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I was rooting for author Kameron Hurley from the get-go, but this, her debut novel, left me somewhat flat. Although I don't usually favor the type of extremely dark and violent material presented here, I can overlook that if all or most of the other elements make up for it. I should stress that Hurley has a brilliant imagination, and the world she's constructed here is impressively original, combining insect-driven technology, elements of the supernatural, a Muslim-inspired alien planet, matriarchy, and racial and sexual diversity. All of these are positives, in my view, within a genre which can sometimes become quite stale.
Here are the problems, though: First, Hurley does not give the reader sufficient exposition. While I agree that too much exposition can sink a good novel and defuse the action, on the other hand, in a world so utterly alien to our experience, some guideposts are really necessary. Hurley, however, largely leaves the reader to decipher everything on their own. (For example, it took me quite a bit of pondering to piece together not only how a "bakkie" operates, but what it even is. And the etymology of the term is never explained.)
Second, and even more problematic, the characters here are not particularly relatable, let alone likeable. This is especially true of the protagonist, Nyx. While we are given some little bits of background on her in dribs and drabs, at the end of the novel we're no wiser as to her motivations in life, her goals, or even what her next move might be. Perhaps this is intentional, since this book is the first in a trilogy, but without some more compelling motivating factors, Nyx is simply a stone-cold, often vicious, inscrutable force of nature which the reader is unable to connect with or root for. And this is true of every character in the book. There's really no one the reader can empathize with.
Finally, the novel simply drags. At under 300 pages, I should have been able to blaze through this in half the time it took me to read it. But worming my way through Hurley's paradoxically soporific action was a real chore, a classic case of "once you put it down, it's hard to pick it up again." Some of this had to do with the profusion of atmospherics; had the author exchanged some of the scene descriptions for more useful exposition, it would have gone a long way toward resolving my issues with this book.
I will probably give Hurley another chance. As noted, this is her first attempt at a novel, and it exhibited sufficient inventiveness to warrant some leeway. But I found it a disappointment given the accolades it's received, and if the second in the series is not an improvement, I'll reserve the right to skip the third.
Here are the problems, though: First, Hurley does not give the reader sufficient exposition. While I agree that too much exposition can sink a good novel and defuse the action, on the other hand, in a world so utterly alien to our experience, some guideposts are really necessary. Hurley, however, largely leaves the reader to decipher everything on their own. (For example, it took me quite a bit of pondering to piece together not only how a "bakkie" operates, but what it even is. And the etymology of the term is never explained.)
Second, and even more problematic, the characters here are not particularly relatable, let alone likeable. This is especially true of the protagonist, Nyx. While we are given some little bits of background on her in dribs and drabs, at the end of the novel we're no wiser as to her motivations in life, her goals, or even what her next move might be. Perhaps this is intentional, since this book is the first in a trilogy, but without some more compelling motivating factors, Nyx is simply a stone-cold, often vicious, inscrutable force of nature which the reader is unable to connect with or root for. And this is true of every character in the book. There's really no one the reader can empathize with.
Finally, the novel simply drags. At under 300 pages, I should have been able to blaze through this in half the time it took me to read it. But worming my way through Hurley's paradoxically soporific action was a real chore, a classic case of "once you put it down, it's hard to pick it up again." Some of this had to do with the profusion of atmospherics; had the author exchanged some of the scene descriptions for more useful exposition, it would have gone a long way toward resolving my issues with this book.
I will probably give Hurley another chance. As noted, this is her first attempt at a novel, and it exhibited sufficient inventiveness to warrant some leeway. But I found it a disappointment given the accolades it's received, and if the second in the series is not an improvement, I'll reserve the right to skip the third.