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A review by inthebelljar
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked a lot of the ideas and concepts goings on in this book, but the execution was really lacking. I didn't feel like I understood the characters or their motivations, nor did I have a total handle on the world this took place in by the end. I'm more than okay with being thrown into a story and trying to figure out what's going on, but this, ultimately, felt very lackluster and confusing. So many things ended feeling unresolved and there were multiple times throughout the book where I felt like, "okay, so why is this happening?" or "what's even the end goal here?"
There was also this pervasive feeling of being told what I should think of the characters (i.e., Rita is manipulative and charismatic) instead of just...being shown how those characters act. I really had trouble buying into why any of these characters had ever bonded with one another, let alone trusted each other for this final mission.
A lot of Cassandra Khaw's works sound promising to me, but after this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, I just don't think their writing is for me, unfortunately.
I liked a lot of the ideas and concepts goings on in this book, but the execution was really lacking. I didn't feel like I understood the characters or their motivations, nor did I have a total handle on the world this took place in by the end. I'm more than okay with being thrown into a story and trying to figure out what's going on, but this, ultimately, felt very lackluster and confusing. So many things ended feeling unresolved and there were multiple times throughout the book where I felt like, "okay, so why is this happening?" or "what's even the end goal here?"
There was also this pervasive feeling of being told what I should think of the characters (i.e., Rita is manipulative and charismatic) instead of just...being shown how those characters act. I really had trouble buying into why any of these characters had ever bonded with one another, let alone trusted each other for this final mission.
A lot of Cassandra Khaw's works sound promising to me, but after this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, I just don't think their writing is for me, unfortunately.