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jaidynlattard 's review for:
L'Académie
by R.C. Waldun
I really enjoyed this book. It did give me 1984/The Giver vibes, but it also reminded me of an episode out of Black Mirror. And L’Acadèmie did the same thing for me that Black Mirror did for me: it made me question things, left me wandering, shocked me and sometimes confused me.
This book sort of reminds me of another book I love—The Orchard Underground by Mat Larkin: middle-grade fiction about an upside down forest underneath the mechanical town.
I enjoyed the spitting out of random facts about branches of knowledge. I used to feel that this was actually all exams were good for.
I do wish there was a little more world-building about the regime, but I also enjoy the details left out. The Handmaid’s Tale does this to a degree too. Although, I have to wonder why they need headphones to learn and have plugged in at all times if they need to physically go to L’Acadèmie, but maybe there’s an explanation for this.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Maybe it does have a misquoted epigraph, and maybe it does leave lots of questions. But I think it set out to do exactly what it did: criticise and entertain. I especially liked the second half of the novel, where the tension picked up and it was clear Eddington was in some deep shit. This book didn’t deserve the hate it received. It’s not perfect, but by no means is it a failure. It is a great story.
Great work Robin!
This book sort of reminds me of another book I love—The Orchard Underground by Mat Larkin: middle-grade fiction about an upside down forest underneath the mechanical town.
I enjoyed the spitting out of random facts about branches of knowledge. I used to feel that this was actually all exams were good for.
I do wish there was a little more world-building about the regime, but I also enjoy the details left out. The Handmaid’s Tale does this to a degree too. Although, I have to wonder why they need headphones to learn and have plugged in at all times if they need to physically go to L’Acadèmie, but maybe there’s an explanation for this.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Maybe it does have a misquoted epigraph, and maybe it does leave lots of questions. But I think it set out to do exactly what it did: criticise and entertain. I especially liked the second half of the novel, where the tension picked up and it was clear Eddington was in some deep shit. This book didn’t deserve the hate it received. It’s not perfect, but by no means is it a failure. It is a great story.
Great work Robin!