The pacing and the powerful characterizations were the masterpiece of this book. The premise I could suspend my disbelief for, even though it remains The pacing and the powerful characterizations were the masterpiece of this book. The premise I could suspend my disbelief for, even though it remains mysterious and - for me at least - not satisfactorily explained. Although, I could go so far as to say the Garden is largely window dressing in the character exploration of Maya, so maybe it's not important to understand or believe in it. So that I am entirely willing to forgive. I am not, however, willing to forgive the secret Maya ends up to have been hiding (which is only hinted at as existing and does not have the proper groundwork laid for it to not make its reveal jarring) as it was frankly unbelievable and convenient and not something I could continue to suspend my disbelief for. In all honesty, the book pretty much fell apart in the last 15 pages - as soon as they left the interrogation room, the author lost her grip on her pacing and her characters (the stunning saving graces of the book) and threw in a dumb twist like she just wasn't sure how to end it all. But Maya's storytelling and the author's masterful use of it to drop information like delicious breadcrumbs to keep you hooked was flat out amazing. The characters, every single one, even if they're only mentioned once or twice are so intricate and so clearly well-known by the author that they just leap off the page. And I stayed up until 3am so I could finish this in one day (when I had started it at work around 5), so there's that....more
She's Not Like Other Girls and he's a Cooler Guy, but he likes her anyway because she's Special and they fall in Instalove. So... blah. But it all hapShe's Not Like Other Girls and he's a Cooler Guy, but he likes her anyway because she's Special and they fall in Instalove. So... blah. But it all happens in the COOLEST SETTING with the COOLEST CONCEPT EVER (which honestly made the blahness all the more disappointing)....more
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
[Thomas Henry Huxley] said: "The known is finite, the unkI received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
[Thomas Henry Huxley] said: "The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land." Almost a decade ago, when Themis was revealed to the world, we realized the ocean was a lot bigger than we thought, and what transpired this morning in London had made our islet of certainty feel so small that we may wonder if we even have enough room to stand on.
This is a book about the place of the human race in the universe and claiming ownership of that place, even when we're barely clinging to it. It's a story about the mysteries within what we don't know about the universe and, even more so, it's about rediscovering the mystery and the wonder in what you thought you already knew about the universe. It's about finding wonder in realities that might otherwise look bleak. Don't get me wrong, this is a dark fucking book and a lot of bad stuff happens. But, ultimately, even though literally nothing went well for anyone throughout almost the entirety of the book, I came out of it with stars in my eyes and feeling small and wondrous in the face of the enormity and inexplicability of the universe and my/humanity's place in it.
I am a Quaker, but I don't believe in God as He is traditionally thought of - as an entity. I believe in the divinity, the godliness of the universe itself, in the universe as a godly creation in and of itself even without the existence of an anthropomorphic God figure. And this book makes me feel that feeling and reminds me of the Quaker belief in the inner light. A core tenet of Quaker belief is that there is in every human soul an aspect of the divine - "that of God in everyone". Given that my interpretation of God involves the whole of the universe, the book does a look to connect me with my feelings surrounding these beliefs. I am reminded of Werner Heisenberg's words: “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.” And, also, all of this and the content of the book in mind (with as little spoiling as possible) a quote from the poetry of Mark Jarman: "God is not death, God is what survives."...more
The comparison to Firefly is apt, especially considering (view spoiler)[Eton's gun named Verta (hide spoiler)], and it makes for pure fun, action-packThe comparison to Firefly is apt, especially considering (view spoiler)[Eton's gun named Verta (hide spoiler)], and it makes for pure fun, action-packed sci-fi. Predictable, but sweet and creative and engaging....more
**spoiler alert** Unpolished and super unrealistic and portrays v. v. unhealthy dynamics and behaviors as cool and mysterious. BUT I read it in a day **spoiler alert** Unpolished and super unrealistic and portrays v. v. unhealthy dynamics and behaviors as cool and mysterious. BUT I read it in a day and stayed up until 2 in the morning (knowingly dooming myself to 3 hours of sleep) to do so because I was so goddamn engrossed. This book is so problematic! But I am already opening Amazon to download the other two! Goddammit!...more
Weird. It was weird. It very finely walks the line of a woman's journey of self discovery and a woman discovering her worth because a man sees it and Weird. It was weird. It very finely walks the line of a woman's journey of self discovery and a woman discovering her worth because a man sees it and I can't decide which side of the line it falls on. It also has such a strong vein of incongruous religiosity throughout that distracts and detracts from the story, as well as contributing to unpleasant underlying messages of shame and sin especially concerning sex. It also finishes poorly and in an entirely different direction than the story and it's clues were leading. It's hinted the whole book that (view spoiler)[ the first Goblin King and his wife found a way to leave the Underground together, at least according to Twig, and then that's not what happens to Elisabeth? (hide spoiler)] It felt weird and incomplete and incongruous with the rest of the storyline. It was also super slowly paced and a whole lot of nothing happened and all kinds of ideas were introduced and never resolved. It was generally an unsatisfying and disappointing read, especially considering how wonderful it could have been given the source material. But I guess it was interesting and imaginative, at least, and you could really tell the author put a lot of herself into it....more
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