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A review by annemaries_shelves
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Best of All Possible Worlds is a fascinating, practically episodic, exploration of different human cultures, grief, and one's self. And a slowburn love story.
For such a short book (~335 pages including two short stories), there's a lot packed into the worldbuilding and Lord is a great storyteller. There were parts of the book (notably about the Caretakers) where I felt like I'm missing information, but I'm guessing that future books in the series will address those elements.
Essentially there are several different human species and one - the Sadiri - have recently lost their entire planet (very Vulcan-like, down to the telepathic/psionic skills). Those who survive are struggling to rebuild. A few Sadiri launch a cultural/scientific expedition on Cygnus Beta, a melting pot planet of multiple human species to see what heritage cultures remain from older Sadiri groups. Once we start on the expedition, most every chapter follows a different heritage group or event experienced by our expedition group.
Our main character, Grace Delarua is a science government employee on Cygnus Beta tasked with supporting the expedition. She's a fascinating character and liaison and I really loved her narrative voice. The slow character development of her own and that of her relationship with Dllenahkh was so good. Theirs is a slow burn romance built on mutual respect and friendship and I loved seeing their regard for each other grow. All of the characters were interesting and their dynamics were enjoyable to read. The psionic element was unique (if reminiscent at times to Star Trek) and I'd like to see how that's explored in future books.
If you like your stories to have very well-realized world building, languages, cultures, and a heavy focus on this element of a story, then I definitely recommend The Best of All Possible Worlds. There's a lot to sink your teeth into.
For me, the episodic element for the middle 75% made it easy to pick it up and put it down - there wasn't a lot of tension or other driving force that kept me turning the page. Part of it might be due to the energy levels I had in March while reading it though, to be fair.
Overall, very enjoyable and really well crafted - I look forward to reading more by Karen Lord.
For such a short book (~335 pages including two short stories), there's a lot packed into the worldbuilding and Lord is a great storyteller. There were parts of the book (notably about the Caretakers) where I felt like I'm missing information, but I'm guessing that future books in the series will address those elements.
Essentially there are several different human species and one - the Sadiri - have recently lost their entire planet (very Vulcan-like, down to the telepathic/psionic skills). Those who survive are struggling to rebuild. A few Sadiri launch a cultural/scientific expedition on Cygnus Beta, a melting pot planet of multiple human species to see what heritage cultures remain from older Sadiri groups. Once we start on the expedition, most every chapter follows a different heritage group or event experienced by our expedition group.
Our main character, Grace Delarua is a science government employee on Cygnus Beta tasked with supporting the expedition. She's a fascinating character and liaison and I really loved her narrative voice. The slow character development of her own and that of her relationship with Dllenahkh was so good. Theirs is a slow burn romance built on mutual respect and friendship and I loved seeing their regard for each other grow. All of the characters were interesting and their dynamics were enjoyable to read. The psionic element was unique (if reminiscent at times to Star Trek) and I'd like to see how that's explored in future books.
If you like your stories to have very well-realized world building, languages, cultures, and a heavy focus on this element of a story, then I definitely recommend The Best of All Possible Worlds. There's a lot to sink your teeth into.
For me, the episodic element for the middle 75% made it easy to pick it up and put it down - there wasn't a lot of tension or other driving force that kept me turning the page. Part of it might be due to the energy levels I had in March while reading it though, to be fair.
Overall, very enjoyable and really well crafted - I look forward to reading more by Karen Lord.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse