sophia_tiwari's review against another edition
There is no plot. I have no clue what’s going on in the book. So much potential wasted…
chamblyman's review against another edition
4.0
The mysticism of astral realms and spirit beings mixes with a complex depiction of utopia/dystopia, technological power, and human survival amid shifting realities. Imagine Marlon James (Black Leopard Red Wolf) doing a Philip K. Dick type story set in an Afrocentric alternate-history London!
the_prickly_reader's review against another edition
It just wasn't grabbing me. I couldn't relate and I found it confusing.
itskathamilton's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The plot is interesting and the characters are consistent through the book - I found the story hard to follow after the first section however, and after about 200 pages it was a real effort to get through the book. Concepts of astral travel are introduced but don’t feel super connected to the story as a whole until the very end of the book. Some of the foundational world building feels like it’s missing - and the blurb of the book talks about it being set in an alternate world where colonialism never happened, but I missed that completely within the story.
georginadaw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
matty_robson17's review against another edition
It wasn't a bad book, but it was painfully boring and mediocre. The plot and characters failed to grab me, and the writing style became tedious. The over-use of very short sentences, sometimes descending into lists of things, actions, perceptions, was a particualrly difficult stylistic choice for me to read. Sometimes a third of a whole paragraph would be these kinds of sentences.
rachelemm's review against another edition
2.0
I loved The Scholar by this author which I read in my teens, so when I learned he'd released a novel this year, I hopped right onto the library hold list to discover how his writing had developed and changed over the years.
A River Called Time could not be more different from The Scholar so I accept that much of my disappointment with the novel comes from the fact that I was, in part, reading it due to a sense of nostalgia. I did not do my due diligence in finding out more about the book's plot and themes. The book sits most comfortably in the sci-fi genre which I don't typically read, there's also a strong mystical element running through it which I don't typically like in novels and there a number of alternate timelines which is a concept that is difficult to pull off even when you don't have a complex sci-fi world to build and a mystic religion to weave into the story. In essence, this novel was trying to do too much and it lost me as a result. Parts of it were also massively overwritten and could have done with being stripped back.
If I had to describe my reading experience of A River Called Time in one word, it would be 'confusing'. I read paragraphs at a time utterly at a loss on what was happening. At first I would go back and read again to try and understand but, after a while, I stopped doing this and just kept going in the hope that things would all make sense in the end.
While I left this book with a vague understanding of the key events and main characters, I'm not entirely confident that I could explain it to anyone.
I continue to admire and respect Courttia Newland as an author, particularly after reading the afterword to this book which demonstrates the level of commitment Newland had to getting this book out into the world. I think I just have to say this book was not for me. I would be open to reading more from this author in future but I will do my research next time and not just pick up one of his books hoping for something in the vein of The Scholar.
A River Called Time could not be more different from The Scholar so I accept that much of my disappointment with the novel comes from the fact that I was, in part, reading it due to a sense of nostalgia. I did not do my due diligence in finding out more about the book's plot and themes. The book sits most comfortably in the sci-fi genre which I don't typically read, there's also a strong mystical element running through it which I don't typically like in novels and there a number of alternate timelines which is a concept that is difficult to pull off even when you don't have a complex sci-fi world to build and a mystic religion to weave into the story. In essence, this novel was trying to do too much and it lost me as a result. Parts of it were also massively overwritten and could have done with being stripped back.
If I had to describe my reading experience of A River Called Time in one word, it would be 'confusing'. I read paragraphs at a time utterly at a loss on what was happening. At first I would go back and read again to try and understand but, after a while, I stopped doing this and just kept going in the hope that things would all make sense in the end.
While I left this book with a vague understanding of the key events and main characters, I'm not entirely confident that I could explain it to anyone.
I continue to admire and respect Courttia Newland as an author, particularly after reading the afterword to this book which demonstrates the level of commitment Newland had to getting this book out into the world. I think I just have to say this book was not for me. I would be open to reading more from this author in future but I will do my research next time and not just pick up one of his books hoping for something in the vein of The Scholar.
caroline_norrish's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75