Scan barcode
A review by readingbetweenthewines
The Completionist by Siobhan Adcock
2.0
Heralded as speculative fiction and perfect for fans of The Handmaid's Tale, of course I had my reservations that it could possibly be that good, but I was cautiously optimistic about this one! I think I need a good dystopian story right about now.
Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me.
Told from a future where fertility rates are scary low and resources scarce, female rights and their choices have waned and completely surround their fertility and choices in child rearing are practically nonexistent this one definitely does give off a Handmaid's Tale vibe. However, about 1/3 of the way through this book I still had very little idea of what this future looked like and what events had transpired to get us there. I found it very frustrating to have a story surrounding a mystery (Gard's disappearance) and still have so many questions about everything else that was going on. I also found Carter, our narrator (*fresh to have a male narrator in this sub-genre), to be somewhat unlikeable, very unreliable and overall a little puzzling in what his end goal was and how little actual motivation or bond to his family he seemed to have.
Overall I found this to be a little slow, hard to follow and ultimately a story I didn't find myself to be very invested in. The premise and future that Adcock has created was still somewhat interesting and intriguing to ponder, but I just never fully bought in to this one. I'd recommend it to lovers of this genre craving a new dystopian future to consider.
Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me.
Told from a future where fertility rates are scary low and resources scarce, female rights and their choices have waned and completely surround their fertility and choices in child rearing are practically nonexistent this one definitely does give off a Handmaid's Tale vibe. However, about 1/3 of the way through this book I still had very little idea of what this future looked like and what events had transpired to get us there. I found it very frustrating to have a story surrounding a mystery (Gard's disappearance) and still have so many questions about everything else that was going on. I also found Carter, our narrator (*fresh to have a male narrator in this sub-genre), to be somewhat unlikeable, very unreliable and overall a little puzzling in what his end goal was and how little actual motivation or bond to his family he seemed to have.
Overall I found this to be a little slow, hard to follow and ultimately a story I didn't find myself to be very invested in. The premise and future that Adcock has created was still somewhat interesting and intriguing to ponder, but I just never fully bought in to this one. I'd recommend it to lovers of this genre craving a new dystopian future to consider.