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sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
a strange but striking book, with some 5 star parts and some 2 star parts, for me. rated up for originality and being thought provoking.
pros:
- the language and descriptions and some dialogue is just beautiful. its like poetry, the turns of phase and the raw appreciation of life and nature the symbiotic relationship between humans and earth, and how death feeds life.
- connecting to, the kakuy being a wonderful creation, and i liked how North stressed how they simply *were* nature, in all its indifferent glory, and not gods that cared or noticed humans at all. but that humans should care for them, simply because they come from the earth that gives us life. they make for a great vehicle for metaphor and musings on protecting nature and climate change, and being a tiny part of a huge thing, but also becoming that huge thing itself by being subsumed by it.
- the complicated and very human relationship that Ven had with Georg was powerful, how he completely disavowed his tormentor, his enemy, his captor, and everything Georg stood for, and yet still had a connection with him as a fellow human and could see who Georg might've been in a different life. it showed how the worse evil is created by normal men.
- the other worldbuilding was fascinating, with the eco tech, some of which is familiar and some not, but feels realistic. there is a kind of speculative fiction feel to it, as well as magical realism. also seeing our own time (or a hundred years in our future) through their eyes was really interesting and I liked how they talked about both the sacredness of normal human belongings and rubbish, as well as the pollution of those same things.
- I liked the nonbinary chatacter Lah very much and got emotional when they were murdered and poor Ven was left with their body. that was viscerally and disturbingly describe
- I liked the way Ven's quiet strength and persistent compassion was described and emerged later in the book (I loathed him as a spineless traitor at the start, hes a very unreliable narrator), and there is a thread of hope that it is the character who sees the humanity in everyone and resists destruction as far as possible is the one to survive all the atrocities he suffers.
cons
- my biggest issue was the slowness. whilst i loved sections of the descriptions and contemplation, it was repeated too often for me and it dragged the pace. the only times i was absolutely engaged was during the action scenes, everything else felt like a sometimes frustratingly slow meander through plot points.
- i also got confused. it didnt help that i had gaps in between reading, so I'm sure i forgot stuff, but i wad very lost near the beginning when Ven suddenly has a name and personality change for apparently no reason, plus a rushed through history of his middle years and a bunch of new characters. I didn't care about his fat at all during this because I didn't know why it was important and thought he was terrible. of course that may be the point, but it didnt make it easier to read.
- I got confused with names in general, there are a LOT and place names. a map would have been so helpful.
- I did guess who Pontus was as soon as they were mentioned, Yue seemed fairly obvious as the most emotionally invested council character. but it was still interesting seeing how ven worked it out. bit underwhelming how he didnt seem angry at her at all, though it did fit with his character.
overall, a tricky and slow, but also beautiful, original and poignant novel about humanity and the environment.
pros:
- the language and descriptions and some dialogue is just beautiful. its like poetry, the turns of phase and the raw appreciation of life and nature the symbiotic relationship between humans and earth, and how death feeds life.
- connecting to, the kakuy being a wonderful creation, and i liked how North stressed how they simply *were* nature, in all its indifferent glory, and not gods that cared or noticed humans at all. but that humans should care for them, simply because they come from the earth that gives us life. they make for a great vehicle for metaphor and musings on protecting nature and climate change, and being a tiny part of a huge thing, but also becoming that huge thing itself by being subsumed by it.
- the complicated and very human relationship that Ven had with Georg was powerful, how he completely disavowed his tormentor, his enemy, his captor, and everything Georg stood for, and yet still had a connection with him as a fellow human and could see who Georg might've been in a different life. it showed how the worse evil is created by normal men.
- the other worldbuilding was fascinating, with the eco tech, some of which is familiar and some not, but feels realistic. there is a kind of speculative fiction feel to it, as well as magical realism. also seeing our own time (or a hundred years in our future) through their eyes was really interesting and I liked how they talked about both the sacredness of normal human belongings and rubbish, as well as the pollution of those same things.
- I liked the nonbinary chatacter Lah very much
- I liked the way Ven's quiet strength and persistent compassion was described and emerged later in the book (I loathed him as a spineless traitor at the start, hes a very unreliable narrator), and there is a thread of hope that it is the character who sees the humanity in everyone and resists destruction as far as possible is the one to survive all the atrocities he suffers.
cons
- my biggest issue was the slowness. whilst i loved sections of the descriptions and contemplation, it was repeated too often for me and it dragged the pace. the only times i was absolutely engaged was during the action scenes, everything else felt like a sometimes frustratingly slow meander through plot points.
- i also got confused. it didnt help that i had gaps in between reading, so I'm sure i forgot stuff, but i wad very lost near the beginning
- I got confused with names in general, there are a LOT and place names. a map would have been so helpful.
-
overall, a tricky and slow, but also beautiful, original and poignant novel about humanity and the environment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Pandemic/Epidemic
estewanii's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Redefines the post-modern era, a story of humanity's struggle with peace and harmony, and their hunger for power and hubris. Ultimately, if we had been given a new slate in life, how would we live? Think? And would the history of our ruin repeat itself?
It's not a kind book; it's weary, cynical, and violent. But all the same it cherishes and preaches the good of people and their place in the world. A wonderful read.
It's not a kind book; it's weary, cynical, and violent. But all the same it cherishes and preaches the good of people and their place in the world. A wonderful read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Deadnaming and Panic attacks/disorders
aardwyrm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A lot of the prose is very evocative and the worldbuilding is lovely both in the fantastical and sociopolitical realms. That gets the book a pass. But it's a complete failure in terms of both plot and character. The story lurches along at an erratic, stuttering pace, with things happening more or less at random. The main character is a blank space, the J. Alfred Prufrock of the apocalypse. I am not a purist when it comes to reactive protagonists; sometimes that's the story you're telling. But Ven doesn't seek or react, doesn't seem to want or believe anything. It preserves a sort of artificial suspense, since his absolute lack of a character means anything he does (to serve whatever the plot needs next, with no other apparent motives) is unpredictable. George (sp? I had an audiobook) is almost interesting as an antagonist sometimes, but the story seems convinced he is a supernaturally charismatic mastermind and not a creepy little libertarian dudebro. The great secret reveals all fall flat because the characters are all cardboard cutouts being marched along zigzagging little tracks. (Also, Ven and George's only actual interests seem to be in each other, and the most natural read of the book is about two ineffective philosophy majors who have the hots for each other and do a war about it.)
There's a tradition of apocalyptic novels in particular that are all about ideas. This is not something to strive for, but fine. (There is also a tradition of litfic writers deciding to tackle spec fic stories and doing it with amateurish foolishness.) But as a novel of ideas, it fails, too. The good side asks nothing of people but that they live comfortable middle class lives with some roommates and a largely vegetarian diet. The bad side cackles and makes speeches about how they want to destroy all of nature because their dad was a bad parent. I am barely paraphrasing. If you want a war of philosophies, a villain who seems to know he is a satire of alt right wannabe demagogues isn't exactly a bold statement. Nothing bold or interesting ever happens with the questions of gender, society, religion, and roles within it; it's all just sorta thrown at the wall.And the conclusion "this character is complex because they did a war crime and are sad about it" never really works, does it? Certainly not twice.
There's a good book in here, I think. A complete rewrite to focus on the world (multiple POVs would be good here) and a ruthless editor to take out all the badly written extended action scenes that go nowhere and the pointless tense changes would do it.
There's a tradition of apocalyptic novels in particular that are all about ideas. This is not something to strive for, but fine. (There is also a tradition of litfic writers deciding to tackle spec fic stories and doing it with amateurish foolishness.) But as a novel of ideas, it fails, too. The good side asks nothing of people but that they live comfortable middle class lives with some roommates and a largely vegetarian diet. The bad side cackles and makes speeches about how they want to destroy all of nature because their dad was a bad parent. I am barely paraphrasing. If you want a war of philosophies, a villain who seems to know he is a satire of alt right wannabe demagogues isn't exactly a bold statement. Nothing bold or interesting ever happens with the questions of gender, society, religion, and roles within it; it's all just sorta thrown at the wall.
There's a good book in here, I think. A complete rewrite to focus on the world (multiple POVs would be good here) and a ruthless editor to take out all the badly written extended action scenes that go nowhere and the pointless tense changes would do it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism
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