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A review by wyntrchylde
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
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REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Why this book:
Because I liked Sea of Tranquility by this author.
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The Feel:
Early, this gives strong The Stand vibes. And in our we’ve survived COVID, COVID is still there, here comes the Bird Flu world, honestly, it's a freaky mood.
The referenced vibes above fade as you get into Kristen and the Symphony’s 20-years-later, post-epidemic era. Probably going for a Walking Dead feel, but it feels more like the audience is waiting for the kick and the producers and networks are trying to fill their episode count. The author is planting seeds for later amidst the Symphony’s visit and walk in the woods leaving…but you know the prophet isn’t done with them.
Favorite Character:
I find myself drawn to Arthur. He’s an interesting character. Really appreciated the flashback to Arthur’s earlier life, even if it is just an aside…though is it?
Jeevan Chadhaury, as well. Can’t wait to find out what happened to him. …of course, that’s assuming that he wasn’t just a casualty of the Georgia Flu who disappears from the pages of history, same as so many who fall before nature’s fury in that way.
Kristen growing up in the apocalypse and all that shapes her life from the moment she is witness to Arthur’s last to her run-in with The Prophet, and his connection to Arthur as well.
Clark grows as a character after the apocalypse.
Least Favorite Character:
The Symphony, as a group, beyond Kristen seem cardboard. I get that they are mostly bit players and cameoists. Hence, them being named Second Cello, Third Guitar, the Conductor, and such. This could be a me problem, looking at them as the above referenced bit players and cameoists. Though it is a full cast of interconnected people without them being fully drawn.
Tyler is a scary little zealot who grows into a scumbag.
Character I Most Identified With:
I really liked Miranda. She seemed the most grounded. And her being the creator of Dr. Eleven as a story within the story is just awesome. Hell, I wanna read the adventures of Dr. Eleven.
Favorite Concept:
The fluidity of Mandel’s storytelling and the way that they weave the characters together across time and space.
Suspension of Disbelief:
The Symphony seems to be too big a group to be subsisting on the road and being a drain on the local resources of the small towns in the post-apocalypse of the Georgia Flu. Those small towns wouldn’t be very welcoming as a whole. …based on my experience of small towns in the modern world. The “you’re not from around here” is much stronger than Mandel shows here, though it is mentioned.
The Unexpected:
I didn’t see Clark’s role in the story, thought him a bit player in Arthur’s life.
Calling the Ball:
The members of the Travelling Symphony are idiots. They’re survivors of an epidemic apocalypse, 20 years out. They have to have seen things. And they are in a town where one of their members took a year long sabbatical and they’ve found a fake grave with their friends names on it and people are telling them that they left. They’re also being told that there is a prophet. And that more people than just their friend “left”. And that they should leave town before it is too late. … …and they’re, at least, staying the night and doing one show so that they can search for their friend and learn more. … …so much NOPE.
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Pacing:
Excellent pace that seems to accelerate as you move through the story. It does step on the brakes pretty hard after the opening, but it takes off again.
Last Page Sound:
I really liked this.