A review by persimmon_lover
Song of Kali by Dan Simmons

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

To start off with, this book is kind of racist in many ways. I don't think any of that is intentional and I think that writing it off due to undertones of racial prejudice in the novel is not a good thing to do, and that the racial insensitivity is not a product of hate whatsoever. The story itself is scary and chilling, but not THAT scary. I get really scared by horror novels and although there are many disturbing and grotesque parts of this story, it didn't profoundly frighten me. Like lots of Dan Simmons' other stuff that I've read, it is literary with good prose style, unexpected twists and turns, and a strong "message" that, while maybe a bit corny, is well said, hopeful, relates to the themes of the novel, and comes together nicely. The book wasn't what I was expecting and I can imagine many people not enjoying it or not finding much of value in it, but that I felt that it was good.
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