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kingabrit 's review for:
The Philosopher's Flight
by Tom Miller
DID NOT FINISH
I actually abandoned this in spite of the fact that it is not bad (I gave it 3 stars!), but at the same time it is in a way. Too much telling and not showing in the world building - resulting in completely unfollowable technical descriptions that are boring as hell. I am frustrated because the whole concept and the characters are good; I just think that the actual writing of the novel was not thought through carefully. It is a pity, indeed.
I also did not like the evident metaphors of today's political events, again, in spite of the author's sympathy lying on the liberal side (being very liberal myself). Miller's intentions were too obvious in this issue, kind of hitting the reader on the head, which I loathe.
There is a very interesting balancing act going on in the novel though. On one hand the unmistakable hints at and metaphors of the metoo movement (or in other words, the strong feminist wind of today). On the other hand, Miller puts a male in a situation that is generally typical for a female nowadays. In his world, females say those words about the males' skills and capabilities that are usually said by men about the other sex. There is an aspect of this world that is dominated by women, because historically and maybe biologically? females are better in it than men. And then, there is a lonely man, who is exceptionally good in this aspect of life, so he has to prove himself over and over and over again, just because he is a man, and not a woman. Now, while this switch sheds a very interesting light on the issue, it is kind of making me quite uneasy too. Somehow I don't feel I should have sympathy for men in general in a world (ours, in 2019), when they practically dominate almost anything powerful. I am not sure if it is clear what I want to say.
Anyhow, it is not a bad book by any means, it is just cumbersome, and, for me, very boring and uninteresting. But again, I am totally not a fantasy fan, so it is quite possible that I am not the right audience for Miller's book.
I also did not like the evident metaphors of today's political events, again, in spite of the author's sympathy lying on the liberal side (being very liberal myself). Miller's intentions were too obvious in this issue, kind of hitting the reader on the head, which I loathe.
There is a very interesting balancing act going on in the novel though. On one hand the unmistakable hints at and metaphors of the metoo movement (or in other words, the strong feminist wind of today). On the other hand, Miller puts a male in a situation that is generally typical for a female nowadays. In his world, females say those words about the males' skills and capabilities that are usually said by men about the other sex. There is an aspect of this world that is dominated by women, because historically and maybe biologically? females are better in it than men. And then, there is a lonely man, who is exceptionally good in this aspect of life, so he has to prove himself over and over and over again, just because he is a man, and not a woman. Now, while this switch sheds a very interesting light on the issue, it is kind of making me quite uneasy too. Somehow I don't feel I should have sympathy for men in general in a world (ours, in 2019), when they practically dominate almost anything powerful. I am not sure if it is clear what I want to say.
Anyhow, it is not a bad book by any means, it is just cumbersome, and, for me, very boring and uninteresting. But again, I am totally not a fantasy fan, so it is quite possible that I am not the right audience for Miller's book.