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blrobin2's Reviews (550)
Impossible to understand completely on the first pass, but once you get into the stream it unveils itself in pieces. Non-linear actions, dream sequences, digressions on top of digressions: it isn't an easy read, but it is a rewarding one. There are plenty of resources out there to help you understand the book, but don't use those until after you've read it. It took me ~2 months of off-and-on reading (I had other books going), and I'm not a very strong reader. I'll definitely be coming back to it at some point in the future for another pass.
Clarke's writing is terse and mechanical, but his imagination β informed by, but not limited to, the sciences βis what makes this story shine. The greatest failure of the book is its latent racism and sexism, however intentional it may be. This, however, is a problem with all foundational sci-fi, not just Clarke. I don't want to spoil the story because the reveals are all satisfying and thought-provoking. Just know that, as exhaustive as later generations have been in mining classic sci-fi ideas and deconstructing them to death, there is still plenty that is fresh and compelling here.
I know there is an audience for this book, but that audience isn't me. Without spoiling anything, it should be stated explicitly that this is not a mystery novel but a dark fantasy novel, and a brutally violent one at that. I believe the author intended to blend in mystery elements and mix genre, but the mystery elements β the secret passageways, the estate secrets β are pathways to something else.
In my opinion, the pacing of the second half of the novel is exhausting and could've been ~100 pages shorter, but like I said, fans of the genre might enjoy it. The language is rich in metaphor, and every moment takes some time to describe the scene. For me, the language sometimes made it difficult to understand the actual plot points, but I'm not the strongest reader and not too familiar with types of trees and guns.
My rating might be lower because, being a fan of Tim Clare's podcast, I unwittingly carried some expectations to the book that were not met. I say all that to say I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading it, just for readers to be aware of what they're getting.
In my opinion, the pacing of the second half of the novel is exhausting and could've been ~100 pages shorter, but like I said, fans of the genre might enjoy it. The language is rich in metaphor, and every moment takes some time to describe the scene. For me, the language sometimes made it difficult to understand the actual plot points, but I'm not the strongest reader and not too familiar with types of trees and guns.
My rating might be lower because, being a fan of Tim Clare's podcast, I unwittingly carried some expectations to the book that were not met. I say all that to say I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading it, just for readers to be aware of what they're getting.
