosen based on the Mayan calendar.
I am losing the thread of this review, there is so, so much going on in this book. Heavy hints of The Dispossesed in regards to utopias and how they might work. Constant thoughts of how a highly technical society functions with a world full of nomads. Thoughts on how religions are formed and distorted, it was consistantly mind boggling.
The characters were fascinating and nuanced and all the three time periods completely separate yet not.
The book was (still is) long and there were parts that were dull. The ending was also not my favorite although Byrne's (the two that I have read) endings are always a touch unfathomable.
I think I liked Girl in the Road better but I liked this one enough that I will go search out more to read.
I am losing the thread of this review, there is so, so much going on in this book. Heavy hints of The Dispossesed in regards to utopias and how they might work. Constant thoughts of how a highly technical society functions with a world full of nomads. Thoughts on how religions are formed and distorted, it was consistantly mind boggling.
The characters were fascinating and nuanced and all the three time periods completely separate yet not.
The book was (still is) long and there were parts that were dull. The ending was also not my favorite although Byrne's (the two that I have read) endings are always a touch unfathomable.
I think I liked Girl in the Road better but I liked this one enough that I will go search out more to read.
one_womanarmy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cassandra67b07's review
5.0
Read this in one sitting like a fever dream and now I’m going to need to sit with this one a while. But a philosophical and poetic story spanning the past, present, and future and the ties between.
brialynn's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
emmeline790's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Intriguing and well executed concept. Slacked a bit at the end but was still very enjoyable.
zober's review against another edition
DNF at 66%. (eek! I made it so far)
I wanted to love this! I don't remember how it made it onto my TBR, but I started listening to it because I wanted a not-dark SFF book. I think the premise is fascinating - I'd happily read more books centered around Mayan culture but there were enough things going on here that just did not work for me.
This follows three timelines - in the years 1012, 2012, and 3012 - and as a whole I really liked the past and future timelines. The modern day timeline wasn't interesting to me, and Leah as a character was not compelling.
Twincest as a major plot point is usually an immediate DNF for me, I'm honestly surprised I made it so far.
And everybody is so horny, it was weird. Maybe if it were a couple characters, but it seemed to be true for literally all the main characters. I actually started laughing at one point when a character was traveling on a bumpy bus ride and it was so bumpy that it was arousing.
I wanted to love this! I don't remember how it made it onto my TBR, but I started listening to it because I wanted a not-dark SFF book. I think the premise is fascinating - I'd happily read more books centered around Mayan culture but there were enough things going on here that just did not work for me.
This follows three timelines - in the years 1012, 2012, and 3012 - and as a whole I really liked the past and future timelines. The modern day timeline wasn't interesting to me, and Leah as a character was not compelling.
And everybody is so horny, it was weird. Maybe if it were a couple characters, but it seemed to be true for literally all the main characters. I actually started laughing at one point when a character was traveling on a bumpy bus ride and it was so bumpy that it was arousing.
sopuberfungirl's review
1.0
I had to continually tell myself to keep reading this book. I was very annoyed most of the time. I liked the concept, but it was very predictable. I was hoping for a big payoff at the end but I wasn't surprised at all.
aleffert's review
4.0
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. Sometimes I thought it was brilliant and sometimes I thought its reach far exceeded its grasp. From the Neal Stephenson school of endings that stop right at the height of the climax. But I forgave him for that and I forgive Monica Byrne for this. Lots of fun elements from the historical Mayan segments to the future u/dystopia. That said, so much of it was rising action toward that climax, it sometimes felt like not that much was really happening and the classic problem of multiple narratives that right when I was getting into a story it would cut to a different one.
jb4nay's review
4.0
I had a nice time with this. The book was very ambitious with 3 stories that ultimately tie together. I think the info on Maya culture were very well-researched. The future society was fleshed out in a way that I found very interesting too.
I was curious how the whole story would wrap up to fit the loop and I think it was vague enough to draw different conclusions, but complete enough to feel like the characters had some sort of finality.
Despite its length, I had a pretty easy time flipping through this. I felt the pacing was good. I enjoyed the use of different languages throughout.
The sexual content makes sense in context, even if the incest stuff was weird as a 2023 reader, but given the time in the book, I could suspend my disbelief. It was still weird. I didn’t mind the other sexual content in the book
I was curious how the whole story would wrap up to fit the loop and I think it was vague enough to draw different conclusions, but complete enough to feel like the characters had some sort of finality.
Despite its length, I had a pretty easy time flipping through this. I felt the pacing was good. I enjoyed the use of different languages throughout.
The sexual content makes sense in context, even if the incest stuff was weird as a 2023 reader, but given the time in the book, I could suspend my disbelief. It was still weird. I didn’t mind the other sexual content in the book
kait_unicorn's review
5.0
Bought it when it came out and it’s been sitting on my To Read shelf ever since. OMG why did it take me so long to read this book?!? As a Buddhist, I love the way Byrne writes past lives. Also, a far flung anarchist-socialist nomadic future where everyone is intersex? AMAZING. Complicated philosophical questions about utopia and whether enlightenment is a place to go to or a state of mind??? *screaming*
This book was amazing. Totally loved it.
This book was amazing. Totally loved it.