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t_a_timothys 's review for:
The Mountain in the Sea
by Ray Nayler
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
# High Level Thoughts
A thought provoking meditation on consciousness in the near future, *The Mountain in the Sea* pulls the interested reader into a mix of dystopia, corporate espionage, and marine biology. This book is definitely not for everyone, but the right reader will devour it, like I did. (Disclaimer: I did read this while at jury duty, so it is possible my love for the book was partially the airline movie effect.)
# Who would like it
Fans of near future sci-fi, will find this book fulfilling. I love this book for how deeply it looks at one topic, building every character and conflict around this same central exploration and asking the reader to consider the many forms consciousness may take. This is an area I already find interesting and expect to be only become more relevant in our tech heavy future. The characters serve this well and are just rounded enough to feel believable without bogging down the overall narrative.
# Who would not
If you are someone who reads for plot, this book may not be for you. While I think it does a passable job at pulling readers through the chapters, it is no thriller, and if the speculative elements aren't pulling you in, the plot beats likely won't do it alone. The disappointment here is definitely a result of the quite good pacing to start, followed by a slow down in the latter half of the book.
# Rating and Conclusion
4/5 To me, this book did everything it set out to do. There are certainly flaws, but for me it is more than the sum of its parts. It explores so much about near term consciousness in an imaginative way that I fully engaged with and loved.
A thought provoking meditation on consciousness in the near future, *The Mountain in the Sea* pulls the interested reader into a mix of dystopia, corporate espionage, and marine biology. This book is definitely not for everyone, but the right reader will devour it, like I did. (Disclaimer: I did read this while at jury duty, so it is possible my love for the book was partially the airline movie effect.)
# Who would like it
Fans of near future sci-fi, will find this book fulfilling. I love this book for how deeply it looks at one topic, building every character and conflict around this same central exploration and asking the reader to consider the many forms consciousness may take. This is an area I already find interesting and expect to be only become more relevant in our tech heavy future. The characters serve this well and are just rounded enough to feel believable without bogging down the overall narrative.
# Who would not
If you are someone who reads for plot, this book may not be for you. While I think it does a passable job at pulling readers through the chapters, it is no thriller, and if the speculative elements aren't pulling you in, the plot beats likely won't do it alone. The disappointment here is definitely a result of the quite good pacing to start, followed by a slow down in the latter half of the book.
# Rating and Conclusion
4/5 To me, this book did everything it set out to do. There are certainly flaws, but for me it is more than the sum of its parts. It explores so much about near term consciousness in an imaginative way that I fully engaged with and loved.