A review by schomj
Debris by Joanne Anderton
1.0
The problem with having the narrative in 1st person POV is that loads of internal dialog ranging in tone between bitter, self-righteous, whiny and (deliberately) clueless can create a truly irritating main character. Add to that muddled world-building (the whole pion binding thing still makes very little practical sense to me) and an unengaging plot stretched out over a few hundred seemingly-endless pages, and I did not enjoy this book at all.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to find something to be positive about, but every time I would start to enjoy a scene (like Tanyana's first meeting with her team of debris collectors, where the flow was smoother and, thanks to actual external dialog, quicker) it would be followed by a confusing bit of action (like her first trip collecting debris with them) or a reminder that I didn't like any of the characters (Tanyana's first hookup with Devich: Given that I didn't like her and he squicked me out from his first appearance, that scene was both yuck and boring.).
So, while I will give the author credit for crafting a story that incited a strong emotional reaction from me, unfortunately, that reaction was not a positive one. Largely, I think, because the mystery of what happened to Tanyana was so obvious from the first chapter that I kept waiting for someone to pick up on it so we could get on with the story already. And even when she started to figure it out (in the following quote taken from the last quarter of the story), it was too little, too late in terms of me caring anymore.
Note: this is taken from the unfinished proof copy.
This review is based on a digital ARC received via NetGalley.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to find something to be positive about, but every time I would start to enjoy a scene (like Tanyana's first meeting with her team of debris collectors, where the flow was smoother and, thanks to actual external dialog, quicker) it would be followed by a confusing bit of action (like her first trip collecting debris with them) or a reminder that I didn't like any of the characters (Tanyana's first hookup with Devich: Given that I didn't like her and he squicked me out from his first appearance, that scene was both yuck and boring.).
So, while I will give the author credit for crafting a story that incited a strong emotional reaction from me, unfortunately, that reaction was not a positive one. Largely, I think, because the mystery of what happened to Tanyana was so obvious from the first chapter that I kept waiting for someone to pick up on it so we could get on with the story already. And even when she started to figure it out (in the following quote taken from the last quarter of the story), it was too little, too late in terms of me caring anymore.
Note: this is taken from the unfinished proof copy.
"Bro!" Lad ran down the street, Sofia gasping in his wake, clutching her shoulder and dripping blood from her arm. "Angry, bro. So angry."
...
But was Lad really talking about himself? I thought of the debris dancing with destruction like a cruel cat. The whack like a fist against my chest. Lad wasn't angry, was he? But the debris was."
This review is based on a digital ARC received via NetGalley.