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A review by princessleopard
Intraterrestrial by Nicholas Conley
3.0
Preface: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This one is difficult to review, mostly because it's so unique and confusing. Most of it takes place within the main character's head after he suffers a traumatic brain injury. He is told several aliens need his help in defeating the darkness that is attempting to destroy them. Adam then meets every alien in turn and attempts to collect their sparks. Only be uniting all 6 sparks can the aliens be healed.
A simple enough premise (if out there), but the execution is where it falters. The story operates on a peculiar sort of dream logic that has no real rhyme, reason, or progression to it. Things just sort of happen because they happen. Adam is supposedly growing throughout the story, but he honestly seems exactly the same after every trial, and even up through the end. The other aliens have little to no presence and only a handful of lines each (aside from the Optimist, who is great). Adam is continually injured and even suffers what should be life-ending injuries throughout the story, but because it's all in his head, he just kinda powers through over and over.
That last point is another thing that makes this story confusing - I have no idea who the audience for this is supposed to be. Adam is 13 years old, and the plot running on "imagination" being the ultimate power seems to indicate the story is intended for a younger audience. However, there is a looot of brutality and gore in this book. Adam suffers tons of injuries, and sees all sorts of horrible visions. At one point a baby bites the moldy nipple off his deceased mother (it...doesn't really make sense even in context). It would be wildly inappropriate for a young person to read, but there's so much kiddy stuff in it too that I don't think most adults would be interested. It's very strange.
The ultimate conflict resolution is also fairly unsatisfying. Imagination being a big theme usually goes hand-in-hand with love conquering evil, so I sort of expected Adam to overcome the villain by accepting it as a darker part of his nature - after all, it's a piece of him. It ends up being a lot more blunt and violent, which is especially jarring considering what happens to the bully character at the end. It really just ends up clouding the theme/audience of this book even further.
The book does have some good points. The parent characters are fleshed-out and sympathetic. You feel genuine worry for Adam, as he could end up being basically a vegetable for the rest of his life even if he succeeds in his quest. The story never gets written off as it all being in his head and thus inconsequential. Most importantly, as I mentioned earlier, the Optimist is easily the most interesting/likable of the aliens, and he does say some genuinely deep, thought-provoking things throughout. There's a lot of philosophic, cerebral ideas throughout the story - nothing too original, but still enough to make you think, especially if you haven't read a lot of sci-fi previously. This would again make you think it's intended for younger readers, but....
Overall, I had very mixed feelings about this book. I don't know who it's intended for. I'm not really sure what the message is. But I'm happy for Adam at the end, and I guess that's the point. I can't honestly say whether I recommend this or not - I suppose if the synopsis hooks you, you might be the sort of person this is intended for. If it sounds like a mess, you might want to steer clear.
This one is difficult to review, mostly because it's so unique and confusing. Most of it takes place within the main character's head after he suffers a traumatic brain injury. He is told several aliens need his help in defeating the darkness that is attempting to destroy them. Adam then meets every alien in turn and attempts to collect their sparks. Only be uniting all 6 sparks can the aliens be healed.
A simple enough premise (if out there), but the execution is where it falters. The story operates on a peculiar sort of dream logic that has no real rhyme, reason, or progression to it. Things just sort of happen because they happen. Adam is supposedly growing throughout the story, but he honestly seems exactly the same after every trial, and even up through the end. The other aliens have little to no presence and only a handful of lines each (aside from the Optimist, who is great). Adam is continually injured and even suffers what should be life-ending injuries throughout the story, but because it's all in his head, he just kinda powers through over and over.
That last point is another thing that makes this story confusing - I have no idea who the audience for this is supposed to be. Adam is 13 years old, and the plot running on "imagination" being the ultimate power seems to indicate the story is intended for a younger audience. However, there is a looot of brutality and gore in this book. Adam suffers tons of injuries, and sees all sorts of horrible visions. At one point a baby bites the moldy nipple off his deceased mother (it...doesn't really make sense even in context). It would be wildly inappropriate for a young person to read, but there's so much kiddy stuff in it too that I don't think most adults would be interested. It's very strange.
The ultimate conflict resolution is also fairly unsatisfying. Imagination being a big theme usually goes hand-in-hand with love conquering evil, so I sort of expected Adam to overcome the villain by accepting it as a darker part of his nature - after all, it's a piece of him. It ends up being a lot more blunt and violent, which is especially jarring considering what happens to the bully character at the end. It really just ends up clouding the theme/audience of this book even further.
The book does have some good points. The parent characters are fleshed-out and sympathetic. You feel genuine worry for Adam, as he could end up being basically a vegetable for the rest of his life even if he succeeds in his quest. The story never gets written off as it all being in his head and thus inconsequential. Most importantly, as I mentioned earlier, the Optimist is easily the most interesting/likable of the aliens, and he does say some genuinely deep, thought-provoking things throughout. There's a lot of philosophic, cerebral ideas throughout the story - nothing too original, but still enough to make you think, especially if you haven't read a lot of sci-fi previously. This would again make you think it's intended for younger readers, but....
Overall, I had very mixed feelings about this book. I don't know who it's intended for. I'm not really sure what the message is. But I'm happy for Adam at the end, and I guess that's the point. I can't honestly say whether I recommend this or not - I suppose if the synopsis hooks you, you might be the sort of person this is intended for. If it sounds like a mess, you might want to steer clear.