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A review by pagesplotsandpints
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
3.5
<b>Read Completed 6/11/24 | </b> 3.5 stars
This was an interested sci-fi read broken up into many different pieces with a dystopian/post-apocalyptic feel as a new pandemic starts sweeping the world that affects people's organs by turning them into different organs. Each perspective gives a little slice of life during the evolution of the pandemic from beginning to end, each one being their own interconnected short story. This definitely had some SEA OF TRANQUILITY vibes for fans of Emily St. John Mandel as well as a Black Mirror feel.
I enjoyed my read a lot in the beginning! The stories that led this off were interesting and definitely had the hook to bring me into the story. The curiosity of such an odd disease, how it came into being, and the unique ways the world handled everything was definitely something I couldn't look away from. I loved what all of these pieces added to the story and seeing characters or objects that connected them together.
My one hang-up with stories written like this is that some perspectives I'll like more than others, and the ending -- aside from the one major point that brought it all together -- had a few too many that I wasn't enjoying. They didn't really bring as much to the plot or purpose and they were the weaker ones, I felt, so it was hard to enjoy the book as it was wrapping up. I am very thankful that we got an answer of what the pandemic was and where it came from, which was actually a question I didn't even know I had. It added more of an overall sci-fi vibe to the book and gave it an awe-inspiring feel.
I really liked the human aspect of this book. The author focuses on a character-driven story where we appreciate family, relationships, culture, perspective, and what people cling to or give up in the face of doom or death.
This was an interested sci-fi read broken up into many different pieces with a dystopian/post-apocalyptic feel as a new pandemic starts sweeping the world that affects people's organs by turning them into different organs. Each perspective gives a little slice of life during the evolution of the pandemic from beginning to end, each one being their own interconnected short story. This definitely had some SEA OF TRANQUILITY vibes for fans of Emily St. John Mandel as well as a Black Mirror feel.
I enjoyed my read a lot in the beginning! The stories that led this off were interesting and definitely had the hook to bring me into the story. The curiosity of such an odd disease, how it came into being, and the unique ways the world handled everything was definitely something I couldn't look away from. I loved what all of these pieces added to the story and seeing characters or objects that connected them together.
My one hang-up with stories written like this is that some perspectives I'll like more than others, and the ending -- aside from the one major point that brought it all together -- had a few too many that I wasn't enjoying. They didn't really bring as much to the plot or purpose and they were the weaker ones, I felt, so it was hard to enjoy the book as it was wrapping up. I am very thankful that we got an answer of what the pandemic was and where it came from, which was actually a question I didn't even know I had. It added more of an overall sci-fi vibe to the book and gave it an awe-inspiring feel.
I really liked the human aspect of this book. The author focuses on a character-driven story where we appreciate family, relationships, culture, perspective, and what people cling to or give up in the face of doom or death.