Scan barcode
A review by cpcabaniss
Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan
3.0
Michael J Sullivan quickly became one of my favorite authors last year as I read through his Legends of the First Empire and Riyria books. Hollow World has been on my list ever since and I finally made time to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't love it.
There are parts of Hollow World that I really enjoyed, but it didn't have anything that stands out in my mind like Sullivan's other novels have. The characters had potential, but none of them ever jumped off the page and became real for me. The writing was good, but also didn't seem quite on par with his other works, and the pacing of the story was somewhat lagging.
Science fiction and I don't always get along, so perhaps that is the reason this one didn't work for me as well as Michael's fantasy novels. The concept was interesting, as time travel is generally fascinating. In the beginning it felt like this might become a mystery as Ellis joins the inhabitants of Hollow World and tries to figure out who or what is behind the crimes that have begun to plague them. That story line doesn't ever exactly take off, however.
Ellis as a character was rather frustrating. I never felt that I really got to know him. He had some very human characteristics and failings which were easy enough to relate with, but he never became more than just a name on a page. The other characters followed a similar pattern. I enjoyed Pax, for the most part, but the ending was a little odd where he was concerned.
Overall this was just ok for me. It's probably not one that I will pick up again and I'm not sure that I'm interested in continuing if he decides to turn it into a series, as he has hinted in the past.
There are parts of Hollow World that I really enjoyed, but it didn't have anything that stands out in my mind like Sullivan's other novels have. The characters had potential, but none of them ever jumped off the page and became real for me. The writing was good, but also didn't seem quite on par with his other works, and the pacing of the story was somewhat lagging.
Science fiction and I don't always get along, so perhaps that is the reason this one didn't work for me as well as Michael's fantasy novels. The concept was interesting, as time travel is generally fascinating. In the beginning it felt like this might become a mystery as Ellis joins the inhabitants of Hollow World and tries to figure out who or what is behind the crimes that have begun to plague them. That story line doesn't ever exactly take off, however.
Ellis as a character was rather frustrating. I never felt that I really got to know him. He had some very human characteristics and failings which were easy enough to relate with, but he never became more than just a name on a page. The other characters followed a similar pattern. I enjoyed Pax, for the most part, but the ending was a little odd where he was concerned.
Overall this was just ok for me. It's probably not one that I will pick up again and I'm not sure that I'm interested in continuing if he decides to turn it into a series, as he has hinted in the past.