Tak! reviewed Exordia by Seth Dickinson
Exordia
5 stars
Exordia is a wild, weird scifi novel with snappy writing and a surprising level of commentary on genocide, imperialism, and american exceptionalism.
cw: so much violence
I like to read
Non-bookposting: @Tak@glitch.taks.garden
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Exordia is a wild, weird scifi novel with snappy writing and a surprising level of commentary on genocide, imperialism, and american exceptionalism.
cw: so much violence
Content warning plot discussion
This reads like a parable of the european takeover of the americas, except that the natives realized their mistake (just) in time this time around.
There wasn't much scifi or fantasy, except for the implied apocalypse that happened out of frame.
I was constantly frustrated with the characters for not being more proactive about stuff like: checking what happened with the power, being suspicious of Scott, following up on Scott after multiple red flags, etc. - but maybe I'm having unrealistic expectations about characters who don't know they're in a story.
I liked the strong themes of community and mutual support, even in the face of (imo realistic) uneven participation.
Overall a good read, I enjoyed it.
The setting is unique and interesting, and I loved the final segment, but I felt like it went off the rails at around 50% and just kind of floundered around for like … half the book.
The July 2024 #SFFBookClub pick
Today, I learned en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/haecceity
This is not my usual type of read - in fact, I almost put it down early on, but then I identified so hard with the first Minjun chapter that I stuck with it.
It's very much like a version of Bookshops & Bonedust without the fantasy trappings and the larger plot - characters with a variety of personal issues come together around a bookshop.
It's well written (and well translated! which is not a given!) - what I'm really missing is something actually happening. The characters each go through their different journeys of personal discovery and/or growth, but nothing is materially different at the end of the book. 🤷
Steelflower was kind of a rollercoaster for me.
The world-building was nice, and I like that it avoided both the elves/orcs/humans/hobbits and fantasy-china/fantasy-italy/etc. tropes - I particularly enjoy the habit the author has of reconstructing words from their components (e.g. telescope => farseer).
I got really annoyed with the main character's level of melodrama and self-victimization around halfway in - I get that it was probably intentional, but I still found it aggravating. Overall I do enjoy that the characters are complex and that the protagonist isn't a perfect chosen one.
I don't feel like there was a whole lot of conclusion at the end, it kind of just segues into the next book without anything really being resolved. …so I immediately started the next book. 🙂
I really liked Six Wakes, and Station Eternity makes it clear that it was not a fluke.
I loved the different alien species, the way the plot continually unfolded new dimensions, and the depth and variety of the characters.
I would unreservedly recommend this book to anybody who has any interest in science fiction, mystery thrillers, or just good storytelling.
The entire Steelflower Chronicles--my hard-drinking, pickpocketing, assassin-thief sellsword--is on sale this weekend! Book 1, STEELFLOWER, is a whopping $.99USD in ebook through these retailers. books2read.com/steelflower