A review by cher_n_books
The Labyrinth's Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 stars = Good and worthwhile but something held it back from being great.
All her life, she had lived with people talking about what she was missing instead of what she had.
This is a novella from a series I have not yet read, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I picked this up as part of a monthly read selection with one of my GR groups.
What I enjoyed was how vastly different the world is to ours. The concept of an intergalactic marketplace where all kinds of humanoid species can gather to exchange ideas and trade was interesting. I appreciated the originality of the heroine being disabled by blindness as well as her sapphic relationship.
What I did not enjoy was the limitations of the story length and a dearth of quotable prose. There is no broad introduction as the reader is dropped into the world with lots of new vocabulary being thrown out that has not been explained. Because of this it took a little while for me to get engaged and I initially feared I would not like this story.
Around 15% in, things hit the fan and a mystery starts. From that point on I was fully engaged and enjoyed the story, but the ending is very abrupt with no fallout closure, follow-up or epilogue. Kind of like a Scooby-Doo episode, the villain is revealed and that’s the end.
I would not hesitate to read more works from this author or from within this world, but would seek out a longer novel next time instead of another novella.
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First Sentence: Azulea could smell grilled meat from Tamir’s stall in the souq abutting the Archive.
Favorite Quote: Murder. The most heinous act one individual can perpetrate on another. It is taking away not only their essence but destroying all of the choices and opportunities and changes that individual would make on the universe in the times to come. It obliterated them from all the worlds for all time.
All her life, she had lived with people talking about what she was missing instead of what she had.
This is a novella from a series I have not yet read, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I picked this up as part of a monthly read selection with one of my GR groups.
What I enjoyed was how vastly different the world is to ours. The concept of an intergalactic marketplace where all kinds of humanoid species can gather to exchange ideas and trade was interesting. I appreciated the originality of the heroine being disabled by blindness as well as her sapphic relationship.
What I did not enjoy was the limitations of the story length and a dearth of quotable prose. There is no broad introduction as the reader is dropped into the world with lots of new vocabulary being thrown out that has not been explained. Because of this it took a little while for me to get engaged and I initially feared I would not like this story.
Around 15% in, things hit the fan and a mystery starts. From that point on I was fully engaged and enjoyed the story, but the ending is very abrupt with no fallout closure, follow-up or epilogue. Kind of like a Scooby-Doo episode, the villain is revealed and that’s the end.
I would not hesitate to read more works from this author or from within this world, but would seek out a longer novel next time instead of another novella.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: Azulea could smell grilled meat from Tamir’s stall in the souq abutting the Archive.
Favorite Quote: Murder. The most heinous act one individual can perpetrate on another. It is taking away not only their essence but destroying all of the choices and opportunities and changes that individual would make on the universe in the times to come. It obliterated them from all the worlds for all time.