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A review by debchan
The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye
2.0
it was not bad at all
i like the Shakespearean aspects of course
it's just that i never connected to the characters. ben as a concept is attractive and interesting. but ben as a character is just quite sad. he'd make a mistake, apologize profusely and infuse a bit of self-hatred in there, and then make the same error a couple of chapters later. i don't fault him of course but the connection was never there.
horatio had a few moments where he remembered he had a spine but most often he was like a limp noodle. again, that's the point so i don't fault him, i just don't connect with him.
lia had her moments but it really read like she was just telling us things that happened. her thoughts consisted largely of ben and her own demise. without anything too spoilery, that's also the point.
it could be the prose that didn't click with me, though. i do not mind intellectual infodumps or posturing between characters. but this had a forced effect to it. i definitely enjoyed some moments but after a while, it grew suffocating. ben's fonts were interesting and very apt for his character but personally, it made his sections difficult to read. on the other hand, it was a glimpse into his mind and intentional so my frustration with it makes sense. and another minor thing: i don't mind characters who sound like the author is literally typing their thoughts into dialogue for their characters. ben is probably what a normal person sounds like today. it's just the fact that every other character sounds the same. it seems like a giant echo chamber of the author talking to a character who really is just the same author attempting to make conversation with herself.
all in all, it was not terrible. i enjoyed the connection between ben, horatio, and lia. individually they annoyed me. but together i really liked them and their united front.
i like the Shakespearean aspects of course
it's just that i never connected to the characters. ben as a concept is attractive and interesting. but ben as a character is just quite sad. he'd make a mistake, apologize profusely and infuse a bit of self-hatred in there, and then make the same error a couple of chapters later. i don't fault him of course but the connection was never there.
horatio had a few moments where he remembered he had a spine but most often he was like a limp noodle. again, that's the point so i don't fault him, i just don't connect with him.
lia had her moments but it really read like she was just telling us things that happened. her thoughts consisted largely of ben and her own demise. without anything too spoilery, that's also the point.
it could be the prose that didn't click with me, though. i do not mind intellectual infodumps or posturing between characters. but this had a forced effect to it. i definitely enjoyed some moments but after a while, it grew suffocating. ben's fonts were interesting and very apt for his character but personally, it made his sections difficult to read. on the other hand, it was a glimpse into his mind and intentional so my frustration with it makes sense. and another minor thing: i don't mind characters who sound like the author is literally typing their thoughts into dialogue for their characters. ben is probably what a normal person sounds like today. it's just the fact that every other character sounds the same. it seems like a giant echo chamber of the author talking to a character who really is just the same author attempting to make conversation with herself.
all in all, it was not terrible. i enjoyed the connection between ben, horatio, and lia. individually they annoyed me. but together i really liked them and their united front.