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neil_p 's review for:
The Actual Star
by Monica Byrne
A wonderful, wonderful novel! The Actual Star tells three stories, a thousand years apart from each other, yet connected in detailed, incredible ways.
I was taken to the unfamiliar world of the ancient Maya, an unfamiliar country, Belize, in the near-present, and a radically different society in the post climate catastrophe future. Yet the writing made me feel at home and connected to the characters and the places in all three time periods. There are so many interesting ideas and ways of thinking about humanity, yet the characters are complete and engaging; I was heavily invested in them after only a chapter spent in each period.
I have never felt so strong a connection to my ancestors and descendents before reading The Actual Star. It has made me think in new ways, has opened my mind to new possibilities. Finishing it just made me want to start reading it all over again.
I've supported the author, Monica Byrne, on Patreon since reading her previous novel, The Girl in the Road, and have seen some of the dedicated research and the years of work that have gone into crafting The Actual Star, and it really feels like it. I absolutely loved it :)
I was taken to the unfamiliar world of the ancient Maya, an unfamiliar country, Belize, in the near-present, and a radically different society in the post climate catastrophe future. Yet the writing made me feel at home and connected to the characters and the places in all three time periods. There are so many interesting ideas and ways of thinking about humanity, yet the characters are complete and engaging; I was heavily invested in them after only a chapter spent in each period.
I have never felt so strong a connection to my ancestors and descendents before reading The Actual Star. It has made me think in new ways, has opened my mind to new possibilities. Finishing it just made me want to start reading it all over again.
I've supported the author, Monica Byrne, on Patreon since reading her previous novel, The Girl in the Road, and have seen some of the dedicated research and the years of work that have gone into crafting The Actual Star, and it really feels like it. I absolutely loved it :)