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A review by ratgrrrl
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
2.0
I Really Wanted to Like This
After listening to the acknowledgements, the author seems genuinely lovely, have a way with words, and clearly put a great deal into the creation of this novel. I just wish I enjoyed the book as much as the acknowledgements.
This is a sci-fi novel. Unfortunately, that's really all I can say as it just slid off my brain as I was listening to it. If you want a soupson of The Murderbot Diaries with some sci-fi antics, you might get something out of this.
The only things that really stood out were the way dialogue is written with "X said" after every phrase, which takes all rhythm out of every conversation. Readers are generally trusted to follow a conversation between two people, but not here. This isn't helped by the way the narrator handles this predilection.
The other is much more positive and I would be lying if it wasn't the main reason I decided to stick with it and finish the book. The inclusion and discussion around gender and the characters is handled really well, which was honestly a delight to read. While I have a lot of other criticisms and largely didn't enjoy this book, I truly appreciate the effort the author went to in this regard, especially after so much awfulness in many of sci-fi and fantasy offerings.
I hate leaving bad reviews, especially for authors who really seem to care and are trying, but this really wasn't for me and read like a decent amateur affair.
The story was also let down by narration that was flat with some odd and, I'm almost certain, at least one mispronunciation or incorrect word used. Sadly, they did nothing to elevate the story and only made the issues more glaring with how they hit them.
After listening to the acknowledgements, the author seems genuinely lovely, have a way with words, and clearly put a great deal into the creation of this novel. I just wish I enjoyed the book as much as the acknowledgements.
This is a sci-fi novel. Unfortunately, that's really all I can say as it just slid off my brain as I was listening to it. If you want a soupson of The Murderbot Diaries with some sci-fi antics, you might get something out of this.
The only things that really stood out were the way dialogue is written with "X said" after every phrase, which takes all rhythm out of every conversation. Readers are generally trusted to follow a conversation between two people, but not here. This isn't helped by the way the narrator handles this predilection.
The other is much more positive and I would be lying if it wasn't the main reason I decided to stick with it and finish the book. The inclusion and discussion around gender and the characters is handled really well, which was honestly a delight to read. While I have a lot of other criticisms and largely didn't enjoy this book, I truly appreciate the effort the author went to in this regard, especially after so much awfulness in many of sci-fi and fantasy offerings.
I hate leaving bad reviews, especially for authors who really seem to care and are trying, but this really wasn't for me and read like a decent amateur affair.
The story was also let down by narration that was flat with some odd and, I'm almost certain, at least one mispronunciation or incorrect word used. Sadly, they did nothing to elevate the story and only made the issues more glaring with how they hit them.