hannahmci's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
roseaboveitreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sarahjonewt's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so, I have a couple of conflicting opinions about this novel.
The "Good": I loved the premise and setting (both geographic and chronologic). The characters were very well written and were definitely a strength of the novel. In particular, I liked how the Kaaro of the 2050s was different to the Kaaro of the 2060s. The snark was well done and sprinkled throughout, just frequent enough to keep things interesting. The dialogue was usually hit-or-miss, but generally pretty solid. The writing style was sparse and tight, and there were sentences that would come out of nowhere and hit me in the face in the best of ways. The pacing was good. Also, for some reason, I usually don't like first person present-tense POV, but it was very well done here.
The "Meh": So, I wasn't really a fan of jumping back and forth chronologically. It wasn't hard to follow, per se, but I feel like Kaaro's character development was so intriguing, I would have liked to have seen a more steady build of his character rather than the piecemeal approach. This MAY have been more tolerable if the author had limited himself to two different time lines, but we were jumping all over the place across many different events in Kaaro's past. It would have taken a lot more dedication and attention than I cared to give to truly appreciate how these events all lined up to give us the person Kaaro is at the end of the novel. I wonder if the story would have been better served had it been told more chronologically? Because, honestly, Kaaro is a fascinating person and I feel sort of cheated that I didn't get to really dig down into how he changed over the course of his life. The other major "Meh" thing was that, while the beginning was super strong and intriguing, the ending sort of petered out and there were several "solutions" to the conflicts that felt very deus ex machia-y. I sort of got the impression that the author his the 75% mark and was like, "okay, this needs to end; what's the fastest way I can tie it up?"
BUT, all that said, it was a very solid story that was well-told. I'm not sure if I am going to finish the trilogy--the implications of Wormwood in regards to the human race doesn't really interest me all that much--but most of my qualms with the story were based on personal preference.
The "Good": I loved the premise and setting (both geographic and chronologic). The characters were very well written and were definitely a strength of the novel. In particular, I liked how the Kaaro of the 2050s was different to the Kaaro of the 2060s. The snark was well done and sprinkled throughout, just frequent enough to keep things interesting. The dialogue was usually hit-or-miss, but generally pretty solid. The writing style was sparse and tight, and there were sentences that would come out of nowhere and hit me in the face in the best of ways. The pacing was good.
Spoiler
Yaro ends up surviving.The "Meh": So, I wasn't really a fan of jumping back and forth chronologically. It wasn't hard to follow, per se, but I feel like Kaaro's character development was so intriguing, I would have liked to have seen a more steady build of his character rather than the piecemeal approach. This MAY have been more tolerable if the author had limited himself to two different time lines, but we were jumping all over the place across many different events in Kaaro's past. It would have taken a lot more dedication and attention than I cared to give to truly appreciate how these events all lined up to give us the person Kaaro is at the end of the novel. I wonder if the story would have been better served had it been told more chronologically? Because, honestly, Kaaro is a fascinating person and I feel sort of cheated that I didn't get to really dig down into how he changed over the course of his life. The other major "Meh" thing was that, while the beginning was super strong and intriguing, the ending sort of petered out and there were several "solutions" to the conflicts that felt very deus ex machia-y. I sort of got the impression that the author his the 75% mark and was like, "okay, this needs to end; what's the fastest way I can tie it up?"
BUT, all that said, it was a very solid story that was well-told. I'm not sure if I am going to finish the trilogy--the implications of Wormwood in regards to the human race doesn't really interest me all that much--but most of my qualms with the story were based on personal preference.
wrzlprmft's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
moverton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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
4.25
mortimillianog's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sanitakacuba's review against another edition
3.0
The setting of near future Nigeria sets this book apart. Few interesting ideas on the global policy development in the face of alien presence.
Liked the story but I don't feel the urge to read the rest of the trilogy.
Liked the story but I don't feel the urge to read the rest of the trilogy.