Scan barcode
A review by diannamorganti
Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson
2.0
This was a bit of a letdown. I loved the description, and the book just doesn't match the description at all. My discussion here is mainly just a short rant on that topic. I feel betrayed a bit, because i was pretty darn excited to read the book described!
First of all, it's not set in the time the description says it's set in. The setting is entirely in the 19th century, where people from the future (our present) have step up a tourism station into their (alternative) past. You never see the future/(our present) at all. You never see the time machine - not really (just kinda, but not really). There's really no science fiction aspect to the story, except there's a mysterious time traveling thing that exists, and it created the world you're in, but the plot of the book is just a ho-hum political mystery.
It was moderately interesting for a ho-hum political mystery set in a place with a funny thing going on, but the character was deliberately uninteresting. And WHAT WAS WITH THE OBSESSION WITH OAKLEYS??? Did Oakley sponsor this book? Did they pull their sponsorship out halfway? Oy. Okay, I'm done. I'm in a book group, where we're actually talking about the book, so I just needed to get the rant off my chest.
First of all, it's not set in the time the description says it's set in. The setting is entirely in the 19th century, where people from the future (our present) have step up a tourism station into their (alternative) past. You never see the future/(our present) at all. You never see the time machine - not really (just kinda, but not really). There's really no science fiction aspect to the story, except there's a mysterious time traveling thing that exists, and it created the world you're in, but the plot of the book is just a ho-hum political mystery.
Spoiler
The character does not necessarily fall in love nor desperately desire to return with his love interest to the future. Yeah, he thinks about her a lot, but love? I don't feel it. He definitely never states that he wants to go back to the future with her until he's forced to do so by a dying sister who needs the medical attention of the doctor who is leaving.It was moderately interesting for a ho-hum political mystery set in a place with a funny thing going on, but the character was deliberately uninteresting. And WHAT WAS WITH THE OBSESSION WITH OAKLEYS??? Did Oakley sponsor this book? Did they pull their sponsorship out halfway? Oy. Okay, I'm done. I'm in a book group, where we're actually talking about the book, so I just needed to get the rant off my chest.