A review by lindzlovesreading
The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith

3.0

I almost wish Smith's Version of The Electric Hotel was an actual lost movie. It would feel like watching an silent movie that feels so modern it would have came from the mind of someone from the 21st century! I actually really enjoyed the book, it has eveyrthing you could want from a novel, it's cozy and engaging. I enjoyed my time with it. But one thing kept bugging me. The character of Claude Ballard had not real ego. Film history is littered with the film makers who flew too close to the sun, falling so others could run. But all these guys have this alpha ego, everyone from Griffith to Tarantino. Even in the pre WWI days there was a sense of creation of creating something new, you also see it with the tech companies, playing God. They are creating there own little universes where they can manipuate actors, distort reality, bankrupt whole companies on whims. You never see Ballard even tempted really. So because of that the book never really reaches the operatic heights it should have. But maybe I have just seen too many movies.