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tranquilitycase 's review for:
Too Like the Lightning
by Ada Palmer
I wanted to like this, but it fell short for me. I picked it up because of its Hugo nomination.
First of all, I don't think much got tied off at the end. I know it's the first in a series (duology? I can't remember), so I was expecting that there would be some measure of resolution in a later book. But reaching the end of this book felt like stepping off a cliff. I really dislike that.
I also had issues with some of the fourth-wall-breaking. In general I don't mind when a character breaks the fourth wall, but in this instance the narrator actually has arguments with his "reader" about whether he is allowed to call another character a witch. Multiple times. It gets old, and I just didn't see the point.
There were brief descriptions of rape, torture, and even cannibalism, which took me by surprise. I didn't read that in any of the reviews I came across, until after I had reached this point in the book (around 60% of the way through). It nearly caused me to set the book down permanently.
And then there's the idea that a stolen list of people that a news editor thinks are influential on the world stage could spark another world war... well, it strains credulity. This is only one of perhaps 7 or 8 versions of the same list published by competing news agencies. It seemed to me to be analogous those Time magazine special editions, which I generally only glance at in the checkout aisle - so I couldn't understand why it was set up to be such a plot driver. In fact, all of the related descriptions of the politics of this world were pretty boring to me. The people on the list actually did become quite interesting, but it took the entire book for them to become so.
That said, this is an interesting book. I've seen other reviewers refer to it as a conversation, and in that respect it really succeeds. I was especially captivated by the idea that discussing faith and metaphysics without a priest/"sensayer" present was illegal. 3 or more people and you have a "church," in a world where churches have been outlawed because they caused a world war. The idea that your nation could be a "Hive" that you opt into, instead of being geographically bound (because there are flying cars that allow you to live and work on separate continents) was also fascinating.
I will probably read the sequel if my book club does, and/or if the sequel is likewise nominated for awards. But I'm not going to prioritize it. And I won't be voting for this book as the Hugo winner.
First of all, I don't think much got tied off at the end. I know it's the first in a series (duology? I can't remember), so I was expecting that there would be some measure of resolution in a later book. But reaching the end of this book felt like stepping off a cliff. I really dislike that.
I also had issues with some of the fourth-wall-breaking. In general I don't mind when a character breaks the fourth wall, but in this instance the narrator actually has arguments with his "reader" about whether he is allowed to call another character a witch. Multiple times. It gets old, and I just didn't see the point.
There were brief descriptions of rape, torture, and even cannibalism, which took me by surprise. I didn't read that in any of the reviews I came across, until after I had reached this point in the book (around 60% of the way through). It nearly caused me to set the book down permanently.
And then there's the idea that a stolen list of people that a news editor thinks are influential on the world stage could spark another world war... well, it strains credulity. This is only one of perhaps 7 or 8 versions of the same list published by competing news agencies. It seemed to me to be analogous those Time magazine special editions, which I generally only glance at in the checkout aisle - so I couldn't understand why it was set up to be such a plot driver. In fact, all of the related descriptions of the politics of this world were pretty boring to me. The people on the list actually did become quite interesting, but it took the entire book for them to become so.
That said, this is an interesting book. I've seen other reviewers refer to it as a conversation, and in that respect it really succeeds. I was especially captivated by the idea that discussing faith and metaphysics without a priest/"sensayer" present was illegal. 3 or more people and you have a "church," in a world where churches have been outlawed because they caused a world war. The idea that your nation could be a "Hive" that you opt into, instead of being geographically bound (because there are flying cars that allow you to live and work on separate continents) was also fascinating.
I will probably read the sequel if my book club does, and/or if the sequel is likewise nominated for awards. But I'm not going to prioritize it. And I won't be voting for this book as the Hugo winner.