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A review by rowena_m_andrews
The Ancestor by Lee Matthew Goldberg
4.0
The Ancestor is one of those books that breaks the boundaries between genres because while it is a thriller at heart, it incorporates many aspects from other genres, and it does it well. At no point does it lose any sense of self, and it balances the different aspects beautifully, shaped into a book that demands your attention.
Alaska as a setting has always been interesting to read about, and Goldberg manages to capture the bleakness and cold, but also the beauty of the area and nature, as well as the lives of the people that live there. There was clear research done for this part, and the effort was paired with careful crafting of the world for the narrative, with some truly beautiful descriptions, which brought the setting vividly to life.
This was paired with very believable characters, who all had their own development and storyline, and whether they were a main character or secondary character added to the world and narrative, and even those who were not likeable were engaging. Of the two main characters, I preferred Wyatt, although my feeling towards him underwent quite a transition, as he underwent quite a change throughout the book as he rediscovered parts of himself, twisting the character we meet into something very new and different by the end of the book. Travis, the other man character took longer for me to connect with him, but as he developed and grew, you wind up rooting for him. The secondary characters, especially Travis’ family were interesting, and I really enjoyed those side storylines, and they were brought together with the main storyline in a way that created a rich, multi-layered story.
The time-slip element of the book, and the memories, were executed very well, although there were places where it felt as though it could have benefited from shorter bursts of this throughout the book to keep the pace flowing, as there were a few places here or there was the pacing slipped a little. However, for the most part, the time-slip parts were amongst some of my favourite moments in this book, heightened with a shift in tenses and writing style, and for me, they really set The Ancestor apart. Outside this and the pacing, I really enjoyed Goldberg’s writing style, it was modern and well-crafted, and really brought this narrative to life, and that paired with a fascinating premise, created a book that was original, fascinating and left you always waiting for the next twist.
This was a book that interested me from the start but caught me by surprise with how much I ended up enjoying it. A riveting read that is a thriller at heart but so much more, refusing to be bound by a single genre, and I would recommend to anyone wanting something original, that breaks out of the box, and does it exceptionally well.
Alaska as a setting has always been interesting to read about, and Goldberg manages to capture the bleakness and cold, but also the beauty of the area and nature, as well as the lives of the people that live there. There was clear research done for this part, and the effort was paired with careful crafting of the world for the narrative, with some truly beautiful descriptions, which brought the setting vividly to life.
This was paired with very believable characters, who all had their own development and storyline, and whether they were a main character or secondary character added to the world and narrative, and even those who were not likeable were engaging. Of the two main characters, I preferred Wyatt, although my feeling towards him underwent quite a transition, as he underwent quite a change throughout the book as he rediscovered parts of himself, twisting the character we meet into something very new and different by the end of the book. Travis, the other man character took longer for me to connect with him, but as he developed and grew, you wind up rooting for him. The secondary characters, especially Travis’ family were interesting, and I really enjoyed those side storylines, and they were brought together with the main storyline in a way that created a rich, multi-layered story.
The time-slip element of the book, and the memories, were executed very well, although there were places where it felt as though it could have benefited from shorter bursts of this throughout the book to keep the pace flowing, as there were a few places here or there was the pacing slipped a little. However, for the most part, the time-slip parts were amongst some of my favourite moments in this book, heightened with a shift in tenses and writing style, and for me, they really set The Ancestor apart. Outside this and the pacing, I really enjoyed Goldberg’s writing style, it was modern and well-crafted, and really brought this narrative to life, and that paired with a fascinating premise, created a book that was original, fascinating and left you always waiting for the next twist.
This was a book that interested me from the start but caught me by surprise with how much I ended up enjoying it. A riveting read that is a thriller at heart but so much more, refusing to be bound by a single genre, and I would recommend to anyone wanting something original, that breaks out of the box, and does it exceptionally well.