Reviews

Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead

ember93's review

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I've never read anything like this. It delves into what it means to be human. It takes part in some of the most exploratory parts of challenging SF. It's a SF retelling that reaches towards Milton's Paradise Lost. But it's also eminently readable despite it's verse construction. It'll stick in my mind for a long time.

theangrystackrat's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A unique sci-fi story told in verse. A generation ship has been designed and launched to create a new humanity that is cut off from its past. 3 of the original crew have been awakened from their slumber only to find that a schism has happened and factions have formed. Rochelle - one of the three - is left to deal with the beliefs and biases of the leader, Sigmund. This was a really interesting thought experiment of what would happen if humanity was started over, having no knowledge of its history and roots. I also enjoyed the vibrancy of the prose, and the amount of emotion packed into each verse. 

whatyoutolkienabout's review

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5.0

Letting my inner nerd out I adored when we had to study the epic poems and tales during my uni days. I loved the Narrative poems of the likes of Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Tennyson but sadly these are seemingly not produced as much today and different not in other genres I like such a horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. Enter Langmead. In Calypso they capture the old style of lyrical prose and epic poetry to weave together a tale of deep space. But it’s so much more than that. We have comments and meditations on religion and science, death and life and of course humanity.

While I do believe the stories could be told in prose or novel format I think it would loose so much of the character Langmead as created. It’s a powerful tale, told with passion and in such a way you are bound to remember it long after finishing.

archaeolaird's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

aralawrence's review

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dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

sagedbooks's review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

3.0

This was WAY out of my comfort zone.

When I picked up Calypso, I was not expecting a novel written in verse. It was a pleasant surprise though, especially to find out that there are four different narrators with four different styles. 

It was an interesting read, and it definitely made me think about some pretty huge things. It was just lyrical and beautiful!

afrp's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of this book, but I'm glad I persevered. It's really quite stunning. Worth it for Catherine's final section alone.

theladyduckofdoom's review

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hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

s_teichman's review

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adventurous hopeful

3.0

lini002's review

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Calypso is an interesting story following Rochelle who wakes from cryostasis on the colony arc ship Calypso and finds herself on an abandoned ship where plants have taken over. As she explores further, she unravels a war between the engineers and botanists on the ship.
 
I found this book pretty confusing which I suppose is partially the point but there are multiple POV's all with a different style of writing and all of them have their own beliefs and ideas that you only end up understanding as you delve deeper into the book and the story. I'm not sure how I feel about this one past that I thought it was pretty impressive for the author and enjoyed it mostly from a craft perspective. Weird, confusing, and lyrical.