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A review by booklandish
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
5.0
What a trip! Lo and behold one of the weirdest books I have read. But I like weird, so I had a great time and could not put it down! Is this my favorite book? Probably not. However, it's super fresh and creative and what it does, it accomplishes perfectly!
Bullet review:
- 3 timelines, 1000 years apart
- Fantasy + lit fic + sci-fi
- Thought-provoking
- Ideas-driven yet compelling
- Inspired by Mayan history+lore
For the past timeline think "Black Sun"-like fantasy, for the present, think anti-colonialism discussion and drama, for the future, think "Stranger in a strange land" + "1984" + Ursula K Leguin. One example of interesting idea about the SF part is: 100% biologically hermaphroditic people with a wide array of gender identities.
This is a very divisive read apparently (2 or 5 stars) and perhaps part of that is not just the book but what you make of the meaning. I'd be curious to discuss it with anyone who has read it!
TW: violence, weird graphic sexual content, spiders...
Bullet review:
- 3 timelines, 1000 years apart
- Fantasy + lit fic + sci-fi
- Thought-provoking
- Ideas-driven yet compelling
- Inspired by Mayan history+lore
For the past timeline think "Black Sun"-like fantasy, for the present, think anti-colonialism discussion and drama, for the future, think "Stranger in a strange land" + "1984" + Ursula K Leguin. One example of interesting idea about the SF part is: 100% biologically hermaphroditic people with a wide array of gender identities.
This is a very divisive read apparently (2 or 5 stars) and perhaps part of that is not just the book but what you make of the meaning. I'd be curious to discuss it with anyone who has read it!
TW: violence, weird graphic sexual content, spiders...