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A review by emmacatereads
Liquid Crystal Nightingale, Volume 1 by Eeleen Lee
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Liquid Crystal Nightingale defied my expectations, doing something I hadn’t expected: being utterly unique. I am often bothered by the repetitive nature of science fiction, and while some of the tropes were familiar the backdrop of the story was cutting-edge (yes, Geology pun intended).
Most of my difficulties stem from the rapid pace of the world-building and the amount of trust in the author required of the reader early on. The world-building was fantastic but dense, and requires the reader to be comfortable being confused. I can foresee people becoming frustrated with the lack of information presented at the beginning, but things become clear over time. While I was comfortable puzzling things out, I do admit that trying to piece together the world took me out of the story at times. Furthermore, the perspective jumped around to suit the plot and less so to develop character. I felt like I got to know Pleo, Marsh, and Dumorier, but the rest of the perspectives felt hazy, including Saurebaras’, which was a shame because she had a lot to offer when she did control the narrative.
Still, despite my occasional frustration, overall I thought the novel was absolutely singular, and a refreshing breath of fresh air that stood out as compared to much of contemporary science fiction. The world-building was unparalleled, and I was instantly immersed, wanting to know as much as possible about the city and the characters. The meld of geology and political space opera—two things I would have never connected— made for a unique backdrop for the world.
One of my regrets was that the relationships were not developed more thoroughly. While the characters were well rounded and introspective, there was a significant lack of connection between them. While our principal characters brushed up against each they didn’t form meaningful connections, which surprised me. The exception to this was the relationship between Marsh and Setona, which I loved, employer and employee evolving into a kind of friendship and kinship. Also, THE DISPLAY LEOPARD!!!! Absolutely what could be better than that.
Liquid Crystal Nightingale defied my expectations, doing something I hadn’t expected: being utterly unique. I am often bothered by the repetitive nature of science fiction, and while some of the tropes were familiar the backdrop of the story was cutting-edge (yes, Geology pun intended).
Most of my difficulties stem from the rapid pace of the world-building and the amount of trust in the author required of the reader early on. The world-building was fantastic but dense, and requires the reader to be comfortable being confused. I can foresee people becoming frustrated with the lack of information presented at the beginning, but things become clear over time. While I was comfortable puzzling things out, I do admit that trying to piece together the world took me out of the story at times. Furthermore, the perspective jumped around to suit the plot and less so to develop character. I felt like I got to know Pleo, Marsh, and Dumorier, but the rest of the perspectives felt hazy, including Saurebaras’, which was a shame because she had a lot to offer when she did control the narrative.
Still, despite my occasional frustration, overall I thought the novel was absolutely singular, and a refreshing breath of fresh air that stood out as compared to much of contemporary science fiction. The world-building was unparalleled, and I was instantly immersed, wanting to know as much as possible about the city and the characters. The meld of geology and political space opera—two things I would have never connected— made for a unique backdrop for the world.
One of my regrets was that the relationships were not developed more thoroughly. While the characters were well rounded and introspective, there was a significant lack of connection between them. While our principal characters brushed up against each they didn’t form meaningful connections, which surprised me. The exception to this was the relationship between Marsh and Setona, which I loved, employer and employee evolving into a kind of friendship and kinship. Also, THE DISPLAY LEOPARD!!!! Absolutely what could be better than that.