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iguarnieri 's review for:
The Immortal King Rao
by Vauhini Vara
this is a solid 4 for me. I was really captivated by Vara’s writing style, and the non linear plot kept the momentum going, as well as took the story in directions I didn’t expect.
The merging of genres is what didn’t quite work for me. This book is half generational family saga set in a rural coconut plantation in India and half techy sci-fi set in a near-future Seattle . While the latter felt current and raised interesting questions about the merging of tech-capitalism-govt, Athena’s voice felt underdeveloped to me, and the world building felt a bit hollow in comparison with the vivid family saga that-according to the author’s acknowledgements-were inspired by her ancestral homeland (but also dragged a bit in parts, tbh). my disconnect with Athena’s character and the distance from the titular one made it hard for me to identify with this novel’s emotional core. the relationship that felt most true to me was actually between sisters, not partners (at all) or father-daughter.
overall this is a strong debut and I recommend for tech-STS peeps looking for a well-written and plot forward novel to chew on.
The merging of genres is what didn’t quite work for me. This book is half generational family saga set in a rural coconut plantation in India and half techy sci-fi set in a near-future Seattle . While the latter felt current and raised interesting questions about the merging of tech-capitalism-govt, Athena’s voice felt underdeveloped to me, and the world building felt a bit hollow in comparison with the vivid family saga that-according to the author’s acknowledgements-were inspired by her ancestral homeland (but also dragged a bit in parts, tbh). my disconnect with Athena’s character and the distance from the titular one made it hard for me to identify with this novel’s emotional core. the relationship that felt most true to me was actually between sisters, not partners (at all) or father-daughter.
overall this is a strong debut and I recommend for tech-STS peeps looking for a well-written and plot forward novel to chew on.