Lydia's Reviews > Exadelic

I was provided a free copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My honest review is that this book is not good. I find it really telling that a review from an "unnamed Hollywood executive" is so prominently displayed on the author's website. This book very much reads like it was intended for adaptation into a Hollywood movie or Netflix series. And you know, maybe it would do better in one of those formats. But it does not work in a novel format.

Right off the bat, the writing is on a level with a undergraduate creative writing class—overly ornamented with big words that are used not because they are appropriate but because they sound impressive. From the very first page all I could think about was how the pretentious word choices clashed with the setting and themes of the book.

Rather than "fast-paced" or "action-packed" this book just feels rushed. The chapters are short and major plot points happen in such quick succession that there's no opportunity for pathos. The book reads as a litany of events broken up by dialogue so infused with snappy buzzwords without meaningful exposition that the whole book feels like someone asked ChatGPT to write a novel blending of Crowley-esque magick and quantum AI. The fact that the summary references Everything Everywhere All At Once is highly misleading – I guess they're both about time/space travel and ~*~wild antics~*~ but Exadelic has about as much in common with EEAAO as moths do to butterflies.

There's a constantly-evolving rotating cast of characters that becomes impossible to keep track of almost immediately, none of which has any particular depth or development. The main character and narrator, Adrian, is a hapless mediocre man thrust into the spotlight. I'm sure Evans wants everyone to think how cool and special Adrian is but he has about as much emotional depth as a cardboard cutout of Chris Pratt. Everything in this book happens to him without him actually doing anything. Maybe he gets better after the 3/4 mark of the book but I couldn't force myself through the last section.

Honestly I started to peace out when L. Ron Hubbard showed up. Did not finish, do not recommend.