Reviews

Laguna by Anna Studniarek, Nnedi Okorafor

kellyd's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.75

I went into this book not knowing much, reading it for a bookclub. Unfortunately, I don't think the summary did a good job of setting expectations for this book. I was anticipating a story that was more sci-fi, grounded in reality, with aliens. Instead, the science is never really explored. It reads more like a loosely held folklore/fantasy where nothing is really explained and the stakes never feel clear. I felt bad feeling bored when there was so much going on in the plot, but I never really connected to any of the characters (other than hating Chris LOL). Not a bad book, but not the right book for me.

cassiyus's review against another edition

3.0

What I loved most about this book was the short chapters about the various plants and animals that gain a heightened consciousness and experience an alien arrival in their own, separate animal way. I loved the imagery and the language of the book, and certainly appreciated, even if I didn't know, the references to African (specifically Nigerian) dialects and mythology.

I did find that it was a bit long to get through, and while the action was nice, I felt there was going to be a more... coalesced story? Many of the small bits dead-end or trail off, never really getting to a resolution. That would be great if this were a total collection of vignettes where there is no central plot, but.. there *is* a central plot and even that doesn't necessarily go anywhere. Great writing, amazing images, but I felt that not much really happened in this amazing idea of aliens arriving not quite where we have grown to expect.

charlibirb's review against another edition

3.5

Didn't enjoy this book. The concept was cool, but it was frustratingly slow-paced, and I didn't really get too much of a sense of the "personality" of the otherworldly entities. I feel like Okorafor
is often missing something - like  depth of character, subtlety, and pacing. But I do keep reading her because of her cool concepts and world building. 

adam_penny's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

chefjones's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

frankie_ingram86's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

mbpm's review against another edition

4.0

Entertaining yarn. Or rather a web. A modern day folk tale, or maybe legend.

petrathepoet's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

stillhurtingolive's review against another edition

3.0

Global Sci Fi class

kawooreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this one more than I did. Okorafor is excellent at worldbuilding, and she has some interesting ideas here, but it just felt like too many POVs, and the pacing made it difficult to follow at times. I felt more confused the further the story progressed. This is a highly-inventive alien encounter story nonetheless, and Okorafor sure, can turn a phrase.