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A review by shivani_maurya
Dark Universe by Daniel F. Galouye
3.0
My thoughts on this one are just as jumbled as the experience of reading it was.
Dark Universe intrigued me very much once I was through with the starting chapters. A world devoid of light where humans have lost touch with their past and developed a mythos rooted in the duality of light and dark, blew my mind away. But the whole experience, if likened to a mathematical function, was peppered with local maxima and minima (few and far between) with only one instance of global maxima. On the whole it was pretty average.
This being a short read, the readers have to meet the narrative halfway. There were times when I understood what the protagonist was experiencing only belatedly. What with the auditory and heat sensitive existence of the Survivors compounded by the religious connotations of an underground society, there's a lot to digest. From my experience, suspension of disbelief helps. At some point I gave up nitpicking on glossed over details (given the brevity of the book) and just stuck with it to see how Galouye would flesh out his idea. But quite a lot falls on the wayside as the plot progresses. He leaves much to be desired where his characters are concerned. For me they were merely conduits for exploration of the novel world and human condition in response to it. The conflict between the Levels and Zivvers comes to nothing consequential. The Forever Man is never explained and is forgotten. The dialogue and awkward tension between Della and Jared just seemed very mercurial and pigeonholed. Galouye does try to explore themes of indoctrination and superstition, which were the only highlight for me after the mind blowing start. There is a poignant section where the protagonist comes face to face with the realization of what knowledge does to entrenched misplaced beliefs.
Getting someone out of a cult, when every time evidence of obvious reality is presented and they take it as a proof of a conspiracy to destroy them, isn't easy. Dark Universe does a great job in portraying this disconnect. A religion staked on ONE all important mythology comes crashing down on his "ears" but the protagonist still finds it quite hard to let go and goes through all sorts of mental gymnastics to deny the reality. He doubles down and becomes a pain in the ass (flat-earthers come to mind). But just when the plot had me keyed up again with his resistance to disillusionment, it puttered to an end. Oh, how FRUSTRATED I was! With all its ups and downs, I did love sections of it. I wonder if Galouye had a reason to cut it short. The potential to do more was clearly there. (Sigh).
As far as sci-fi goes, this was a unique read. I would recommend it solely for its idea and themes. I wish there was more to base this recommendation on. If you are looking for a short read, give this a go. But if my review makes you decide otherwise, you aren't losing out on much.
Dark Universe intrigued me very much once I was through with the starting chapters. A world devoid of light where humans have lost touch with their past and developed a mythos rooted in the duality of light and dark, blew my mind away. But the whole experience, if likened to a mathematical function, was peppered with local maxima and minima (few and far between) with only one instance of global maxima. On the whole it was pretty average.
This being a short read, the readers have to meet the narrative halfway. There were times when I understood what the protagonist was experiencing only belatedly. What with the auditory and heat sensitive existence of the Survivors compounded by the religious connotations of an underground society, there's a lot to digest. From my experience, suspension of disbelief helps. At some point I gave up nitpicking on glossed over details (given the brevity of the book) and just stuck with it to see how Galouye would flesh out his idea. But quite a lot falls on the wayside as the plot progresses. He leaves much to be desired where his characters are concerned. For me they were merely conduits for exploration of the novel world and human condition in response to it. The conflict between the Levels and Zivvers comes to nothing consequential. The Forever Man is never explained and is forgotten. The dialogue and awkward tension between Della and Jared just seemed very mercurial and pigeonholed. Galouye does try to explore themes of indoctrination and superstition, which were the only highlight for me after the mind blowing start. There is a poignant section where the protagonist comes face to face with the realization of what knowledge does to entrenched misplaced beliefs.
Pausing at the entrance, he let the tension drain out of him like a waning fever. Here was a setting so familiar that he could move confidently about without even using clickstones.
But there was no valid relief, no gentle feeling of homecoming, no elation. The stifling, unnerving curtain of Darkness was pierced only by a barren silence that gave the place an air of incongruity, a tinge of almost hostile strangeness.
Getting someone out of a cult, when every time evidence of obvious reality is presented and they take it as a proof of a conspiracy to destroy them, isn't easy. Dark Universe does a great job in portraying this disconnect. A religion staked on ONE all important mythology comes crashing down on his "ears" but the protagonist still finds it quite hard to let go and goes through all sorts of mental gymnastics to deny the reality. He doubles down and becomes a pain in the ass (flat-earthers come to mind). But just when the plot had me keyed up again with his resistance to disillusionment, it puttered to an end. Oh, how FRUSTRATED I was! With all its ups and downs, I did love sections of it. I wonder if Galouye had a reason to cut it short. The potential to do more was clearly there. (Sigh).
As far as sci-fi goes, this was a unique read. I would recommend it solely for its idea and themes. I wish there was more to base this recommendation on. If you are looking for a short read, give this a go. But if my review makes you decide otherwise, you aren't losing out on much.