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A review by hannah_hethmon
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
2.0
This book started off really slow, but it felt like it was building a philosophy and world needed for the story to unfold. However, no story really ever emerged. By the end, I felt like I was still reading the introduction.
There is the main story plus several side stories. The side stories seem disconnected, but eventually, you see a connection - and yet, they really never merge. They just end at the same time. While I enjoyed the slave ship substory much more than all the others, I don't really see the point of it (yes, I get what it's about, but don't feel like it needed to be in the book or if it did, it should have gotten much more time and effort).
The whole book is very short (several pages) chapters. Each begins with a long "quote" from one of two fake books written by characters. At first they are interesting, philosophical musings that tie into the characters scientific exploration. But after dozens of them—all very repetitive and long—interrupting any sense of flow in the narrative, they become quite irritating.
In the end, nothing really happens in this book; the characters aren't very interesting, and every time you do start to become engaged in their journey and feel the book starting to pull you in, boop, chapter ends, boring long quote, switch to one of other stories that's disconnected.
Final gripe: in what feels like an effort to find a way to move the story forward instead of just having characters monologue forever, the final third sees new characters introduced, but once again that just takes away from any sense of engagement I felt with the existing characters, who were never really fleshed out, despite endless opportunities in a book that's 60% philosophizing and moralizing.
There is the main story plus several side stories. The side stories seem disconnected, but eventually, you see a connection - and yet, they really never merge. They just end at the same time. While I enjoyed the slave ship substory much more than all the others, I don't really see the point of it (yes, I get what it's about, but don't feel like it needed to be in the book or if it did, it should have gotten much more time and effort).
The whole book is very short (several pages) chapters. Each begins with a long "quote" from one of two fake books written by characters. At first they are interesting, philosophical musings that tie into the characters scientific exploration. But after dozens of them—all very repetitive and long—interrupting any sense of flow in the narrative, they become quite irritating.
In the end, nothing really happens in this book; the characters aren't very interesting, and every time you do start to become engaged in their journey and feel the book starting to pull you in, boop, chapter ends, boring long quote, switch to one of other stories that's disconnected.
Final gripe: in what feels like an effort to find a way to move the story forward instead of just having characters monologue forever, the final third sees new characters introduced, but once again that just takes away from any sense of engagement I felt with the existing characters, who were never really fleshed out, despite endless opportunities in a book that's 60% philosophizing and moralizing.