Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro
My rating: 3/5 cats
SPACE SLOTH!!
i think an appreciation of science-fiction literature is, like a second language, a skill best acquired in youth, when the thirsty adaptable mind is able to come to terms with unfamiliar worlds, languages, names, descriptions of political sects and painstakingly detailed family trees and planetary formations with a casual shrugged grace.
i myself am old.
and this book is by no means the best or most complicated example of that type of science fiction, but my brain still had a great deal of difficulty conceiving of upside-down town and gravity and AI hoverscreens etc. i am truly unable to “get” science fiction. one time, i tried to read a book by robert sawyer and my head nearly exploded. pwoosh!
there are many things about this book that i did like: (and forgive me for not learning from my mistakes and venturing into the relevant) the main character was well-crafted, and i felt drawn to her in a way that i thought i would have been drawn to dear lisbeth salander but was not—she is emotionally removed but still badass and clever and not averse to a little dirty fighting, plus hates being touched, and also killed a man at the age of eight. bonus. the resolution was as satisfying as any courtroom drama, all pieces tied up, with enough layers to not feel cheated by some necessarily expected turns.
also—giant sloth-creatures. and dragons.
i don’t know what more you nerds want.
me, i need to read something set on planet earth.
read my book reviews on goodreads
