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A review by batesbarb
The Stars Undying by Emery Robin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
I wanted to like this. I first tried it as a print book, and when I couldn't quite get a grip on it, I got it as an audiobook. A SciFi retelling of Cleopatra sounded like a really compelling premise, and much of the early dialogue and worldbuilding was well-crafted.
But, as things moved on, the characters didn't seem to develop any internal life or motivations beyond the plot needing to adhere to the historical events. I also found the mash up of the far-future interstellar scifi and the early Roman empire problems and timelines incredibly awkward. So many of the issues of an empire that extends beyond fast or easy travel seemed like they should have been fairly smooth allegories, and I've seen other books work with the parallels incredibly effectively. But, this book just seemed to be clunky and inelegant with that setup. I found myself frequently thinking "oh, the author needed this to be hard because it had to fit in with the way that Caesar or Cleopatra approached it. Nothing ever seemed to come organically from the world of the story or from the characters and their personalities or motivations.
But, as things moved on, the characters didn't seem to develop any internal life or motivations beyond the plot needing to adhere to the historical events. I also found the mash up of the far-future interstellar scifi and the early Roman empire problems and timelines incredibly awkward. So many of the issues of an empire that extends beyond fast or easy travel seemed like they should have been fairly smooth allegories, and I've seen other books work with the parallels incredibly effectively. But, this book just seemed to be clunky and inelegant with that setup. I found myself frequently thinking "oh, the author needed this to be hard because it had to fit in with the way that Caesar or Cleopatra approached it. Nothing ever seemed to come organically from the world of the story or from the characters and their personalities or motivations.