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qrsm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jrosenstein's review against another edition
3.0
I got this book by New Orleans author Crone, in an awesome bookstore in NOLA called Faulkner House books. The bookstore is in a house where Faulkner once lived, right next to St. Louis Cathedral and on a street called Pirate's Alley. It was lovely and I wanted to get something by a local scifi or fantasy author but the clerk said there aren't many in New Orleans. Luckily, I managed to stumble across this book. Crone's dystopian vision of a New Orleans nearly completely submerged by rising sea waters is not exactly original, but her take on the future has its own unique flavor. She imagines a world where a small elite are essentially able to live forever while everyone else struggles just to survive. Admittedly I wanted some more clarity and answers to some of the mysteries in the book, but I appreciate what Crone is trying to do with her use of ambiguity. She does not make you at home in the world and reveals information slowly so that the reader feels the same confusion and alienation as the narrator. Sometimes it feels a bit disjointed because we as readers figure things out before the narrator does, but overall it's an effective technique. If you like atmospheric, literary scifi and dystopia, you'll like this.
reallbee's review against another edition
2.0
Intriguing concept exploring a dystopian society and the morals and ethics around a select few achieving immortality while the rest of the population is left behind, which can also be seen as poignant metaphor for our current stratification between socioeconomic levels - but overall, not that great of a read. Too much was left unexplained until the last chapter and the unsynchronized timeline was a hindrance to making sense of the story and really getting engaged.
djwudi's review against another edition
3.0
I had trouble getting into this one -- it was interesting, and has some interesting ideas on mortality and the effects of enhanced longevity, but for some reason, it didn't really pull me in until the last chapter when everything wraps up.
cnyreader's review against another edition
2.0
This is a science fiction novel set in the future, where the secret of preventing aging has been discovered. The Heirs, those who do not age, are the highest strat in the land, and there are those who aspire to become a part of their group, including Malcolm, who is a Not Yet, on his way to becoming an Heir. The novel is set in what used to be New Orleans, now a group of islands.
This novel had some great moments, but overall, it was choppy and didn't have enough exposition. It felt disjointed and didn't flow as well as I'd hoped, and at times it was confusing. I was left feeling a little lost.
This novel had some great moments, but overall, it was choppy and didn't have enough exposition. It felt disjointed and didn't flow as well as I'd hoped, and at times it was confusing. I was left feeling a little lost.
editor_b's review against another edition
5.0
The hook is kind of irresistible: a science fiction novel set in New Orleans, a hundred-some years in the future.
It's perfectly counter-intuitive. New Orleans is a city where the past seems so close at hand, a city in love with its own history, a city where old ways and traditions persist. There's a reason why the Space Needle and the Science Fiction Museum are up in the other corner of the country.
The floods of 2005 called the city's future into question, but the city survived and was transformed. The new New Orleans is ripe for science fictional imagining. At the very least, it's an intriguing premise.
That's why I was drawn to this title. I was surprised to find the real themes of the book to be something else again. Yes, New Orleans is here, and mostly under water. But the book is really about our human yearning to escape the cycle of aging and death, and what might happen if technology finally succeeds in extending our lives far beyond current expectations.
It's masterfully written and a joy to read, though the subject matter is rather dark and disturbing. In addition to be a good story, it's also a profound contemplation of the human condition and a convincing vision of where our society is headed.
It's perfectly counter-intuitive. New Orleans is a city where the past seems so close at hand, a city in love with its own history, a city where old ways and traditions persist. There's a reason why the Space Needle and the Science Fiction Museum are up in the other corner of the country.
The floods of 2005 called the city's future into question, but the city survived and was transformed. The new New Orleans is ripe for science fictional imagining. At the very least, it's an intriguing premise.
That's why I was drawn to this title. I was surprised to find the real themes of the book to be something else again. Yes, New Orleans is here, and mostly under water. But the book is really about our human yearning to escape the cycle of aging and death, and what might happen if technology finally succeeds in extending our lives far beyond current expectations.
It's masterfully written and a joy to read, though the subject matter is rather dark and disturbing. In addition to be a good story, it's also a profound contemplation of the human condition and a convincing vision of where our society is headed.
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