A review by joelevard
Debris by Joanne Anderton
2.0
Yeah, I'm not going to finish this one.
The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have minor skill at manipulating them, it is a revered, exclusive class that can control them adroitly.
The first-person narrator is interesting enough -- a pion master who loses control of a construction project, causing extensive damage and suffering an injury that results in the loss of her skills. The central mystery -- what happened to her and why -- is compelling enough. The genre trappings -- the unusual makeup of a pion-powered city, the weird bio-mechanical suit she is forced to wear in her new job as a "debris collector" (too much to explain, never mind) -- are nifty enough. The supporting characters I've encountered so far are fairly cliche but likeable enough.
Really, there is nothing wrong with the book. The whole thing is enough.
Except I don't much care if I finish it. I like reading it fine, but I don't feel compelled to do so. I have no motivation either -- my reading goal for the year is out the window, I got it from the library instead of buying it, it isn't for book club and no one else I know read or recommended it*. So I'm just going to stop. Don't get me wrong, I want to know what happens. I'd totally read a plot summary on Wikipedia to find out. I just won't read 300 more pages.
I might, though, if the cover didn't proudly proclaim "BOOK ONE OF THE VEILED WORLDS." Book one! Book one! I hate seeing book one on the cover for an untried author. Maybe let me decide if I like you before you ask me to commit to an entire series to figure out your story. I didn't like it when Rothfuss did it, and I can't exactly treat you any different. (Lie, I totally can and likely will in the future; I love being contradictory on Goodreads. Pisses people off.)
Aside: the cover of [b:BOOK TWO OF THE VEILED WORLDS|11842057|Suited|Jo Anderton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327674308s/11842057.jpg|16797490] is kind of silly, eh?
*partial lie; Goodreads friend [a:Ian|2924955|Ian Tregillis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270698618p2/2924955.jpg] recommended it via cover blurb. Sorry, Ian. It's a nice blurb.
The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have minor skill at manipulating them, it is a revered, exclusive class that can control them adroitly.
The first-person narrator is interesting enough -- a pion master who loses control of a construction project, causing extensive damage and suffering an injury that results in the loss of her skills. The central mystery -- what happened to her and why -- is compelling enough. The genre trappings -- the unusual makeup of a pion-powered city, the weird bio-mechanical suit she is forced to wear in her new job as a "debris collector" (too much to explain, never mind) -- are nifty enough. The supporting characters I've encountered so far are fairly cliche but likeable enough.
Really, there is nothing wrong with the book. The whole thing is enough.
Except I don't much care if I finish it. I like reading it fine, but I don't feel compelled to do so. I have no motivation either -- my reading goal for the year is out the window, I got it from the library instead of buying it, it isn't for book club and no one else I know read or recommended it*. So I'm just going to stop. Don't get me wrong, I want to know what happens. I'd totally read a plot summary on Wikipedia to find out. I just won't read 300 more pages.
I might, though, if the cover didn't proudly proclaim "BOOK ONE OF THE VEILED WORLDS." Book one! Book one! I hate seeing book one on the cover for an untried author. Maybe let me decide if I like you before you ask me to commit to an entire series to figure out your story. I didn't like it when Rothfuss did it, and I can't exactly treat you any different. (Lie, I totally can and likely will in the future; I love being contradictory on Goodreads. Pisses people off.)
Aside: the cover of [b:BOOK TWO OF THE VEILED WORLDS|11842057|Suited|Jo Anderton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327674308s/11842057.jpg|16797490] is kind of silly, eh?
*partial lie; Goodreads friend [a:Ian|2924955|Ian Tregillis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270698618p2/2924955.jpg] recommended it via cover blurb. Sorry, Ian. It's a nice blurb.