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A review by aarman1081
Meru by S.B. Divya
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a great book to start the year off with! S.B. Divya has gifted the world a hard-sci-fi with the soft themes of coming of age, maternity, self-acceptance, and adventure. I’d rate this book 4.5 stars only because I felt that the plot dragged along in the middle, but the character development, resolutions of multiple side-plots, and ending compensated greatly for the slightly slower pace. Jayanthi wasn’t an instantly lovable character for me, but I grew to like her as the story progressed. I loved Vaha from the get go! Kaliyu’s character development was beautiful to follow along with. I love the imagery and world building throughout. I love how the book draws on ancient Indian/Hindu culture as well, we don’t see that kind of representation in sci-fi often.
The exposition portrays a utopian Earth and Constructed Democracy of Sol, home to humans, alloys, and constructs. But as the book progresses, we see how there are many dystopian aspects of this society. Divya is able to achieve this depiction craftily without being too on the nose about it, which for me puts this book in the category of political science fiction in addition to a space opera, coming of age, and romance.
I highly recommend this book!
The exposition portrays a utopian Earth and Constructed Democracy of Sol, home to humans, alloys, and constructs. But as the book progresses, we see how there are many dystopian aspects of this society. Divya is able to achieve this depiction craftily without being too on the nose about it, which for me puts this book in the category of political science fiction in addition to a space opera, coming of age, and romance.
I highly recommend this book!