Take a photo of a barcode or cover
legendarybabypelican 's review for:
Exordia
by Seth Dickinson
Exordia has some fun and interesting ideas going on that make for compelling worldbuilding. I loved the opening act that read like Fleabag crossed over with This Is How You Lose The Time War. That act was the kind of book I expected to keep reading, but the following story beats took a huge turn to a sci-fi military drama that fans of Destiny will feel familiar with. The plot development was interesting enough to follow that I looked forward to opportunities to open the book back up, but somehow the pacing slowed while information and dialogue continued to be piled on. For example, Dickinson has a habit of revisiting arguments and expository beats that were already explained in earlier chapters. Conflicts seem to drift around in tepid circles. I started skimming pages and realized we were still talking about the relationship drama that had been explained many times. It was frustrating and felt like a poor use of my time to reread character backstories presented in different words. I skipped to the last act and am pleased that the last 100 pages seem a little more forward-moving... even if there are still problems being brought up that were introduced many chapters ago. Ultimately, I like what this book offers as a starting point and would love to see authors playing around with the ideas that Seth Dickinson puts forward. I'm looking forward to reading his other works to see what he does with different settings.