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A review by chirson
Flight & Anchor by Nicole Kornher-Stace
3.0
Read courtesy of NetGalley.
I think this novella is probably rather wonderful if you've read Kornher-Stace's earlier books, particularly Firebreak, for which it serves as a prequel, or perhaps companion story. Unfortunately, this was my first time reading this author, and thus, it was rather obvious that much of the emotional weight was missing, and my entire review comes down to two things - if you already know and like Firebreak, you'll probably enjoy this, and if you're looking for the first book by Kornher-Stace to check out, this isn't the one.
On its own: the plot is relatively non-dynamic (and would seem even more so if you tried to summarise it), yet the author manages to create an atmosphere and do a lot of introspective character work - still, I felt like the stakes would appear immediately more fraught, and the characters elicit more emotions from me if I knew what I'm meant to know. The worldbuilding is interestingly dystopian. I thought the style was good, but I must admit the voice did not make me that curious to pick up the original novel - I might check it out of a library, if it was available, but felt no urgency, particularly given that the element I liked best - the nanobots - apparently are not from that novel but another story altogether.
I think this novella is probably rather wonderful if you've read Kornher-Stace's earlier books, particularly Firebreak, for which it serves as a prequel, or perhaps companion story. Unfortunately, this was my first time reading this author, and thus, it was rather obvious that much of the emotional weight was missing, and my entire review comes down to two things - if you already know and like Firebreak, you'll probably enjoy this, and if you're looking for the first book by Kornher-Stace to check out, this isn't the one.
On its own: the plot is relatively non-dynamic (and would seem even more so if you tried to summarise it), yet the author manages to create an atmosphere and do a lot of introspective character work - still, I felt like the stakes would appear immediately more fraught, and the characters elicit more emotions from me if I knew what I'm meant to know. The worldbuilding is interestingly dystopian. I thought the style was good, but I must admit the voice did not make me that curious to pick up the original novel - I might check it out of a library, if it was available, but felt no urgency, particularly given that the element I liked best - the nanobots - apparently are not from that novel but another story altogether.