Reviews

Pod by Laline Paull

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mitchi_'s review against another edition

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Was not for me

blueberrysubmarine's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

Pod is a really ambitious piece of fiction, telling a dark story from multiple perspectives of ocean animals. The world-building was really intriguing, and although it got a bit repetitive towards the end, I found it believable. On the way you learn a lot about dolphin culture and other peculiarities, sometimes shocking. Although I really loved the overall story, characters and writing, it got too repetitive to me and also too one-dimensional in the overall tense and dark mood.

sarablacks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

candlegeorge's review against another edition

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She's misrepresenting remoras

wayhayman14's review against another edition

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3.0

I actually enjoyed this more then I thought I was going to after the first few chapters. All the different characters that were brought in confused me at the start.
It was done well and it was interesting, I did preferred The Bees though.
I really felt for Google & think he was my favourite. The rape scenes - I’m not sure if they were all necessary to be honest as the other behaviour was barbaric enough but I see what it was trying to portray.
A strange read but it was written well seeing as it was being told from a dolphins point of view.

aardwyrm's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read this because I liked The Bees, and, well, it's... just The Bees again. Paull has a way with xenofiction, and the parts that are just deliriously weird and interrogating how different senses and brains would interact with the world, what alien cultures might arise from completely inhuman creatures, those are good. The book would have been stronger if it had stuck to the disconnected vignettes, frankly, because the plot it does develop is strangely hackneyed, considering. It's a phoned-in, dull gothic romance. When you've gone to all the trouble of constructing a dolphin society, why would dolphin harems have exactly the same plot beats as the human historical drama kind? Doesn't help that the pacing is goofy (almost nothing happens very slowly and everyone explains at length why they can't do anything about it, and then the majority of actual events happen in the last 20 pages). And Ea is a miserable POV character. Her only traits are a petite, pure, and delicate beauty, sadness, and being not like other girls. Altogether, while arguably worth reading for the rapturous fish on mollusc death-sex, the effect is dreary and disappointing. Just read The Bees. It's just as weird but hides its weaknesses as a novel much better.