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erinsbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
philineselavy's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
helynalc's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was a very strange experience for me. Some light spoilers ahead.
I really loved the imagination in the ideas and the setting, some of the utopian(?) future-stuff was so alien but cool also, the genetic engineering angle gave me things to think about, the specific fate of humans depicted here was also not something I've seen a lot before, and everything involving alloys (the ways of travel, their body modifications, goals etc.) did interest me so I couldn't wait to get to know more--it all really drew me in.
However, the characters and the plot were not exactly what I expected. The love story was so quick, a bit sappy but also very measured (although pretty cute at first), but then the couple gets immediately separated, there's a pregnancy we are occupied with a Lot, and we don't even spend most of our time on Meru after that. There's a couple of "this happens because it has to in order to give a ~journey for these characters" (like Vaha's "incident", or the constructs and people Jaya and Vaha travel with after) and I really didn't know what the plot wanted to be sometimes. Like, where are we going?
I kind of don't even get themes or the meaning of the book because the characters and relationships didn't really convince me about any one idea except that yeah, humanity should...stay humanity, ya know? x) It was just a bit dry, too. Very measured, polite, and low-thrill-level. Which was sometimes welcome, because it was pretty wholesome in places, but then other times it just telegraphed this weird existential dread to me, like nothing really mattered. I don't know if I'm explaining it well. I guess I couldn't really root for anyone or anything here. I felt for Vaha a lot at the beginning (fear of abandonment, low self-esteem, wanting to prove) but then zir whole existence ended up revolving around Jayanthi, which is, good for zir I guess, but wasn't very fulfilling to me.
Anyway, I did appreciate a lot of the ideas, it was a nice kaleidoscope and I will remember it for a long time. And I was never bored or yiked out, just...baffled.
I really loved the imagination in the ideas and the setting, some of the utopian(?) future-stuff was so alien but cool also, the genetic engineering angle gave me things to think about, the specific fate of humans depicted here was also not something I've seen a lot before, and everything involving alloys (the ways of travel, their body modifications, goals etc.) did interest me so I couldn't wait to get to know more--it all really drew me in.
However, the characters and the plot were not exactly what I expected. The love story was so quick, a bit sappy but also very measured (although pretty cute at first), but then the couple gets immediately separated, there's a pregnancy we are occupied with a Lot, and we don't even spend most of our time on Meru after that. There's a couple of "this happens because it has to in order to give a ~journey for these characters" (like Vaha's "incident", or the constructs and people Jaya and Vaha travel with after) and I really didn't know what the plot wanted to be sometimes. Like, where are we going?
I kind of don't even get themes or the meaning of the book because the characters and relationships didn't really convince me about any one idea except that yeah, humanity should...stay humanity, ya know? x) It was just a bit dry, too. Very measured, polite, and low-thrill-level. Which was sometimes welcome, because it was pretty wholesome in places, but then other times it just telegraphed this weird existential dread to me, like nothing really mattered. I don't know if I'm explaining it well. I guess I couldn't really root for anyone or anything here. I felt for Vaha a lot at the beginning (fear of abandonment, low self-esteem, wanting to prove) but then zir whole existence ended up revolving around Jayanthi, which is, good for zir I guess, but wasn't very fulfilling to me.
Anyway, I did appreciate a lot of the ideas, it was a nice kaleidoscope and I will remember it for a long time. And I was never bored or yiked out, just...baffled.
meowdermix's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really debated on how to rate this because I felt differently about the book as things progressed, but I settled on four stars overall.
The beginning of Meru throws you into a world of humans and alloys and expects you to catch up quickly. I found the first part to be interesting, but I had to go back and reread parts hoping context clues would guide me.
Around the mid point I hit a major lull in my reading because the pacing dramatically slows down. This is why the book took nearly three weeks to get through. Once I powered through the slow parts of this book, the pacing picked up again and I finished the last 30% of the book rather quickly.
I think this author does world-building really well, and I found all of the characters and environments to be interesting. The characters are compelling and offer unique experiences. My only gripe, and the reason I knocked off one star was because of how hard it was to get through the slow midpoint.
The beginning of Meru throws you into a world of humans and alloys and expects you to catch up quickly. I found the first part to be interesting, but I had to go back and reread parts hoping context clues would guide me.
Around the mid point I hit a major lull in my reading because the pacing dramatically slows down. This is why the book took nearly three weeks to get through. Once I powered through the slow parts of this book, the pacing picked up again and I finished the last 30% of the book rather quickly.
I think this author does world-building really well, and I found all of the characters and environments to be interesting. The characters are compelling and offer unique experiences. My only gripe, and the reason I knocked off one star was because of how hard it was to get through the slow midpoint.
netthauser's review against another edition
Too slow to reach the inciting action and I wasn't vibing with the writing style.
haffen's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elle_eye_essay's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sooflo's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75