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booksandcatsgalore's review
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was so interesting to me. The reason I couldn't get into is because it constantly changes perspective, different characters, different timelines, different worlds, different versions of the same character (I think?), some mythology that I assume is somehow related. And the change happened every few PARAGRAPHS. I can handle chapters jumping around, but literally every few paragraphs. I lost track of who the characters were because you never stayed with them more than 3 paragraphs and there were so many of them. I don't even know who the main character is. It's tantalizing, like I feel like there could be something here, but it is such a chore to read. I'm struggling to stay engaged. It's like sitting down to read and constantly being interrupted by someone. I can never actually get absorbed in the story.
traviscommeau's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
jhoffmann's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.75
schreibratte's review
Vorerst abgebrochen. Die Schnipsel, das ständige Springen, die langen Absatzblöcke nehmen mir jetzt schon den Spaß, bevor sich irgendwelche Spannung ausbreiten kann.
etienne02's review
5.0
Difficile de decrier ce roman. Je crois sincèrement que toutes tentatives seraient vaines et ne feraient que réduire ce que livre est vraiement. Je me conteterai donc de dire qu'il s'agit d'une histoire épique, fort intéressante et que meme si parfois on s'y sent perdu, on continue à lire et on finit par s'y retrouver. Un récit incroyable mélangeant histoire, mythologie, passé, future, monde parallèle, paradis, enfer... Je le recommande à tous ceux ayant un esprit ouvert et désireux de découvrir de nouvelles oeuvres!
monicajosephine's review
1.0
I don't know if it's my pregnancy brain or if this book is just far too confusing, disjointed and esoteric. I had to stop reading it because I just could not figure out what the heck was going on.
megawhoppingcosmicbookwyrm's review
Story was all over the place and boring. Only got maybe a quarter of the way through and refused to read any further. Took it to a used book store asap.
inkdeathinbloom's review
5.0
There's something to be said for unique craftsmanship and mindf*@!ery. I think I have to call it and just admit I'm a fan. This is one of those books that was either going to get one star or all of them: there is no middle ground.
Reasons for one star: this book could only be read in, perhaps, ten page segments. You had to be awake, caffeinated, and cognitively and referentially on point. It helped if you had an academic knowledge of Sumerian, Greek and biblical myth, 20th century history, and narrative theory; and for some of those passages, you needed to know linguistic terms, social theory, and have an ability to parse tech speak. Not to mention a whole bunch of other random stuff that would show up in one passage, and then, never again- and if you didn't get it, good luck. Also, a dictionary is sometimes helpful. Furthermore, there kind of wasn't one narrative, or, kind of, one character. Every three pages it was something different. From page to page, more or less, there was no continuity. You had to balance about one hundred threads at once, and some of them were really tiny threads. Also, there's no clear plot. So if you like reading a book where you follow a character, a plot, a chain of events or an idea through a coherent story, this book is not for you. That takes an adjustment.
Reasons for five stars: this was, in my opinion, a singular piece of work. It utilized a structure that did beautiful things with ideas of plurality and archetype, and I think, of reincarnation and multiplicity. It's also about the ties that bind in the elaborate sense that different people across many times and places will all make the same mistakes; will love, and fight; will suffer. The writing was intense- dense and wild, the kind that blows your mind and makes you re-read the sentence three times to fully absorb the message, the meaning, the punch of it. Also: if you're a nerd who happens to like mythology, techspeak, history, and the challenge of a crazy vocabulary-- and also, perhaps, just a challenge in your reading, well, that makes it pretty awesome. There's so much more this book does that can't be captured, but Duncan does a fascinating and wonderful job with capturing the ineffable completely inexplicably.
The process of reading the book was equal parts frustration trying to get through it, and incredulity at what I was reading. I figured I wouldn't know until the end if it had managed to drive me batty and throw it across the room, or blow my mind, thoroughly impress me and make me place it proudly back on my bookshelf. In the end, it won. I'm on to the second book- which I'm given to understand is really just the second half of this one story. So yeah, if you think you can bear the creative narrative structures, this gets a stunning recommendation.
Reasons for one star: this book could only be read in, perhaps, ten page segments. You had to be awake, caffeinated, and cognitively and referentially on point. It helped if you had an academic knowledge of Sumerian, Greek and biblical myth, 20th century history, and narrative theory; and for some of those passages, you needed to know linguistic terms, social theory, and have an ability to parse tech speak. Not to mention a whole bunch of other random stuff that would show up in one passage, and then, never again- and if you didn't get it, good luck. Also, a dictionary is sometimes helpful. Furthermore, there kind of wasn't one narrative, or, kind of, one character. Every three pages it was something different. From page to page, more or less, there was no continuity. You had to balance about one hundred threads at once, and some of them were really tiny threads. Also, there's no clear plot. So if you like reading a book where you follow a character, a plot, a chain of events or an idea through a coherent story, this book is not for you. That takes an adjustment.
Reasons for five stars: this was, in my opinion, a singular piece of work. It utilized a structure that did beautiful things with ideas of plurality and archetype, and I think, of reincarnation and multiplicity. It's also about the ties that bind in the elaborate sense that different people across many times and places will all make the same mistakes; will love, and fight; will suffer. The writing was intense- dense and wild, the kind that blows your mind and makes you re-read the sentence three times to fully absorb the message, the meaning, the punch of it. Also: if you're a nerd who happens to like mythology, techspeak, history, and the challenge of a crazy vocabulary-- and also, perhaps, just a challenge in your reading, well, that makes it pretty awesome. There's so much more this book does that can't be captured, but Duncan does a fascinating and wonderful job with capturing the ineffable completely inexplicably.
The process of reading the book was equal parts frustration trying to get through it, and incredulity at what I was reading. I figured I wouldn't know until the end if it had managed to drive me batty and throw it across the room, or blow my mind, thoroughly impress me and make me place it proudly back on my bookshelf. In the end, it won. I'm on to the second book- which I'm given to understand is really just the second half of this one story. So yeah, if you think you can bear the creative narrative structures, this gets a stunning recommendation.