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A review by kmcdonell
A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Disappointingly bland for a novel that two different blurbs compared to Becky Chambers. Some good parts, like Jenks' personality and backstory, especially her storyline with Luis, and Max's storyline with her brother.
But the writing just felt very shallow, surface level. Almost all of the action happened off screen, or switched to a detached viewpoint, like the games commentators. It became incredibly frustrating that it kept building up to big events, then immediately cutting away to hours or days after. It didn't even show the final boarding action that decided the winner of the games! This felt like lazy writing to me, and made it largely an unsatisfying read. It read like a first draft, which had promise but needed a lot of tightening and more active action scenes.
I probably would not have continued past the first two chapters if it wasn't for book club. It was a very slow start, and very slow paced, with most of the main action going down in the last 30 pages. I did warm to and care about the characters as I got further in, but the constant skipping over the main action made it too frustrating to rate higher. Another thing that bothered me was the megalomaniac capitalist great grandfather ending up not being the villain, because there was another even worse genocidal psychopath, who was almost cartoonishly villainous. And it stretched belief pretty far that this secret organisation had been operating for a hundred years, and remained a secret. With that many people involved, the idea that there would be not a single leak is comically optimistic. The book was also surprisingly pro cop and pro capitalism for a queer author.
Overall, there were some fun parts, but I don't think I would recommend it.
But the writing just felt very shallow, surface level. Almost all of the action happened off screen, or switched to a detached viewpoint, like the games commentators. It became incredibly frustrating that it kept building up to big events, then immediately cutting away to hours or days after. It didn't even show the final boarding action that decided the winner of the games! This felt like lazy writing to me, and made it largely an unsatisfying read. It read like a first draft, which had promise but needed a lot of tightening and more active action scenes.
I probably would not have continued past the first two chapters if it wasn't for book club. It was a very slow start, and very slow paced, with most of the main action going down in the last 30 pages. I did warm to and care about the characters as I got further in, but the constant skipping over the main action made it too frustrating to rate higher. Another thing that bothered me was the megalomaniac capitalist great grandfather ending up not being the villain, because there was another even worse genocidal psychopath, who was almost cartoonishly villainous. And it stretched belief pretty far that this secret organisation had been operating for a hundred years, and remained a secret. With that many people involved, the idea that there would be not a single leak is comically optimistic. The book was also surprisingly pro cop and pro capitalism for a queer author.
Overall, there were some fun parts, but I don't think I would recommend it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse