Take a photo of a barcode or cover
catlandia91 's review for:
The Genesis of Misery
by Neon Yang
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's hard to write a review while I'm still processing, but for now, I'll say that I liked this book but am left with a lot of questions. I feel like I just read a prequel to a much larger tale, but I know exactly nothing about the main story. It's like watching the Phantom Menace without actually knowing who Darth Vader is and his ultimate fate.
The initial set-up was a little disorienting, and it took me a few chapters before I had a handle on the world. In some ways, I'm reminded of Dune-- a world of magic and science, mysterious machinations, tragic Messiah, sink or swim world building, fear of thinking machines (that I desperately want to know more about). I don't think this will be quite as expansive as Dune, but the structure and scope of Yang's first full length novel is ambitious and I appreciate their approach.
As for the writing itself, I get echoes of The Locked Tomb. Some odd modern word choices (yeet being a notable example, although there were others), which I always feel a little conflicted about in writing. Nevertheless, I didn't find that too distracting, and it had a strong and definitive voice. I do think the narrative could be deliberately ambiguous to leave the reader unmoored, similar to the writing in Gideon and Harrow.
I think we're supposed to cling to Misery as the only familiar character and the protagonist. Her progressive emotional distance from the audience and her increasingly uncomfortable actions and thoughts make it hard to ever sit comfortably with her for too long. I don't necessarily hate Misery, but I do pity her to some degree. She is a small fish in a big pond trying to be a holy shark, and putting on an archangel mech does not help her in her worldly ignorance.
I am left with many questions like:
SPOILERS BELOW
Why does the Throne want peace with the Heretics? What will that mean for this empire?
What technology do the Heretics use? How do they harness the nullvoid? Is the nullvoid something like dark matter? Do my speculations even make sense??
Is there any truth to the religion of the Faithful, or is it all lies? What does the Church know, what secrets did it cover up about reality? (Because what's a church without secrets)
What's the deal with AI in this world? Do the Heretics use AI to operate their ships and come up with technology? Was Ruin ever real? Is Ruin an AI program with an agenda??
What are childstones? They are somehow linked to telepathy, but there is no context for these. And Misery's telepathy is still mostly unaddressed, and I assume that's in the next book, but dang it was frustrating to barely explore that.
I almost want to reread it now that I know what's happening, to see if I missed some obvious answers to my questions.
There's a lot to think about and a lot I found very interesting, but I can see why this book wouldn't land for a lot of folks. I do think I'll pick up the next book whenever it comes out!
The initial set-up was a little disorienting, and it took me a few chapters before I had a handle on the world. In some ways, I'm reminded of Dune-- a world of magic and science, mysterious machinations, tragic Messiah, sink or swim world building, fear of thinking machines (that I desperately want to know more about). I don't think this will be quite as expansive as Dune, but the structure and scope of Yang's first full length novel is ambitious and I appreciate their approach.
As for the writing itself, I get echoes of The Locked Tomb. Some odd modern word choices (yeet being a notable example, although there were others), which I always feel a little conflicted about in writing. Nevertheless, I didn't find that too distracting, and it had a strong and definitive voice. I do think the narrative could be deliberately ambiguous to leave the reader unmoored, similar to the writing in Gideon and Harrow.
I think we're supposed to cling to Misery as the only familiar character and the protagonist. Her progressive emotional distance from the audience and her increasingly uncomfortable actions and thoughts make it hard to ever sit comfortably with her for too long. I don't necessarily hate Misery, but I do pity her to some degree. She is a small fish in a big pond trying to be a holy shark, and putting on an archangel mech does not help her in her worldly ignorance.
I am left with many questions like:
SPOILERS BELOW
Why does the Throne want peace with the Heretics? What will that mean for this empire?
What technology do the Heretics use? How do they harness the nullvoid? Is the nullvoid something like dark matter? Do my speculations even make sense??
Is there any truth to the religion of the Faithful, or is it all lies? What does the Church know, what secrets did it cover up about reality? (Because what's a church without secrets)
What's the deal with AI in this world? Do the Heretics use AI to operate their ships and come up with technology? Was Ruin ever real? Is Ruin an AI program with an agenda??
What are childstones? They are somehow linked to telepathy, but there is no context for these. And Misery's telepathy is still mostly unaddressed, and I assume that's in the next book, but dang it was frustrating to barely explore that.
I almost want to reread it now that I know what's happening, to see if I missed some obvious answers to my questions.
There's a lot to think about and a lot I found very interesting, but I can see why this book wouldn't land for a lot of folks. I do think I'll pick up the next book whenever it comes out!