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A review by ashleylm
Neverness by David Zindell
Did not finish book.
I'm basically a hopeful reader. I never know when the next book might turn out to be a personal favourite. I have a slight bias for quirky, and scoff at anything too too popular, but it so often turns out that the popular have earned such a position for a reason (they're good! they're fun!) and the quirky are often too quirky, even for me.
Such is Neverness, which never really grabbed me, then lost me entirely after the painful caveman sequence, death of the main character (ish), and ultimate resurretion by aquatic beings? I can barely remember. And that was just halfway.
Anyhoo, I set it aside in case I was in a mood, and after a few years absence, I discover I genuinely have no desire to return to it. So on to the next book, still hopeful of finding new favourites. (Which still happens—I discovered Naomi Novik only four years ago, and I adored the so-far-one-book-only Weave a Circle Round by local author Kari Maaren). Fingers crossed.
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
Such is Neverness, which never really grabbed me, then lost me entirely after the painful caveman sequence, death of the main character (ish), and ultimate resurretion by aquatic beings? I can barely remember. And that was just halfway.
Anyhoo, I set it aside in case I was in a mood, and after a few years absence, I discover I genuinely have no desire to return to it. So on to the next book, still hopeful of finding new favourites. (Which still happens—I discovered Naomi Novik only four years ago, and I adored the so-far-one-book-only Weave a Circle Round by local author Kari Maaren). Fingers crossed.
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)