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A review by mattstebbins
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick
3.0
Things I loved: Her descriptions of Antarctica. I'm a sucker for stark landscapes, for winter, for cold, and her descriptions of the barren white...I think winter in central Idaho is enough for me, but there are certainly times I can find myself romanticizing the bone deep cold of places like Alaska or Antarctica.
Things I didn't love: Pretty much everyone else. Getting myself through this proved a struggle. Outside of Roisin and Francois, I had no reason to care about any of the other characters, and even those two, central to the story, felt more like quick sketches toward an idea that full, rounded characters. Additionally, this story—lovers crossing paths across varied times and places—has been done, and this didn't measure up.
(For instance, I'm thinking of the varied characters of Cloud Atlas. Even if that book has plenty of issues, the characters across time and space thing is done much better there.)
Still, though, I can understand why some people love The Comet Seekers, and even if I didn't, I can cut a debut author a little bit of slack, especially because I appreciate the ambition.
[2.5 stars, mostly for effort.]
Things I didn't love: Pretty much everyone else. Getting myself through this proved a struggle. Outside of Roisin and Francois, I had no reason to care about any of the other characters, and even those two, central to the story, felt more like quick sketches toward an idea that full, rounded characters. Additionally, this story—lovers crossing paths across varied times and places—has been done, and this didn't measure up.
(For instance, I'm thinking of the varied characters of Cloud Atlas. Even if that book has plenty of issues, the characters across time and space thing is done much better there.)
Still, though, I can understand why some people love The Comet Seekers, and even if I didn't, I can cut a debut author a little bit of slack, especially because I appreciate the ambition.
[2.5 stars, mostly for effort.]