Take a photo of a barcode or cover
thesebonesdontlie 's review for:
The Doors of Eden
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
This book was not good.
I struggled to finish this one, and I was even listening to it, which is often an easier way for me to consume novels. But I dreaded trying to slog through the last third, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
This book started off pretty strong for me. I love the parallel/alternate universe trope, and the alternate evolutions was a fun and interesting take on that. It was clear the the author has a deep understanding of the science of evolution; the alien species didn't develop just because, there were stated environmental pressures that led to their different evolution. And it was clear that this alternate evolution stuff and the world building around that were near and dear to the author, because they made up what felt like half the book. This aspect I grew tired of very quickly. The interludes were fun and mysterious until they weren't, because they happened after every chapter of actual plot. And they were often so long that by the time they were over I had completely forgotten what was going on in the story. They either should have been all very short, or used more sparingly throughout. By the time the big reveal of the author's identity came, I just didn't care. They broke up the narrative so much that I had trouble remembering the story, remembering the interludes, and following the plot.
The other thing that had me excited at the beginning were the gay women. If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a lesbian and I love reading about lesbians. So for the primary character to also be a lesbian was a great start. But as the book went on, the lesbians appeared less and less, until by the end they get the briefest of mentions. It was kind of like using the gays to bring me in, like bait, and then discarding them from the plot when convenient. The worst part was they discarded their storyline for a boring "will they won't they" straight couple, which also involves just a splash of cheating for good measure. I'm not suggesting that the entire book should be about the lesbians, but I guess I anticipated them being more explicitly involved. Instead I had to hear about government employees, always steps behind the rest of the action, try and do something.
On the topic of characters, this book had Way Too Many. Each chapter had numerous points of view, and not all the characters were fleshed out enough to warrant this. The fact that so much time was devoted to the henchman character and his inner moral arguments was just some of the dullest stuff. I also didn't really care for the treatment given to the sole trans character, who was a brilliant scientist but who's main conflict was people constantly misgendering her. I just feel like that character could have been approached/handled differently. In short, there were too many characters who's voices weren't different enough to know the difference between chapters.
My final issue with this book is that I have no fucking idea what happened at the end. I had to rewind to listen multiple times to understand what was going on. Not the groundhog day stuff, that I got (the Magicians tv show did that concept way better). Everyone died, and then no one died, and they mushed all the worlds together, right? They argued and then decided to stop arguing and then it was the epilogue and they were watching a video that explained something and then the lesbians went on a backpacking journey, right?? For a book to be so long and lead up to such a confusing and unsatisfying conclusion made me wish I had just given up when I was 46% in. But momma didn't raise no quitter, and I finished it to provide you all with this review. I doubt I have the mental energy to read more from this author.
I struggled to finish this one, and I was even listening to it, which is often an easier way for me to consume novels. But I dreaded trying to slog through the last third, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
This book started off pretty strong for me. I love the parallel/alternate universe trope, and the alternate evolutions was a fun and interesting take on that. It was clear the the author has a deep understanding of the science of evolution; the alien species didn't develop just because, there were stated environmental pressures that led to their different evolution. And it was clear that this alternate evolution stuff and the world building around that were near and dear to the author, because they made up what felt like half the book. This aspect I grew tired of very quickly. The interludes were fun and mysterious until they weren't, because they happened after every chapter of actual plot. And they were often so long that by the time they were over I had completely forgotten what was going on in the story. They either should have been all very short, or used more sparingly throughout. By the time the big reveal of the author's identity came, I just didn't care. They broke up the narrative so much that I had trouble remembering the story, remembering the interludes, and following the plot.
The other thing that had me excited at the beginning were the gay women. If you know anything about me, it's that I'm a lesbian and I love reading about lesbians. So for the primary character to also be a lesbian was a great start. But as the book went on, the lesbians appeared less and less, until by the end they get the briefest of mentions. It was kind of like using the gays to bring me in, like bait, and then discarding them from the plot when convenient. The worst part was they discarded their storyline for a boring "will they won't they" straight couple, which also involves just a splash of cheating for good measure. I'm not suggesting that the entire book should be about the lesbians, but I guess I anticipated them being more explicitly involved. Instead I had to hear about government employees, always steps behind the rest of the action, try and do something.
On the topic of characters, this book had Way Too Many. Each chapter had numerous points of view, and not all the characters were fleshed out enough to warrant this. The fact that so much time was devoted to the henchman character and his inner moral arguments was just some of the dullest stuff. I also didn't really care for the treatment given to the sole trans character, who was a brilliant scientist but who's main conflict was people constantly misgendering her. I just feel like that character could have been approached/handled differently. In short, there were too many characters who's voices weren't different enough to know the difference between chapters.
My final issue with this book is that I have no fucking idea what happened at the end. I had to rewind to listen multiple times to understand what was going on. Not the groundhog day stuff, that I got (the Magicians tv show did that concept way better). Everyone died, and then no one died, and they mushed all the worlds together, right? They argued and then decided to stop arguing and then it was the epilogue and they were watching a video that explained something and then the lesbians went on a backpacking journey, right?? For a book to be so long and lead up to such a confusing and unsatisfying conclusion made me wish I had just given up when I was 46% in. But momma didn't raise no quitter, and I finished it to provide you all with this review. I doubt I have the mental energy to read more from this author.