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A review by lakediver
Goldilocks by L.R. Lam
5.0
In short: I loved this book.
The author billed this book as "The Martian meets The Handmaid's Tale." It was that, and then some. In this imagined near-ish future, the effects of climate change are in full swing. Seas are rising. Wildfires are ripping through the country. The air is not breathable without a filter mask. Population growth is strictly limited. Basically, the Earth is dying. On top of all that, women are slowly being edged out of the workplace and losing their rights.
So let's start with the world building. It is fantastic. Fan-freaking-tastic. You are slowly, organically introduced to the many differences between our world and this. I never once felt confused or lost, but instead, felt like I had a full vision of this world. It was bleak, but fascinating. I especially loved the way she handled the marginalization of women - the slowness of it, rather than all at once, as in The Handmaid's Tale (nice reference, btw!). Personally, I found this to be a more realistic vision of how this could happen.
I also really loved the character development. The major characters felt like real people to me, each with their own distinct personalities. And not even just our main characters, Naomi, Valerie, and Evan. The crew members didn't really start to be individual people until the latter half of the book, but then they really shined.
There was also this sort of quiet tension that I loved. It didn't make my heart race in the standard thriller way, yet I found myself unable to put this book down. Seriously, I read about 80% of it in one day. I also thought the science element was well done. I wouldn't quite classify it as hard sci-fi, but I think it comes close. Science is definitely at the forefront of this story, but without bogging me down in minutiae I don't understand. That which needed to be explained was explained sufficiently for me to understand and for the plot to keep moving.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.
The author billed this book as "The Martian meets The Handmaid's Tale." It was that, and then some. In this imagined near-ish future, the effects of climate change are in full swing. Seas are rising. Wildfires are ripping through the country. The air is not breathable without a filter mask. Population growth is strictly limited. Basically, the Earth is dying. On top of all that, women are slowly being edged out of the workplace and losing their rights.
So let's start with the world building. It is fantastic. Fan-freaking-tastic. You are slowly, organically introduced to the many differences between our world and this. I never once felt confused or lost, but instead, felt like I had a full vision of this world. It was bleak, but fascinating. I especially loved the way she handled the marginalization of women - the slowness of it, rather than all at once, as in The Handmaid's Tale (nice reference, btw!). Personally, I found this to be a more realistic vision of how this could happen.
I also really loved the character development. The major characters felt like real people to me, each with their own distinct personalities. And not even just our main characters, Naomi, Valerie, and Evan. The crew members didn't really start to be individual people until the latter half of the book, but then they really shined.
There was also this sort of quiet tension that I loved. It didn't make my heart race in the standard thriller way, yet I found myself unable to put this book down. Seriously, I read about 80% of it in one day. I also thought the science element was well done. I wouldn't quite classify it as hard sci-fi, but I think it comes close. Science is definitely at the forefront of this story, but without bogging me down in minutiae I don't understand. That which needed to be explained was explained sufficiently for me to understand and for the plot to keep moving.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.