A review by random_spider
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 ------Stat Score------

Plot/Content: 4/10
Characters/POVs: 6/10
Prose/Style: 10/10
Themes/Messages: 6/10
Enjoyability/Impact: 3/10

OVERALL RATING: 6/10 (ok)

Yup, aside from the author's prose and the stylized format this novel was SOOOOO aggressively mid 😩. Though, I have to admit, it has extreme potential upon reread.
"A life lived in a simulation is still a life."


Synopsis and/or Premise:
Gaspery investigates a glitch within the timeline, crossing paths with the lives of other characters as he found the will to change their faith.

The Good and The Bad:
If I could name a major strength of the book, I would confidently say its unique formatting 📄. It was jarring (in a fresh way) that made the reading process surprisingly stimulating. Each divisions had their own respective pacing and essence, offering a variety of experience for readers. We have Edwin's chapters being the most atmospheric, Olive's chapters were drawn out to maximize angst and paranoia, Gaspery's chapters had this noir element...you get the gist, right? Creativity simply bloomed on its structure. Plus, the book's chaotic imbalance perfectly synergized with the overall bewildering aspect of time travel (which this novel fully embraced.)

Do you enjoy a trippy reading experience? THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! I kid not, what's happening within the pages was bizarre it wasn't uncommon to be confused 😵‍💫. I guess you could expect that from something full of interconnected events, time jumps, and a loose premise. These qualities almost made me label the genre to be speculative fiction instead of Sci-Fi (though I'm pretty sure it's both.) You know what? I bet all these 'dizziness' were intentionally employed by the author. An exemplary book for those who seek to be perplexed. Props to her for achieving that, eh?

I'll dive more into the flaws in a minute, but first I wanted say that the latter half of the book was the most engaging part. Things became a lot clearer (for me, at least), like figuring out the general premise and who is the main 'backbone' character. I also like the consistent floating mystery 🕶️ that had been established from the start and how it eventually solved itself. It tells the readers to let go of the idea of control...to accept the simulation/fate...to live as is what's written, and that it is simply ok.

Right, I do have some major issues with the book. Do keep in mind that these three were interconnected with each other:

1. Lopsided 🤷- Like I implied before, most of the best parts were in the latter half of the novel...ONLY IN THE LATTER HALF. Basically, the majority of events before that point was a set-up. Yeah, it succeeded in that task, but it also established an apparent imbalance that stuck out like a sore thumb.

2. Overall zooming pace 💨 - Since the majority of 'important' plot occurred only during the 2nd half of the book, it had compromising consequences to the narrative. It turned the pacing into something rushed. The lower page count of the book didn't help either. So, what you got here is a book appearing slow during set-up, then gains absurd momentum upon reaching the 50% threshold.

3. Uncompelling 😒 - Since the first half of the book was dedicated to set up the events and interactions later on, it does mean the other POV characters were thorough and complex, right? Since they had their own time to develop...RIGHT? Welp, I couldn't be more wrong about that. For some reason, most of the characters fell flat. They were barely acceptable, with their superficial depth and weary personal lives. They felt...insignificant, which might be the point. They were great serving as the catalyst for Gaspery's character revelation, considering he cared so much about them. If only that care extends for the readers.

Final Thoughts:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel is a speculative sci-fi novel about a time traveling investigator. It's rightfully trippy by tackling the concepts of time jumps within a simulated world. Honestly, if I haven't watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse, I think I would enjoy this book much more. But since I'm already familiar with the idea of a 'canon event', the concept was trite. I also believe it needed more pages because 259 was a bit too short. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the experiences of Olive within the book was based on the author's life during peak COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, this is a novel with intriguing concepts that would be better understood upon revisit, but that won't likely happen due to an unenjoyable first read-through.