Too Like the Lightning

Terra Ignota #1

by Ada Palmer

Shortlisted for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best SF Novel.

The year is 2454.

Humanity has engineered a hard-won golden age, forged in the aftermath of a bitter conflict that wiped both religion and nation state from the planet. Now seven factions or 'hives' co-govern the world, their rule fuelled by benign censorship, oracular statistical analytics and technological abundance. But this is a fragile Utopia – and someone is intent on pushing it to breaking point.

Convicted for his crimes, celebrated for his talents, Mycroft Canner is the indentured instrument – and confidant – of some of the world's most powerful figures. When he is asked to investigate a bizarre theft, he finds himself on the trail of a conspiracy that could shatter the tranquil world order the Hives have maintained for three centuries.

But Mycroft has his own secrets. He is concealing a much greater threat to the seven Hives, a wild card no degree of statistical analysis could have prophesised. This threat takes the unlikely form of a thirteen-year-old called Bridger. For how will a world that has banished God deal with a child who can perform miracles?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Speculative Fiction, Adult

450 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2016

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update 1/5/17:
Re-read complete! And one thing I can definitely say without hesitation? : Definitely better the second time around.

It's still mightily dense with ideas and worldbuilding and truly fascinating characters that always manage to surprise, surprise again, tease me to death with hints and portents, and then managing to slam me up against the wall in a very civilized fashion before disemboweling me. It's just that kind of novel.

I'm loving the Marquis De Sade commentary as much this time as before, the extra commentaries on how to rule effectively, right down to the philosophical underpinnings of morals and Apollo's aphorisms, and yet this novel still manages to be both firmly 18th century and 25th century to the hilt. :)

What was slow in the beginning becomes absolutely necessary for the later blowout special effects of Ada Palmer's writing later in the novel. I firmly believe that now. It was just a glimmer before, but now on the second read, I'm a firm believer that this novel is just about perfect as it is.

I'm going to be recommending it for this year's Hugo nominations. It's wilding entertaining and strange and very intelligent, and beyond that, it shakes me nearly to the core.

I will also admit that it isn't an easy novel to read or enjoy superficially. It requires plenty of effort at all times and it's even more rewarding if you get all the classical and rather specialized Enlightenment references, but if you're on the same page, it's well beyond most novels out there. I'm talking about intellectual scope and the sheer depth and breadth of worldbuilding and ideas.

But I would be extremely remiss not to mention that Mycroft has got to be one of the most fascinating characters that I've ever read. And most surprising.

This mild-mannered squib did WHAT???? Oh my lordy... :) And the reasons for it? Oh my god... :)

I'm quickly wanting to ramp this one up to one of my all time favorite novels. Fantastic!

And now that I've got the sequel in my hands, I'm gonna enjoy the living hell out of a crumbling social system. :) Seven Surrenders, indeed. :) Seven-Ten list, anyone? lol And just who are they surrendering to? :)



Update 1/4/17:
This deserves a nice long re-read in preparation for the SEQUEL. :) Of which I just got and will be reviewing soon after. :) :) :)

Original Review:

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful.

First impressions are very deceiving, with this one, and assumptions can get you into a huge mess of problems, but fortunately for us, this writer has some serious chops, can lead us into a world that never quite changes, from the first page to the last, but instead invites and sometimes pushes us over the edge and CHANGES US.

What is this world, where are we headed? Is this truly a futuristic high-tech utopia that stylizes itself off the Enlightenment period including Voltaire, Sade, and Rousseau? Ha! You'd like to think so as you begin your read.

Is the tale revolving around a handful of seemingly mild mysteries, that while interesting in themselves, seem more like a vehicle for unfolding one of the most gorgeous societal world-building tableaus I've ever had the privilege to read? Ha! ... Again, I was fooled, lulled into complacency even as I was overwhelmed with sheer walls of world-data, only to be saved, regularly, by the sure hand of a truly wonderful and insightful narrator who would steer us through the dense currents and land us safely upon solid ground. Could I have wished for a more perfect or more gentlemanly Victorian Guide in a strange land? Nope!

And then there were the conversations. This novel has a lot to say about gender roles, and it is tackled delightfully, maybe even better than Ancillary Justice for sheer oddity. Social and societal quirks surrounding religion, was a big part of the novel, too, but it was the Conversation that made this novel become something Really Special.

And I really mean the Conversation; the ongoing discussion within whole fields of study and art and literature, or in this case, philosophy and science fiction. Ada Palmer deserves to be right up there with some of the best I've read, having so much to say about the Enlightenment period, made into a deep part of the story, aspects of the world-building, discussions both light and powerful between characters and even within our narrator's mind.

Some of the most awesome aspects of this novel are direct-line continuations of philosophy made into Art.

But do not let that dissuade you from this Oh So Excellent and Fascinating read, for even as I was fooled in the beginning, and as new and otherwise unforgivable glossed facts are slowly revealed to us, we are caught in a web much more complicated, dangerous, harrowing, bloody, and frankly more awe-inducing than I would have guessed in the first 150 pages.

It's a book worth reading several times over if only to pick up on all the clues that I had registered in passing, but not understood until much later.

And I will, because here's the real beauty... it's only part one of a two book cycle that belongs to one another. You know the symptoms. This is a fantastic larger tale that, by requirements out of the author's control, needed to be split unnaturally into two. It's only something truly miraculous and fantastic that the author still managed to make this single book feel complete and satisfying, even as it points to the second half of it's soul.

I feel truly blessed to be reading this. Ada Palmer has just earned herself a lifelong fanboy after a single wonderful read. This is what true Idea SF is all about, and it deserves to be up there with the very best. Remember Anathem? Sit yourself down for some real brilliance and some truly great set-sets.

I'm sure I won't be the only one who thinks the premise of the political setup is one I'd love to have now, even with its mature problems. I think this novel is going to be prompting an absolute TON of discussion among its soon-to-be legion fans. :) If there's any justice in the world, mind you. :)

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard one to review.

It's a very ambitious, very complex, very intelligent novel.

However, it also tries too hard. It's a bit too impressed with itself for being intelligent, ambitious and complex.

More than once, I just felt like sighing and saying, "Relax! Drop all the meta- stuff and just let the inherent qualities of the story shine through without pointing them out to me." However, the book does have many good qualities, and I felt that some people would definitely appreciate its twisty, fourth-wall-breaking style more than I did.

In the world of 'Too Like the Lightning' criminal justice has settled on sentencing lawbreakers to service, rather than prison. Criminals are required to work at whatever tasks they are asked to do. Mycroft Canner is one of these criminals. But his situation is a bit unusual in that he works for one of the most influential families in this society. And in this society, influence is everything... Due to enhanced communications and travel technology, among other advances adding up to a post-scarcity economy, geographic nationalism is obsolete. People form families (or maybe they're closer to communes and/or corporations) and alliances based solely on common interests and specializations. Nearly any kind of social arrangement is accepted, but in this tolerant, peaceful society, the strongest taboo is against talking about religion or any kind of 'supernatural' beliefs to anyone except a professional 'sensayer' (a kind of priest/spiritual counselor.)

The aspect of the book having to do with social dynamics reminded me quite a lot of some of William Gibson's more recent works (and that's a good thing!) Maybe a little bit of Iain Banks. Add in an obsession with 18th-century Europe, and hero-worship of Voltaire... it's interesting!

Their social media publishes a list of movers and shakers, and placement on the list is a weighty matter. So, when it's suspected that someone has stolen the unpublished list, or that it wasn't authored by the person who's given credit for it, the scandal could be world-shaking.

But what could be even more world-shaking is a secret held by one family, the criminal Mycroft, and the sensayer Carlyle: a young boy has been born who has the power to make anything he imagines real. Can this ability be used for good? Or is it too dangerous to reveal? Should Mycroft, who holds secrets of his own, be trusted with this knowledge, as he has been?

And then, there're quite a few more sub-plots... some of them quite literally plots.

The reader's perception of things is colored - perhaps warped - by Mycroft's narration, in which he speaks directly to his audience quite frequently, is clearly holding information back, and may be rather unreliable.

Secrets abound, and this society is so deeply strange to us that's it's hard to tell what is 'normal' for our characters and what's not...

This book is the first half of a planned duology, which means that some of the more significant elements in the story aren't tied up at the end at all, leaving it hard to predict how well it will all come together when complete.

Many thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

[Jilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stages of me reading this:

Before reading.
You all might notice that my TBR list is always tiny. I get too much anxiety when it's huge, so I'm very picky over putting anything on it. But, when I saw a funky sci-fi that is set in the future:



First few pages
Hum, the author is breaking the fourth wall by talking to us as readers. That's a little annoying, but I can handle it. Oh, I also notice that there will be words like "thee" and "thou" in a book set way in the future.



First chapter
What the hell is going on? Nothing makes sense. And, the endless descriptions of everything isn't helping to clarify anything.

(she) donned her boots too, tall, taut Humanist boots patterned with a flowing brush-pen landscape, the kind with winding banks and misty mountains that the eye gets lost in.



Next chapters until I DNFed
This is sheer torture. If we force the terrorists to read this, we will win. We never need to waterboard anyone ever again. Just force them to read this out loud. I think Satan wrote this book. With the tears of boredom that people shed while being tortured in hell while he was writing it - out loud. They begged to get thrown back into the flames.

In other words - Book, here is what I think about you:

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25ish stars

I won't even attempt a brief summary. The briefest summary I could manage would still be TL;DR. I'll say this: It's ambitious, it's complex, it's confusing, it's got a lot to say.

There are still a lot of things I'm unsure about:

1) Can't quite tell if it's a mess or it's brilliant, probably somewhere in between. I just know that I'm pretty sure I liked it.

2) I say pretty sure because I don't really know if I understood it enough to like it. I'm not very well versed in the philosophical ideas of the Greats (Voltaire, De Sade, Rousseau, Diderot) of whom frequent mention is made throughout the novel (nor do I have much desire to be, sorry not sorry). I just know that I have a pleasant feeling in my body that I typically associate with finishing a book I like.

3) I'm not quite sure yet if Ada Palmer is just so geeky about 18th century Enlightenment history that she pretentiously thought it would be a fun fan-fiction project to invent a far-future society deeply rooted in the distant past and, hey why not, write a novel about it or if it was a legitimately inspired, justified decision.

Will these questions ever be answered? Unknown. This is great as thinking person's sci-fi. Just be prepared to go slow and feel stupid.

[Jo Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated to add my Tor.com review: http://www.tor.com/2016/05/10/a-futur...

But the short version -- they're science fiction that has a solid and fascinating world, great characters, and also that make you think about all kinds of things. Since I read these, hardly a day has gone by when something hasn't made me think of them. It's easy to find books that blow your head off making you think about things in new ways when you're fifteen, it's a lot harder when you're fifty. These books show a future, a world, possibilities, that are different from ours -- and they do that while being up close and warm. There aren't many books that are so full of ideas while having so much heart.

Put them on your "to read" pile now. You'll thank me for it.

[Teleseparatist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh wow, I noped hard reading this one. I pushed through swearing and making faces. Because while I really wanted to find the answers to some of the questions, and to see what happens with the premise, the journey... yeah, the journey was mostly interesting and sometimes gripping but... NOT enjoyable. And not for the right reasons, either.

The short version: this book is very messy and some of it is on purpose but I'm not convinced it's worth it, while other ways are (I think) not on purpose, and they make me question this book's point. Also: maybe book 2 will solve everything, but this one doesn't deliver on any of its premises (despite a fairly cool final part) because it doesn't have an ending, and also, for this reader at least, its interest in the Enlightenment doesn't amount to much more than fannish enthusiasm without deeper insight.

And now, let's go into TL;DR territory.

I mean, sure, there are some pretty cool elements to it. The stylisation itself is interesting verging on really interesting, even to one who, like me, doesn't care all that much for the Enlightenment. The narrator is awful but the narration is mostly (orgies and brothel scenes excluded) enjoyable; I'm always a sucker for self-assured and even self-aware narration. But it didn't make up for fundamental flaws for me.

I'm really tired and I've spent a lot of time thinking about this book already, so have some disjointed thoughts. Maybe even worse disjointedness than usual.

Several days ago I saw a major Polish newspaper link back to an article from a few years ago. I bravely didn't click; I remember seeing it back then though. The item came from a psychologist making some sweeping claims about how equality in a relationship is a pleasant but impossible ideal, and in truth, without difference and thus, inequality, bed death is unavoidable. I mean, can people want to have sex without having one person wash the dishes and take on a subservient role? Where's the fun in that? Where's the frisson?

That sort of retrogressive BS gets its own spin here. The society of 25th century is one of deep censorship where gender expression and religious expression are concerned. That seems like a potentially interesting enough thought experiment, or premise. Alas, what this leads to is love letters to de Sade by a rapist protagonist (who cautions us he is not one - protagonist, not rapist, I mean) and sweeping generalisations about a world in which somehow a significant enough portion of a 7 billion (10 billion?) population all frequent the same brothel to get a fix of that addictive mixture of not just some gender roles but 18th c. gender roles. Because who *doesn't* get off on that. And how can you get off on anything else once you've tasted the joys of wearing corsets / taking off corsets and pursuing blushing maidens / being pursued.

I mean, I don't deny that can be fun. Is it the only way for sex to be fun? Is it fun for all?!

I've read reviews that claim this book has something interesting to offer in particular to queer readers. Your mileage may clearly vary here, because to me, this book's operations with binarisms were the furthest thing from queerness, or from pushing the envelope. First: we're constantly being told that the world has become "neutered" and "degendered" but the only way in which it seems to be true is that people say "they" (although the narrator doesn't and somehow lots of others don't either). But... why would that mean de-gendering??? Is a gender binary opposing masculine/feminine the only possibility of gender? While we are told that in light of taboo against gendering a near-universal fetishism of gender has developed, the world as shown doesn't even reflect that. Clearly performing gender and its connection to sexuality is still very much a thing - see also the existence and the popularity of Sniper. It just... makes no coherent sense if you think about it from a perspective of even 20th much less 21st century gender studies.) Second: I found the use of the aforementioned verb "neuter" to be off-putting. So was that one use of "she-man" (somehow the narration doesn't foresee the same problems here it lampshades when calling a character a witch). There's only so much we can lay at the feet of the intentionally off-putting narrator before the text has to take responsibility; ironic cissexism is still cissexism. Just because the stereotyping of "feminine" doesn't always go with "female" in the book doesn't mean making movers and shakers men (rather than making men movers and shakers) and having female/feminine characters exert influence through motherhood and extremely fetishised sexual power play doesn't make the book ridiculously sexist in some ways.

So is ironic racism still racism, though I'm not even sure this is meant to be ironic or just bizarre. The book uses the point of view of a character who fetishises not only gender (sex) but also ethnicity, claiming to see it clearly etched into features of characters, racialising them incessantly and stereotypically (no one is thin and small in this way but Asian women (except lots of tiny old Polish ladies and also my own sister)! this is an Indian way of blushing! Also note that there is hardly any culture attached to it; nation states are mostly gone, and people no longer live geography-bound lives and most cultures seem to have disappeared completely [even without a trace]; Asian and European nations argue with each other over influence, but characters, particularly POCs, don't have ethnicities beyond physical features and maybe an armband).

The worldbuilding is original... I guess. It's also clearly not intended to make much sense beyond being a thought experiment where everything stays blurry except the parts we're meant to see (what don't we see? The South other than Asia, since apparently it's all Eurasia all the time, the rest of the world either destroyed itself or has and has had nothing to offer, at least so far, unless I missed something).

It's difficult to avoid a comparison with Walton's Thessaly series. Yet, while Thessaly was a love letter to the Antiquity, it took one foundational text and few "Great Men" (ugh, that phrase) and managed to do a lot with it by seeing it/them for its/their flaws and strengths. In contrast, this love letter to French Enlightenment seems so far to be far too enamoured in its subject (see all those references to how something/someone was the greatest) despite the dystopian elements while, for me, saying very little of any value about the Enlightenment itself! That makes for worldbuilding that is sketchy and inconsistent (but hey, the Olympics somehow still matter to people a lot! Until we forget about them. Like importance of celebrity. Or Bridger. Or sports. Generally, this book does a lot of bringing things up that sound cool only to abandon them completely because they don't really matter, or at least not yet, or at least not as much as pondering how great Diderot or Rousseau was. Spoiler alert: the book says super great, but doesn't really support it by using them in a meaningful way beyond stylisations and some pretty stock elements (wigs! but little about rights of [wo]man, or capitalism, or much of anything, really), so I think I'll stick with Wollstonecraft's opinions on Rousseau).

We have a world of billions of people and yet it feels like about 99% of that is just numbers made up to create stakes for real characters (people) to play with (sometimes quite literally). Those few real characters are also fairly interchangeable with some few exceptions, since they are all related by bash or marriage and meet for sex parties because, once again, who isn't into passionless kink-for-kink's sake 18th century re-enactmental incestuous role-playing while talking religion... unless, of course, you're into cannibalistic murder & rape orgies that somehow contribute to saving the world, maybe. That, or building colonies outside of Earth, thank goodness for Utopians.

There were entire sections of this book that I could barely get through because of the sexposition. Remember when HBO did that? It was decried. Clearly they should have had Littlefinger reference de Sade and now instead of being a cheap marketing move we've got ourselves a postmodern masterpiece of playing with 18th century conventions. Alas, for me it was quite simply self-satisfied and annoying.

And the final way in which this book uses its 18th century inheritance is by flaunting genre and using elements of so many conventions all together. We have a bit of Thomas Harris-like psychothriller (ugh, nope). We have political intrigue, crime story, dystopia, philosophical dialogues, metaphysical fantasy, pornography. The author wanted to do it all. Good for her! Maybe she could have done it in separate novels, since this blending doesn't quite come together for me. And... you know what she didn't manage to do? Finish a single novel. Because this one doesn't have an ending. It just... breaks. Buy the second half of the book, published as a separate long novel.

And the worst thing is, although I *won't* buy it, I *will* borrow it from a friend and read it because as annoyed as I was with this book (and I was SO, SO annoyed - and not in a "wow, it makes me think" way, but "wow, could we get on with the point/ could we not do this thing" way), I was fairly gripped most of the time, and I want to get the ending. I don't like DNF-ing and finishing with this novel feels close to that.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so conflicted about this rating that I’m more using this rating as a placeholder. I don’t think a book like this can be properly rated using a star rating system. That’s too simple for a book this complex and layered. I’ll be doing a full review on my channel :)

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/10/...

Has a book ever made you feel completely uncertain of how you’ll rate it? Like, what if you’re blown away by its ideas, but at the same time they make you feel utterly out of your depth? Or maybe, a book that you didn’t think would fit your tastes actually ends up surprising the hell out of you. Truth be told, it’s not often that I experience such conflict with a novel, but I’m also not surprised to find myself feeling like this about Too Like the Lightning. After all, it only makes sense that a complex book will require a complex review.

Technically, Ada Palma’s debut novel can be described as political science fiction, but that’s also a gross oversimplification, for here you will also find plenty of historical allusions, social commentary, and philosophical discourse—all coupled with more traditional elements of the genre. In addition, the “story” here isn’t really that but a whole lot more, but I’ll go further into that later. First, we’re introduced to our narrator, Mycroft Canner, writing this account in the year 2454. The world has transformed into a utopia where fast, expedient travel to and from any point in the world has effectively made ideas like borders and nation states obsolete. Instead, almost everyone belongs in one of the handful of mega-factions made up of millions or billions of people. The nuclear family unit has also been replaced by a more dynamic form called a “bash’”, which can vary in size and composition of related or unrelated individuals. And war? War is another topic that one only reads about in the history books.

Mycroft is known as a “Servicer”, a convict serving out his sentence by being as useful as he can to society. Over time, he has grown close to the Saneer-Weeksbooth bash’, whose members are the custodians of this world’s transportation system, a position which gives them considerable renown and power. However, for years the bash’ has also managed to hide a big secret from everyone, sheltering a young boy with the power to work miracles. With little to no effort at all, thirteen-year-old Bridger has the power to bring inanimate objects to life whenever he pleases. Because of his status as an honorary member of the bash’, Mycroft is included in the small group of those who are aware of Bridger’s existence, but that circle is about to be widened with the sudden arrival of an appointed spiritual advisor, or sensayer, named Carlyle Foster.

This description is also merely half of it though, because while all this is happening, all kinds of political machinations are taking place in the upper echelons of the power structure. The book is laced with a thread of mystery here, involving a much elaborate theft of something called a Seven-Ten list, which is a who’s who of the world’s movers and shakers. Naturally, the Saneer-Weeksbooth bash’ is caught in the middle of it, and in their investigations to find out more, Mycroft and others in this narrative find themselves engaging in various political and philosophical dialogues.

To be sure, Too Like the Lightning is actually quite light on plot, but heavy in its social and literary themes. As I said, it’s not so much a story but a Conversation-with-a-capital-C. Here you will find cultural and scientific debates, existentialist questions, explorations into multiple fields of art and history. The book also has lots to say about a variety of subjects, from gender roles to religion. It’s amazing, really. Phenomenal, even. Palmer’s vision is ambitious and unique, drawing from the philosophical movement and spheres of ideas that changed the face of Europe in the 18th century to create this fully-fleshed setting, a world which appears to have gone through its own Age of Enlightenment. The dramatically altered world through Mycroft’s eyes is nothing like our own. Strange, beautiful, and full of wonder, life in this book might not be perfect, but the possibilities are limitless.

That said, this is an odd novel. There’s no other word for it. And I confess, had I been more impatient while reading this, I might have been tempted to set this one aside for later—not because it is a bad book, but because it so far from what I would normally read for entertainment that it might as well be from another universe. Ultimately, I’m glad that I read it to its completion because it was an incredible experience, but I admit there were times where it felt almost too difficult or daunting to continue, especially when I first started. This was also a slow read, because there’s no rushing a book like this; it’s a work of art meant to be savored, consumed, and digested thoroughly.

If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t have read Too Like the Lightning over a period of several days. Instead, I would have taken my time, whether it took weeks or months, in order to give myself plenty of time to chew on the many issues and ideas presented in this novel. A longer timeline might also serve to alleviate a lot of the confusion, breaking down the staggering amount of information you need to know to understand the story into more manageable pieces. A book like this practically screams for a glossary, as there are so many new words and terms to learn, so many new concepts and customs to familiarize yourself with, and of course, almost all the characters seem to have more than one name, and it was an exhausting mental exercise just to keep track of them all.

Still, it does get easier. The narratives surrounding Mycroft’s mission to protect Bridger, the boy who seemingly works miracles, was many times more interesting to me than the mystery involving the theft of the Seven-Ten list—at least at first. Once those two threads started coming together, I became more fascinated and invested. Then came the surprises, like the truth behind mild-mannered Mycroft’s crime and how he ended up a Servicer, or the massive revelations dropped on us at the end of the book.

Fair warning though, as this was intended to be the first half of a duology, there will be no resolutions to be found here, since all that will be planned for part two, Seven Surrenders. Having finished Too Like the Lightning, I feel that I know a lot more now to better prepare myself for the sequel. This book is guaranteed to make you think, and will no doubt be a delight for those who enjoy philosophy. It’s a very rich, thought-provoking experience, even if it is perhaps a bit impenetrable at times. If you’re feeling up for a challenging read—because impressive or not, this can be a very demanding novel—then you might want to give this one a look.

[Basia · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Ok, DEEEEEP BREATH, Basia. You can do this!!!]

Hmmm. I have been a VORACIOUS reader since I can remember, first in Poland, and then in the US. I've mentioned previously that I credit my love of reading with becoming fluent in this language in only six months. Some of you may also know I have edited since I learned the language; it came to me naturally, as I had no preconceived ideas about what the words might look like until I met them; I learned to read, write, and speak these simultaneously, and according to all the rules--and the countless exceptions to these--that govern the English language.

I say this to make it crystal clear that I have read my fair share of novels, in English and in Polish, and sampled from many genres. And yet NEVER, never ever, in my entire reading life, have I worked harder to comprehend a book that made me feel like any IQ points I thought I had were no more than wishful thinking on my part.

As I began my journey through this book, I shared with a number of friends that I think I may not be intelligent enough for this book. And yet, even as I shared these comments, I could not set it aside. I chose instead to bombard poor Brad with inquiry after inquiry, because if ANYONE had the answers (aside from the author, of course), it would be he. [A special thanks to Brad for not unfriending me for the lunatic I had become during this period. ;) ]

Then somewhere around 27, or perhaps 35% into the book, the fog began to clear! I came to understand the sheer complexity, the delicious intricacies involved in this story! Such complexity DEMANDS exactly the kind of introduction provided to us by Ms Palmer. And the payoff I received for refusing to stop reading the book despite not feeling at all certain about whether I was even following it correctly is a TREASURE TROVE! A Prince's ransom, I believe is the fitting cliche for what I mean to describe here.

I LOVED the style chosen to tell the story: through the words of a narrator who witnessed most of the events described in the story. It was almost eerie, how often he'd say,
Admit it, Reader. You laugh at this.

And there I'd be, driving in my car, and giggling to myself. Prescient, almost! Just ONE example among so, so many, of the countless kick ass facets to this intense, most elaborate and well-organized story.

In short (HA!), my GOODNESS, friends. This book is sheer madness in its scope, depth, design, the ideas it introduces, others which it reincarnates .... Gorgeous, stunning madness.

If I could move into some version of the world Ada Palmer created here--which provides enough detail to allow someone to follow her book like a blueprint with which to build a different kind of society altogether, I'd LOVE to .... Or I DID, until Brad pointed out that the next book's title may cause me to reconsider. :)

As a side note, I couldn't resist looking up Ada Palmer as I got closer and closer to the book's end. People, the woman is 35 years YOUNG, and has just EXPLODED with this series. Her background must have exposed her to so much, in order to create what I was fortunate enough to pick up and consume. I am BEYOND impressed.

So yes, I absolutely recommend this book. However, I suggest you get it in print, or print AND audio. I did audio only, and wish I'd chosen a combined media option instead.

A word about the narrator, Jefferson Mays:
He was so well chosen for this project! Wow. The accents were PERFECT, even as they were many! It was so pleasant, listening to him telling me this tale. Even when I had to rewind REPEATEDLY to try to ensure I was following, albeit feebly, his voice never became offensive nor uncomfortable. He was an excellent choice for this book.
---------------------
Happy reading! Onto the painful wait for the sequel(s) now ....

[Henk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy, science-fiction and theology brought in a compelling, quite unique faux 18th century style
Man is more ambitious than patient. When we realize we cannot split a true atom, cannot conquer the whole Earth, we redefine the terms to fake our victory, check off our boxes and pretend the deed is done.

A whole new world
Since when are we powerful enough to battle rumor? Truth is water in a sieve. It’s not enough to put your hand across the holes and hope.

Ideas evolving and the world changing because of that.
A narrator steeped in literary tradition, referencing tradition from King Arthur to Thomas Moore and Francis Bacon, Too Like the Lightning is far from a conventional sci-fi book.

Religion, gender and the nation state have been superseded in the 26th century and we are being told the story from Mycroft Canner's perspective. A convicted criminal, but a very high profile one, who takes us along the machinations of the leaders of new semi-utopian world, and gradually make us familiar with the changed social and political structure. Also religion has an important role, with even requiring us as reader to believe in two characters having divine powers, complicated even further by the fact that organized religion and proselytizing being as taboo as murder to the 26th century world described.

How hard is it to articulate where our country and “civilization” stand for, we constantly debate and bicker on the best course of action, who are in and out of our grand projects and what is important. Our world is deeply Hegelian, with many steps forward being battled and reversed, and messy.

Ada Palmer takes an ambitious approach in this respect, with this book set in the 26th century where both the core family structure and the broader nation state have been superseded. Hives now cooperate globally, consisting of people who willingly chose their allegiance to evolved versions of the IOC, cooperations, anarchic cyber collectives, a new Roman emperor or a much expanded European Union. But things go awry, with a theft trying to upset balance and stability and meanwhile uncovering a dark secret. This leads a whole lot of people becoming very nervous and a lot of high-profile attention turning to Mycroft for advice and help (They don’t want it solved, I confirmed. They want it fixed.).

with an unique narrative style
But you don’t trust them?
One may trust a thing but still recognize that it is dangerous.

I liked Mycroft as narrator, he is a bit of a toned down in sarcasm, lyrical version of Murderbot from All Systems Red in how I experienced the narration. Mycroft is an enigma, telling a lot but also conspicuously keeping key details and glossing over things.
However the fourth wall breaking and faux 18th century style won’t be for everyone, even the author recognizes this:
No sane person disgorges her autobiography before perfect strangers, and no listener, even one as stunned as Carlyle and Thisbe would sit through this in silence.
And the book is very dense, both in 530 pages for 3 days worth of events and in ideas used to flesh out the world, from De Sade, Voltaire, Diderot, Aristotle and many more. A lot of characters only make one flashy appearance in this book and then fall from Mycroft his radar.

but also some weaknesses and similarities to other works
Julia turns her smile on Thisbe, a deep, self-satisfied smile, as if every person she meets is a new platter at a banquet.

I disliked the central conspiracy theory feel at the heart of the book, overly conveniently explaining how everyone in power seems to know everyone (and why Mycroft is such a Mary Sue, cropping up everywhere important).
Also the level of depravity and decadence are more stereotypical, ancient regime like (maybe deliberately) than what it (hopefully) means in modern, scrutinized day to yield power. The character cast is enormous, making a lot of people sketchy, defined by clothing, a mother tongue and some achievements that feel unsubstantial (like 4 Oscars, several Olympic medals, a few key patents or crazy high grade data analytic skills).

How kids are raised is very Ender's Game like, while the central plot is quite similar to the political side of The Fall of Hyperion, despite I did not see it coming, and the last story of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
Utopia (one of the 7 hives governing the world) feels distinctly Ayn Rand like in how Palmer describes them.

A very tantalizing world, with unique, weird and intriguing characters like J.E.D.D. MASON, a lot of humour (the French scene with the nun are comedy gold) while also casually incorporating very big ideas and a compelling narrator is a venerable achievement.

Overall 3.5 stars and looking forward to more ventures in Terra Ignota and discovering who 9A is.
Edit: this series is really a sweeping one, very well worth continuing and deserving more recognition now that I’ve finally read the final book, Nr4 Perhaps the Stars!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't believe I made it! Do you know the kind of dream in which you try to run away or push something open but your limbs are just too gooey, too slow? As if you were under water? Getting through this book was like that.

The story is about the far future. The author deliberately made it "weird" to the reader by creating a world in which gender is not indicated when talking to or about a person, where religion may not be talked about in a group of 3 or more unless an overseer (a sensayer) is present because religion has been outlawed (though the lawmakers know faith can never be). Add to that some technological advancement like almost-instant travel around the globe and space lifts.
In this society some criminals are not kept in prison or killed but used as "Servicers"; dependent creatures, there to do the jobs nobody else wants to do.
The narrator is such a Servicer (on the surface). He is the protector of a very special young boy and pretty soon one political intrigue (a theft, actually) jeopardizes the entire world economy and social structure.

To say more would take too long because the subject matter is too complex. Ada Palmer sure likes her 18th-century-philosophy which is plain from all the references to Voltaire, De Sade, Rousseau and Diderot. However, all the philosophizing also made the reading tedious.

The idea of religion (as in organisations) being outlawed was intriguing at first. As was the genderless speech because it was supposed to exterminate discrimination. The society presented, with people not belonging to the nation they were born in but rather being organized in Hives (members chose where to belong) depending on their interests (each with its own traditions and laws), was supposed to be a Utopia.

All in all, the story certainly is ambitious and after googling the author before writing this review and finding out that she is a professor of history, much has become clearer to me. But just like with Justin Cronin and his vampire/apocalypse trilogy, an ambitious idea and grand themes paired with an intelligent author does not necessarily result in a great reading experience.
To me, this was a mess. A lot of potential, but it veered in the wrong direction. It was ambitious, but that might be the exact thing that crippled it.
I happen to know a bit about the Enlightenment period so I did get the references and what was confusing at first (like the gender issue) did become fairly "normal" soon, but the opulent writing was still annoying while none of the characters or the supposedly big reveals / shocking moments could actually get a reaction from me (I still rounded up from 2.5 stars though). Too bad, really, because I was looking forward to liking this.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know anyone who doubts the inventiveness of Science Fiction as a genre, who questions the form’s ability to encompass work of literary value, lend them a copy of Too Like the Lightning. This is a novel of massive ambition, fusing 18th century philosophy and ideas with a very well-built and awesomely convincing science fiction scenario that makes me excited for the future of my favorite genre.

Palmer’s novel sets up a complex future unlike any other I’ve encountered. This is a future earth that is effectively post-nation state, where every global citizen chooses to join one of several ‘Hives’ when they reach majority, rather than focus their loyalty on a geographic area. Earth is now crisscrossed with a global network of computer and enhanced human controlled supersonic transit cars, that can cross the globe in a few hours and make travel easy and a person’s national origin nearly irrelevant.

Birthplace still has some pull, but the Hives are the most powerful political groupings. Each grouping has its own laws and home territories, although ‘Graylaws’ – hiveless public servants, and ‘Blacklaws’- hiveless people who have renounced the hives and the protections of their laws- exist outside the structure. From this interesting concept Palmer spins a story of political intrigue, murder, weaponised suppressed sexuality and a child who appears to be able to perform miracles.

The narrator, Mycroft Canner, is a servicer - a convicted criminal whose lifelong parole is to work for others in his society in exchange for meals. He cannot own property or money, but is highly skilled and is for most purposes akin to an educated and valued slave in ancient Rome, passed around various prominent people to assist on important projects. Canner, whose past crimes are unmentioned, works closely with the Saneer-Weeksbooths, controllers of the world’s transit system, and the protectors of a young boy who appears to be able to bring inanimate objects to life with his touch. While trying to hide the boy a crime is committed that is linked to the Saneer-Weeksbooths, something that threatens to expose the boy, Mycroft’s past, and the political machinations that are tenuously maintaining world peace.

If this sounds fairly dense, I assure you- I’ve barely touched on the ideas Palmer explores in her book. Occasionally I found the dialogues and discussions of weighty issues a little heavy, and found myself reading ten pages or so at a time before taking a break and coming back a little later. This isn't to say that Palmer's book isn't a page turner- at times there is great tension and mystery- but the pages in question can sometimes be rather weighty. This isn't an SF novel that will suit everyone- if you're looking for 'splosions and high drama in the interstellar void I recommend you look elsewhere.

If, however, you like unique and thoughtful SF with plenty of surprises you’re in the right place. Every time I thought that I had my head around the strangeness of Palmer's world she threw another curveball at me and fired up my weirdness meter. I would feel I had a grip on a character, and then Palmer would throw me completely off balance.

As you can no doubt guess from my praise, this a great read. Don’t expect much plot resolution though. I wasn’t aware this was the first of two novels but I started sensing the inevitability of a sequel around a hundred pages from the end. Palmer sets up a hell of a lot in Too Like the Lightning, far too much to be resolved in one book. Most of the major plot elements have been left hanging at the story's end and I'm looking forward to the follow up to see where everything goes. If it’s as good Too Like the Lightning, and delivers the payoff this setup deserves, we may just have new milestone work of Science Fiction on our hands.

[Stevie Kincade · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Re-read, original review below)
I loved every minute of re-reading this book. It was completely different reading Ada Palmer's prose from my initial experience listening to the brilliantly performed audiobook. The first time through it seemed like the audiobook required every neuron of my brain to focus on the story to follow it. I was constantly rewinding and writing notes while thoroughly absorbed. This time I could just enjoy the experience and revel in Palmer's (insert superlative) orgasmic writing.

On the first read this book seemed massive. The size of the world and the cast of characters and new things to learn was daunting. On the re-read the pages flew by and every paragraph was perfect and intensely, laser beam focused. There was not a word out of place, every sentence was completely perfect, I don't think I've ever felt this way about a book before! With every sentence so perfectly sculpted there were several times where I found typos and would just read the sentence over and over again trying to make sense of it before finally realising - "this sentence contains a typo".

I find that in general my retention of details from audiobooks can be a bit low but I think it is testament to Palmer's writing that I feel like I remembered every important detail as I re-read.
Finally i would like to mention the 2nd last Chapter between Saladin and Bridger was one of the tensest, white-knuckle Chapters I have ever read and I knew exactly what was going to happen. I loved the constant appeals to the reader and in this Chapter Mycroft asks the reader to imagine we are providence itself and how would we step in and solve this situation. There were so many great moments in this book.

The afterword where Ada Palmer talks about how her desire to write this story burned within her like a physical thing is touching and beautiful and the passion for her masterpiece shines through every page. I am an unabashed Ada Palmer fanboy and state openly my love for this writer. I have had a few ideas for Terra Ignota T-shirts but I definitely want one that says "JEHOVAH MASON" and another that says:
Masons &
Humanists &
Mitsubishi &
Europeans &
Cousins &
Brillists &
Utopians

Bring on Seven Surrenders!

(Original Review - Audiobook) Ada Palmer is gangster as f*ck. This might seem like an odd thing to say about an assistant professor of history and first time author - but only gangster rappers have the level of swagger and audacity it takes to pull off a miracle like “Too like the Lightning"

“Too like the Lightning” is a book that knows how clever it is, it constantly reminds us how clever it is being - and instead of being irritated by this, I was completely won over by its charms.

This is a very meta book, but the 18th century enlightenment era Palmer draws so heavily from practically invented meta with the “worship of the reader” and the “Dear reader” device.
A running gag is the series of arguments our narrator Mycroft Canner has with his imagined reader. Mycroft imagines he is angering his reader at various points in the story so pauses to argue it out with the "voice of the reader" he hears in his head.

The world building in this book is simply phenomenal. I was completely carried away into Palmer’s world. As the waitress asked Bill Hicks “whatchu reading for” I would answer “Escapism mainly - but I wouldn’t mind something that makes me think a bit”. Too Like the Lightning delivers in spades. Perhaps to create a truly authentic future history you need an excellent knowledge of the past. Palmer draws not just from the 18th century but from classic Roman and Greek. She educates us about the enlightenment era as we are drawn into her vision of the future.

I was nearly out on this book before I began. The opening scene features a “miracle” I found ridiculous. I want Science Fiction damnit not miracles. Then the sheer volume of characters and intrigue is more than a little overwhelming. At 28 hours it is not a small book. Thankfully the originality in the writing and novelty of the form got me through the opening and by the time I was 1/5th of the way through I was completely taken in - hook, line and sinker.

The “miracle” exists I believe, to draw the reader into a philosophical discussion. This book goes for the jugular on the weightiest of themes, gender, politics, religion, life and death. Do our vocations or our avocations make us who we are? It is a credit to Palmer that I am not entirely sure where she stands on these issues, but she sure does want us to think about them.

This is a beautifully written book. The Ada Palmer drinking game is to take a shot every time she drops an original or compelling metaphor. You will be drunk in no time. "As nervous as a new cat" "As quickly as god appears at the invocation of his name". It is also a very funny book, the humour works because the world seems so vivid and the stakes are so high.

Palmer pulls off a neat trick where I don’t believe any of the characters are 3 dimensional but they are all so cloaked in intrigue and mysterious desires my imagination fills in the gaps in their personalities. In a similar way that a good horror film doesn't show us too much of the creature, Palmer doesn't show us too much of the players competing for power.

The less said about the plot the better, as it is full of twists and surprises. I don’t even want to compare it to anything else for fear of spoiling where it goes. It'a bit like a futuristic "Eyes wide shut" narrated by a reformed Hannibal Lecter.
Let’s just say that it contains elements of Fantasy, court intrigue and philosophy to create a “historical fiction” of the future.

A book this complex shouldn’t work in audiobook form. It is a credit to narrator Jefferson Mays that I was able to follow it at all, albeit with frequent use of the rewind button.

When I was loading this onto my phone I had a brief listen and thought “hrm this guy is a bit of an odd duck” I have never heard anyone narrate in this sort of tone before. Once I understood that the book is written in and performed in the 18th century style it made perfect sense.

The degree of difficulty here is off the chart. We need a narrator that can convincingly recite Latin, French and Spanish while voicing a multitude of characters. Mays resisted the urge to make the French really, really French for example and modulated with only subtle shifts in accent. The best voice of all was the one he assigns to the outraged “reader” arguing with our narrator Mycroft. His comic timing combined with Palmer’s words made me laugh again and again.

Checking May’s IMDB page he is a Tony award winning actor and has appeared in ”The Knick” and “Inherent Vice” so he obviously has the chops to give a brilliant audiobook performance.

In closing I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I enjoyed the “intrigue in space” of the Imperial Radche trilogy but next to the weight and ambition of Terra Ignota it seems like Young adult silliness. This is the first audiobook where I have bought the hardcover for a re-read and am pre ordering the 2nd book “Seven Surrenders” months in advance. December 6th! Cannot wait!
I would be shocked if I read a better book this year. An immersive and mind-blowing experience I am putting straight onto the “All-time favourites” shelf.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recognize that — like many books I love, but even more than most — this book might leave the folks who read it feeling alienated, confused, and estranged from its world and its characters. It’s unquestionably unusual in structure, approach, language, subject, and plot, but it worked its wickedly witty and deeply intelligent spell on me. I found it mesmerizing, as I delighted in parsing its oddities, and I fell in love with its ambitious approach to thinking about humanity’s interconnectedness. I knew next to nothing about it before I opened its pages, and I am deeply appreciative of that fact, since I was therefore free to discover its wonderful eccentricities for myself, so I won’t say anything about the details of its plot or world. I will say that I am eager to continue reading the story of Terra Ignota in its sequels.

*******

I just finished my reread of this fantastic, wildly inventive, thoroughly entertaining, endlessly provocative concoction, in preparation for (finally) diving into its sequel. I remain astonished at how confidently Ada Palmer brought to life her madcap vision, and inspired by the depths of human ethics, philosophy, morality, and religious belief laid bare by her magnificent creation.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
Video Review https://youtu.be/sCk5I9fP7Z0

This is such an incredibly unique science fiction novel. The narrative voice is very distinct and will likely be divisive between readers. Thankfully I liked the style, which felt like it was from time long ago, not the future.

This is definitely a series I need to finish before making a final judgment on it. I need to see the full picture but it’s off to a really good start.

[Scott Hitchcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

You will criticize me, reader, for writing in a style six hundred years removed from the events I describe, but you came to me for explanation of those days of transformation which left your world the world it is, and since it was the philosophy of the Eighteenth Century, heavy with optimism and ambition, whose abrupt revival birthed the recent revolution, so it is only in the language of the Enlightenment, rich with opinion and sentiment, that those days can be described. You must forgive me my ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s and ‘he’s and ‘she’s, my lack of modern words and modern objectivity. It will be hard at first, but whether you are my contemporary still awed by the new order, or an historian gazing back at my Twenty-Fifth Century as remotely as I gaze back on the Eighteenth, you will find yourself more fluent in the language of the past than you imagined; we all are.

DNF 25%.

I think you need to read that opening paragraph and take the author at their word. They are writing a 25th century book and are obsessed with the 18th century. And for the record that isn't an author's note I posted, that's the first chapter aptly titled "A Prayer to the Reader". The author continues to ask the reader questions and I think some might like it but it came off to me as arrogance.

Palmer is clearly brilliant but because I'm not up on my 18th century writers and to a lesser degree that's century's history I felt like I was time and again missing the clear meaning. The author isn't spoon feeding the reader anything. You are immersed in this world and it's sink or swim. Speaking as a Malazan Book of the Fallen fan I actually liked this part of it but I was still confused enough at 25% to not be enjoying it enough to continue.

I think this is a brilliant work, just not for me. If you like challenging reads, sci-fi and have a good working knowledge of 18th century writers, philosophers and history I think you'll love this.

I have to 1* it because it's my personal DNF rule but really the book is better than that.

[Allison Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better every time.

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

Ambitious. Complex. Thought-provoking. Ada Palmer’s debut novel, Too Like the Lightning, is all those things and more. The book truly an intellectual piece of science fiction literature, not only in its themes (political, societal, philosophical, and religious) but also in the ornate, elegant, and nuanced writing style. Demanding your full attention, this novel’s complete depth cannot be appreciated without devoting time and effort to first consuming it before slowly sorting and digesting all its potent ingredients.

Taking place in the 25th century, the narrative is largely the first-hand accounts of Mycroft Canner (though, as a government edited recount, its complete accuracy is somewhat in question) supplemented by information garnered by use of electronic trackers that allow Mycroft to see and hear events involving other individuals. And while it might seem that Mycroft is the protagonist here, he constantly emphasizes that he isn’t, but, rather, that a gifted thirteen-year-old named Bridger is. This youth able to bring inanimate objects to life with a touch.

Bridger’s ability might sound more”fantastical” than “science fiction” to some, but have no worries: This is a sci-fi story all the way. This world four hundred years in the future filled with an evolved society where independent nations do not exist but rather small hive groups, digital clothing is the norm, genetic tracking is routine, robotic cars race about, and a new form of criminal slavery even exists inside the law. Humanity still recognizable, but politics, science, entertainment, moral values, and the meaning of life itself evolved tremendously from our current time. All of these things combining to create a lush, detailed tapestry for this social sci-fi epic to play out.

What sets Ada Palmer’s work apart from other social science fiction works is the deeply intellectual aspect of this book. The author having used her extensive knowledge of European history (She is employed in the History Department at the University of Chicago.) to create an Enlightenment-era subculture, which permeates the narrative as a whole. The worldbuilding itself an opportunity to play out the author’s fascination with the way ideas and technology create historical change within societies and shapes not only the society itself but its view of the past. This seamless coupling of futuristic Earth with such ancient thinkers as Voltaire and Bacon making the social upheavals a devilish brew indeed.

When picking up this novel, please do understand it is not a quick, space opera romp or even a hard science fiction spectacular. Rather, Too Like the Lightning is a complicated, nuanced volume; its independent yet interconnected plot threads involving philosophy, social upheaval and brutal politics which require determination and fortitude to brave to the end. The mysteries and secrets not fully resolved, but set up to be unveiled in the sequel, Seven Surrenders.

In short, Too Like the Lightning is a breathtaking work of speculative literature, worthy of inclusion with other social science fiction classics. The immense thought and brilliant presentation by Ada Palmer worthy of any awards she might garner for it. However, make no mistake, this is a serious and weighty story, whose scope and complexity will frighten many readers away and leave others underwhelmed — especially those who wish their reading to allow them an escape from the struggles of societal change already going on in our world rather than immerse themselves in its disturbing depths further.

I received this novel from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread: I upped it to five stars from my initial impression of four. Yeah it has flaws anyway. I don’t really care. Original review below.


This is going to be an incoherent review, so I'll apologize right off the bat. This is not an easy book. It was 430 pages of struggle for me. There are few info dumps. The style is different. Mycroft Canner (the main character) is writing this book in the style of the 18th century (sort of- most of the book is written perfectly normally) to address someone reading it from the future. He frequently addresses the reader, breaking the flow of the narrative to address the reader in thee and thou and ask you questions and make arrogant assumptions about how you feel.

There are few info dumps about the world and how it came to be because he thinks you are reading this from 400 years in the future, or thereabouts, and would therefore, presumably know much of what he is telling you about the history of the world. So no info dumps. Sort of.

To give you a quick and dirty run down, of which I will undoubtedly miss many points, it's like this: the book is set in the future, where people have cool clothes that change with what they think, or make them invisible, or boots that are also weapons, visors that allow them to see what other people see and have text message conversations with people, or call them directly. They have trackers which track (obviously) and call police and monitor heart beats and give or deny security clearance. There is no more talk of gender, no more he and she. Women can choose not to grow breasts if they wish and so hide their physical sex. Clothes are genderless. They have anti-aging drugs and average life expectancy is over 150. People are often adopted into familial units called 'bash(es?) where the ba'kids might be chinese, the ba'pa european, and the ba'ma indian. When the ba'kids grow up they can choose to belong to one of several hives, based on what they desire or find important in life and start a new 'bash with their spouse. There is no war. There is no organized religion. Religious questions may be directed to your sensayer, whose training allows them to cover questions and matters of all religions, and it is always private, and proselytizing is definitely not allowed. Most people speak more than one language, with latin being reserved for the elite.

You wouldn't think this would be a mystery plot, but it is. It begins with a boy named Bridger, who can "miracle" things into existence. Toys and pictures come to life, cures and food made from paper. Mycroft has some sort of master plan for Bridger, but what is it? Then this thing called the Seven Ten list is stolen and I still can't exactly tell you why it's important other than to expose mysteries within mysteries. Just as you think your figuring something out, some bomb is dropped on you about someone's identity, or past events or motives. I'll be blunt, the Seven Ten list plot was kind of boring and confusing and I just didn't care all that much about it. It's the mysteries within the mysteries that will keep you reading, and there are OH SO MANY.

So Mycroft, I love, weirdly, if you read it you'll find out why that's weird. I did like the writing, if the style of writing was sometimes off-putting. The pacing could be slow at times and very fast at others. The chapters feel long and the book dense in general. The world building was both exactly what I'd want from a meaty sci-fi book and also somehow incredibly imaginative. The setting was beautiful and I'd absolutely love to see it recreated in CGI someday.

But, the book confused me a lot. Many people have many names and many titles and Mycroft will often point out a physical sex and a gender identification while everyone else refers to them as they and it can be difficult to follow. Thanks to the sensayers, there are lots of parts where the characters are debating or relaying philosophy to the reader, Voltaire, Marx, and many others I can't name. Some paragraphs are written in latin and translated directly after and it was just unnecessary words on the page. The parts where Mycroft breaks off to address the reader were also sometimes tiresome and I just wanted to get to the story, but in the end, I am absolutely 100% DYING to find out what happens next, so for that much, I give it four stars.

Overall- an intriguing and thought provoking read that I'd definitely recommend to anyone interested in any of the many things I've mentioned above.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating and demanding read. One so complex that I don't find it easy to recommend it without adding a 'but.' It's a very ambitious book with an epic scope and intriguing world building. To like this book, you (probably) must either enjoy Voltaire, the 18th century, philosophy, or all of the above. It feels, at times, like the prose and the way Ada Palmer chose to write this book is more important than the plot itself, and not everyone is willing to put in that kind of work.

It plays in a futuristic utopia, maybe dystopia, and is told from the perspective of Mycroft Canner, an unreliable and to a certain extent unlikable narrator. We find ourselves in the 25th century, but Mycroft insists on writing like he time travelled straight from the Age of Enlightenment. Ada Palmer describes this futuristic society in astonishing detail and the characters are fascinating and well developed.

This one is definitely for the ambitious science fiction fan, and I'm pretty certain it will benefit from a re-read.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans)]

☠ DNFing this one preemptively.

Because reasons Jilly. Don't blame me, blame her! She mentioned the author Breaking the Fourth Wall of Doom and Disaster and Utter Destruction of All Life on the Planet (BtFWoDaDaUDaALonP™) AND writing never-ending descriptions, which caused this quite unexpected (if a little allergic) reaction:




💌 A very private message for Jilly: thank thee kindly for saving my lovely derriere exoskeleton and stuff.

[Wick Welker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has so many problems.

First, there is heavy, first person narration which is not inherently bad. However, I believe when you spend that much time on narration (explaining the setting, the characters actions, transitional scenes, culture) you should also advance the plot along with action-driven interactions. That's not what Palmer does. Instead, she fills her narration with a lot of jargon that is only specific to the world of the novel along with peoples and cultures that are not explicit to the reader. So you end up with flowery, philosophical narration that has no meaning to the reader without advancing the plot . In other words, it's boring because it is not compelling to read.

Second, the characterization of the main character truly makes no sense. Mycroft is a criminal who committed some crime in the past and now is doomed to public servitude instead of prison. That's how this future society works. No problem, cool concept. However, this criminal, somehow and inexplicably, has connections with all sorts of elite people all over the globe. While tending to a 13 year old boy, this criminal also has the freedom to go globetrotting and to hobnob with the most powerful people in society who all somehow have personal relationships with him. So Palmer wants the main character to have the stigma and burden of being a convict yet grants this same character total access to influence world politics. And why? Because the main character is the narrator and how else would the story get told. This is really inconsistent characterization.

Third, I think Ada Palmer needs to spend less time philosophizing and more time studying how 13 year olds actually behave because the teenager in this book as the sensibility of a 6 year old child. I suspect Palmer dumbed down the 13 year old as he reflects on life and death because he's supposed to be a literary tool used to talk down to me, the reader.

Fourth, the world building is explicitly stated to the reader by the narrator. FUN. Rather than learning about this future society through interactions and scene building, you're mostly told.

I could go on but I'll stop it there. Too Like the Lightning is not only a boring book with poor narrative but it is award bait, trying to be avant garde when it's only pedantic.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

February 2020 Re-read: Combined re-read review of books one and two in spoiler tags. My original review of book one remains below. There aren't actually any spoilers in the re-read review, so feel free to click through. I just wanted to keep the amount of text minimal.

This is a re-read review for the first two books in this series, which were originally written as one volume, and then split in two before publication. After reading them back to back for the first time, I can definitely say they work much better together as one story than they did the first time I read them, almost a year apart from each other. The arc of the story—the rising tension, climax, resolution—is much more clear and satisfying when they are read together.

My original intent for revisiting this series was twofold:

1. To make sense out of it, holy shit. And it did make more sense this time! But it was also still pretty dense (and yet still readable at the same time).
2. To prep for finally reading book three (and four, which is already finished but isn't coming out for some reason until 2021, why??).

I succeeded in intent one, but failed miserably in intent two. I did not pick up book three. I just sort of glided right by it in my reading order. I still have it out from the library and it's just sitting there taunting me. After all that emotional work I just put in re-reading, I don't know if I want to pick it up yet . . . I guess I'll just try and max out my library hold time and see what happens. Keep in mind, the first time I read book two, I couldn't even muster the energy for a real review, just threatened to call the police on the book instead. I felt less attacked by the book this time because I already knew what was coming, but it was still emotionally taxing. I am talking around my trauma so as to avoid spoilers.

And after all that, I still don't know how to talk about these books, which I have raised up to five stars overall on this read (as standalones, I would still stand by my previous four star ratings). They are impossible to explain well without going on for hours or thousands and thousands of words, at which point I say, just go read the book yourselves. They are an intoxicating, frustrating blend of philosophy, futuristic science, dystopias disguised as utopias, musings on sex and gender, religion, love, what makes a community, secrets and betrayals, and the contradictions inherent in human nature.

If you like being challenged, surprised, and taken on an emotional rollercoaster by your books (and don't mind weirdness, or the feeling of being a little uncomfortable in a book before you really know what's going on, this series might be for you.

Despite its challenges, or maybe because of them, I find myself pulled towards this series, and upon finishing book two for the second time, I mainly wanted to start another re-read, because it felt as if I was just on the tip of being able to figure it all out. I'm not sure when I will be able to start book three.

I meant to actually write something about this series and its characters in this review, but instead I have said almost nothing about any of it. I guess I just think you should read it for yourself, and also I am not up to putting it into words myself. Maybe I'll be able to after finishing the whole series.

August 2017: This might be the weirdest book I've ever read. Well, the weirdest book I've read that I actually ended up enjoying. I might have to think a while before officially giving it that award.

My instinct is to put this review away and not think about it for weeks. I just want to sit with the story, let it brew and fester in my mind a little bit. But I know if I do that, I will forget everything and end up floundering around when it actually comes time to write. I might be more eloquent about the book's larger concerns, given time (and re-reading, which I will most certainly be doing at some point), but I would be sacrificing the immediacy of all these bizarre reactions I'm currently experiencing from the book.

Which is basically: What the fuck.

It's the future. In this imagined future (about four hundred-ish years from now), there are no allegiances to countries or races, only to hives (essentially ideological nations without fixed locations) or to boshes (not sure how to spell that because I did the audio, but they are basically chosen families that can be blood related to you or not). Gender is also not expressed publically. Everyone is "them" or "they" and uses gender neutral clothing, gender neutral language, gender neutral actions. It’s not illegal to express a gender, but it is taboo. In this future, it is also illegal to practice religion in the open, because it was decided that allegiances to religion and to nations are what cause wars and death and destruction. Instead, religion is relegated to the individual person, and each person is assigned a sensayer, essentially a person whose entire job is to shepherd people onto their own personal spiritual path. And there are criminals, like our narrator Mycroft Canner, whose punishment is not rotting in jail or execution, but to wander the Earth in service to others. These people only have food and shelter because those they serve give it to them.

Mycroft narrates in the first person, and frequently addresses the reader. He acts as a sort of reverse explainer, talking to readers of the future (ostensibly) because he is writing a history, but really writing to us in the past. So his explanations are helpful but still mysterious, because he is assuming a level of knowledge in his future readers that we don't have yet. Due to his status as one of the most infamous (if not THE most infamous) criminals of the past several hundred years, he is uniquely placed to witness a brewing crisis of religious, social and economic proportions, and he is privy to many secrets and conspiracies due to his "unperson" status. The biggest of his secrets is a young thirteen year old boy named Bridger, who can bring inanimate objects to life.

Into this cesspool of confusion, a list is stolen from the Saneer-Weekes-Booth bosh, a bosh Mycroft frequents (and outside of which, Bridger lives in a cave), and a new sensayer is assigned to the bosh, a sensayer who accidentally walks in on Bridger displaying his powers. Mycroft and Thisbe Saneer (the leader of the bosh) have no choice but to let him on Bridger's secret. And then there’s this guy J.E.D.D. Mason, whom everyone seems to be obsessed with, and who seems to have influence with every major hive in the world. He’s put in charge of the investigation of the theft, and one of his minions is coming dangerously close to discovering Bridger’s secret.

Guys . . . this is already super complicated, and I've barely scratched the surface. There is so SO much here. A depth of philosophical ideas, socio-cultural exploration, mystery, murder, religion, and cool as fuck stuff I don't wanna spoil. There's also several mind-bending twists that basically come out of nowhere and leave you going WHAT, both of the "that's so cool" and the "oh God I'm gonna vom" varieties.

Ada Palmer's characters are fantastically complex. You like Mycroft; you like him even after you find out what he did. The other characters feel real also, but I'm also still figuring them out. Because here's the thing: This book is only half the story. This story was literally split in half and published in two volumes, so it feels incomplete, and not in the way most books in a series do. So a lot of my feelings are still tentative, because I haven't experienced the whole arc yet.

This is also one of those books that beg for a re-read. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get everything on the first go. So you have to know that going in. It takes a little bit of commitment, a willingness to be patient, maybe put some pieces together yourself. Ultimately, I found the parts of it I understood to be riveting, and I think on re-read once I know what's actually going on (which will be after I finish the second book), I will like it even more.

I did this book on audio because I love Jefferson Mays from listening to his narration of The Expanse series. And he does an excellent job with this book. He is engaging and gives life to the characters. At times, this did help me keep going in the book when I was confused. But I'm also sure reading this in audio wasn't the easiest choice in other ways. This is the kind of book you want to flip back pages on, double check and re-read things. And you can't do that with audio.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my experience reading this book. I feel accomplished having finished it. And hopefully I'll have a little more clarity after diving in to book two later in September. It's sitting on my bedside table right now, being all intimidating.

Read Harder Challenge 2017: A book that's set more than 5,000 miles from your location (Chile, Paris, Japan).

[Jake Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread update:
So this was an awesome reread, I still agree with my original review as a review of the experience reading it the first time, but on reread I enjoyed it as much, but could follow the large scale story more.
9.1/10


Tough book to review.

To sum it up I thought almost every scene on the micro level was very good, but for a while I started to just feel like I had no idea where it was going, and what is was actually about at a macro level. But, the final chapter really reigned it in, and felt like it brought me back on course.

Ada Palmer deserves an incredible amount of credit for the world she has created, she has basically invented a new form of government/society, and made it feel plausible. Also this book has an incredibly interesting frame narrative, and narrator, who I could see being off putting cause being in his head is just at times very strange.

Also lots of distinctive supporting characters, and fantastic writing.

Really it was just a very impressive book, that I would say was very dense, but not incredibly challenging or confusing to me. Although that varies, lots of people will read something I find extremely confusing and have no problems, and then read something I don't find confusing and be lost. And while this is a challenging novel, I do not think it is an outlier compared to lots of other reasonably dense stories I have read.

This book also has a lot of political intrigue, and I do have to say I found a lot of it to be pretty obtuse, like I got the general idea, but if you are someone who as they read has to figure everything out, and why everyone is doing everything, this will be really tough. Maybe I actually didn't follow this particularly well, maybe I am simply more at peace with missing things.

Every scene with Bridger in it was amazing.

8.8/10

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let us, dear reader, began with an examination of the New: many are they who profess a wonderment and a bittersweet nostalgia at the child mindset, for whom all is novel and therefore exciting. If you can indulge my own example, I remember demonstrating basic physics (gravitation) to my three year old nephew. I was highly curious, would he possess the ability to note basic patterns and take delight in them, as I do?

So I gathered many objects, different in shape and material: a small book, a fluffy bunny, a toy drum, a bouncy ball and dropped them from the same height, one in each hand, and caught them simultaneously. “They fall,” I said, “at the same speed.” How mundane an observation! And yet my young nephew’s eyes widened in marvel and he fell into a fit of giggles. How new, how fresh an idea! The world is a system with consistent rules and these rules can be ascertained by observation.

But for us adults, who have perceived so many billions of moments and who are so powerful in our capacity to hypothesize, it often seems as if Newness is not merely endangered but entirely extinct. What can be New, what can be unexpected, when our minds daily churn through thousands of counterfactuals and when even new knowledge must be contoured to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of our thoughts?

Often I wonder what might feel, to my wrinkled brain, well and freshly New? Travel to exotic locales, with people unlike me? But is it, and are they, or are exotic cultures immediately recognizable by their common humanity and genetic heritage, more alike than they are different? How about a nuclear war in which we wipe ourselves out? Alas, I’d be surprised if it didn’t happen. The arrival of a machine alien species? Seen it, imagined it, wrote about it. Finishing my book, having it published to great popularity and acclaim? A common fantasy. The sun randomly collapsing into a black hole? A common nightmare. A flying alligator that fires laser beams from its eyes crashing through my window? Pssshhhhhhh, that’s standard fare from my D&D campaign. If not something so outlandish, what can qualify as New?

I know you too have had such thoughts, dear reader. What can truly surprise us, what can make us giggle in fresh revelation?

And what, you protest, doth this have to do with the book? Canst thou get to the review already? Give thou to me the plot, the characters, thy opinion! What need have I of thy philosophy, thy life experience, thy personal reflection? What am I, thy diary? You are right, reader, you are right that your time is precious. I have no defense but to claim it is precious to me too and confess that if you wish for a plot summary only, then you should close this review right now, for simplicity & ease are not the currencies with which I endeavor to purchase your attention. I trade in the old currencies, the drachma of contemplation, the denarius of depth, the ducat of truth, far removed and less valuable in this, our age of expediency.

Here, then, is the truth as far as I have been able to discover it: As we age, newness increasingly can only be found commensurate with a discomfort that comes from having our reality shaken up. From encountering a perspective that feels wrong, alien, incorrect. From struggling to understand. It seems fair to claim that we can know newness only insofar as we are willing to accept that what we considered Truth & Reality was false in some form or fashion.

I hear you saying, get thou to thy point. Yes, dear reader, yes we arrive.

Too Like the Lightning is not one of the strangest books I have ever read – not even close. But it is one of the most strangely successful books I have ever read, for even though its countless flaws are to me utterly clear, I felt compelled to think positively of it, to give it a good review, to encourage others to read it.

Newness lies at the heart of this strangeness, for while Lightning utilizes plenty of old tricks and follows a standard narrative structure, it has much newness as well:

*The narrator, Mycroft Canner, a humble psychopath? Yes, a character of such freshness that I might compare him to Gene Wolfe’s Severian, who was an apprentice torturer, a job title that I have never before and likely never will again witness on another protagonist’s Curriculum Vitae.

*An evolution of that quantum unit of society, the Nuclear Family, into this idea of a Bash’, a family unit bound by ideology and vocation rather than by blood. The foremost bash’ in Lightning is the Saneer-Weeksbooth bash’, who control the world’s massive network of auto-driving flying cars. The inciting plot point here is that a stolen Seven-Ten List (a list of the top 10 most powerful people in the world, the publication of which tends to have heavy political ramifications) appears in the Saneer-Weeksbooth home. It brings chaos and the revelation of ugly truths.

*The death of religion, a cornerstone of Lightning’s world-building. Those with similar beliefs are not allowed to congregate. Instead each Bash’ is appointed a Sensayer, a spiritual counselor, who is not allowed to discuss or proselytize their own beliefs but can only offer knowledge of all religions. Important here because the very first scene shows us the Saneer-Weeksboth’s new Sensayer stumbling upon a God in human form, a child named Bridger, whose touch and will can bring to life & reality any inanimate object: toy soldiers into live ones, a plastic hammer into Thor’s mighty Mjollnir with all its powers, the drawing of a resurrection potion or a black hole into the real thing, or maybe even mere vague wishes - like war or world peace - into actuality.

*Countries in Lightning have been all but dissolved, replaced instead by seven major Hives, membership of which is purely voluntary. There are the Humanists (to which the Saneer-Weeksbooth belong) who celebrate the individual above all; the MASONs, a Roman-like empire; the Mitsubishi, a land-owning Asian corporation; the European Union, welcome to anyone who appreciates European ideals; the Gordians, a sort of psycho-social-scientific group; the Cousins, to whom the Sensayers belong, representing the charities of the world; and last, the Utopians, who are the scientists and engineers, the artists and the dreamers, who are primarily focused on terraforming Mars.

Truly, I suspect you may be asking, these be thy ideas of newness? A reformed villain for a protagonist? A mere evolution of the family unit? A God in Human Form? Did such elicit a giggle as thy “physics” demonstration did for thy nephew? Ah, dear reader, your cynicism is sharp and true. You are right, the newness is not of that nature. But such Newness that a child experiences, let us be frank, is truly beyond us. For us, the very FEELING of Newness has ceased to be New. Indeed, each time we experience something New, that very feeling becomes less New. Newness thus causes its own demise. A sad paradox, but that is the price we pay for memory, learning, wisdom. So, no, Too Like the Lightning does not contain true Newness. But the shadow of newness, the feeling of it around the corner? Yes, you will find it here.

But as I warned earlier, newness tends to bring with it discomfort, even disbelief, as it challenges our understanding of the world. So it was with Lightning. I felt a discomfort with this book. I remained unconvinced of its world-building. In fact, ‘unconvinced’ rather understates it. I found the world-building to be wholly unbelievable. I was not in the least bit sold on Ada Palmer’s vision of a future utopia, perhaps unsurprising given her vocation as a historian, whose expertise dwells in the past.

I did not believe in Mycroft Canner’s transformation (the details of which are primarily found in book two – The Seven Surrender – which is more like the second half of one larger tome). Psychopaths by their very nature must be institutions unto themselves. I did not believe that religion, which has been part of society since the very dawn of civilization, would be weakened (rather than strengthened) by war. I did not believe that, barring some post-human revolution, society would banish the gender binary that has been so fundamental to human sexuality. For here in Lightning, male and female are ancient concepts, and though Mycroft often uses ‘he’ or ‘she,’ he does so with apology, while the other characters opt for the genderless ‘they’ even when referring to singular persons. This felt like an unearned gimmick, as it did with Ancillary Justice (but, to be fair to this book, actually served some purpose in the plot, unlike in the Ancillary books). I didn’t believe that successful world leaders could or would act as they do here, childish, naïve, overly cooperative. I felt that such would be absolutely devoured by a real politician, by the likes of a Cersei Lannister, a Genghis Khan, or a Vladimir Putin. I was not the least bit convinced by this book’s suggestion – for the true puppeteer behind these leaders is the Madame of a brothel – that sex is more seductive than power. And so on and so forth.

Again, I don’t want to undersell these issues. I found large swaths of this book to ring false. The temptation to call bullshit arose again and again and again, and the notion that this book could be set in the 25th century is ludicrous (in that it's not nearly advanced enough).

But ultimately I decided that this book was never meant to be analyzed in this fashion. Which, wow, is NOT a pass that I have EVER given before. I mean, forgiving a SCI-FI book for the inauthenticity of its world building? Not likely! After all, most sci-fi books function as a sort of bridge from NOW to THEN or from HERE to THERE or from US to THEM. Sci-fi delights, inspires, and educates us by offering a vision of humanity’s evolution or how humanity (and our modern behaviors, ideals, etc) might behave if transplanted to an exotic situation.

Too Like the Lightning, however, isn’t really interested in that bridge. It attempts some minimal justification of its world building, with mentions of a Church War and a history of the Bash’ and what not, but little enough text is devoted to these. Rather, the book requires that you accept its world-building – to consciously suspend your disbelief – without worrying about how we got there: religion is banished, OK. Gender is banished, OK. Nation states are banished, OK. If you can accept these things, the world mostly works. Within its little bubble, its pocket universe, it mostly makes sense. And then we get about the business of exploring the question Ada Palmer really wants us to explore: What is the best way to govern?

Too Like the Lightning offers us a fresh vision of world governance and asks, would this world be safe? Stable? Would it offer a life worth living? How would we make it work? In service of these bigger questions, it asks many interesting smaller ones too: what's the best (religious) belief system? How would religion respond to actual, verifiable miracles? Is gender necessary to sustain sexuality? And so on.

In asking and answering these questions, Too Like the Lightning offers a rich, deep, and dramatic story, quite enjoyable to read, surprising and impressive given its complexity and intelligence. More importantly, Too Like the Lightning offered, even if in the form of an amused disbelief, a scent of newness, of freshness. And that, my dear reader, is more valuable than all the world’s gold.

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure where to even start with this book – I’m not sure a review can do it justice. I picked it up because I heard about the 18th century references and it turned out to be one of the craziest, best, wildest, most cursed rides involving a lot of quite uncharacteristic incoherent screaming. It has to be experienced to be believed. As hard as it was to tell from my commentary while I was reading it, I think I might have a new favourite series. Definitely not for everyone, but very up multiple of my niche alleys.

I struggle to open history’s inner doors to you, to teach you how those who made this new era think and feel. In my age we have come anew to see history as driven not by DNA and economics, but by man. And woman. And so must you.

Mycroft Canner is a convict, sentenced to doing public service work to atone for the terrible crime he comitted and is also secretly helping to take care of a child named Bridger who seems to possess reality-altering powers. And this is as much as I can say without spoilers. And even if I tried to tell you, it would make no sense. Really, it’s best if you head into this book knowing as little about the plot as possible, just strap yourself in for the wild ride and go.

Will you know what’s going on? No, you will not. Mycroft’s narration is paradoxical in that he infodumps a lot and yet in a lot of ways says very little, since the main assumption is that while the reader may not know all the players, they already know how it all ends. Ever since The Gray House, I have been intrigued by unreliable narrators who don’t necessarily lie to the reader, so that was definitely a point in its favour. Besides, I have always loved “I will tell you what really happened” as a framing device. I knew going in that he was going to trick me, but I wanted so bad to see how and I was not disappointed. There are a lot of twists and every single one of them feels fully earned – the ending in particular floored me. A perfect hook for the next book without being a cliffhanger.

“Anger doesn’t help. Men write books like that because they want history to remember, mourn, and make sure that sort of tragedy won’t happen again.” His voice was gentle, like an abdicated king happy that his words are words again and not commands. “Most of the characters in that story were willing to die for what they believed in. It’s a good bet that, given the choice, they’d be willing to suffer what they suffered in the book if it would insure that you in the real world don’t make the same mistakes.”

Another thing to note about the narration is that it’s written in a style imitating the one of the 18th century, very descriptive, somewhat flowery, often tell over show, and the fourth wall is nonexistent. But despite breaking every single modern narrative rule, it somehow worked for meand grabbed me immediately, even if I can all too easily see how it would annoy someone else.

And since I mentioned the 18th century – yes, there’s a lot of references as well, perhaps a little overexplained, but often in the most cursed possible places that left me reeling as if I have been hit in the head with a brick. If you know about Voltaire, it will be bad enough. Sadly there were none of the more obscure references I hoped for (thinking mostly of a certain set of altered, semi-novelised letters), but regardless. And if you know about Marquis de Sade, it will be worse. Much worse. Copious swearing ensued. In a way, I am very glad I didn’t read the book in 2018 when I got the ebook and only did it now, after several months of obsession with the 18th century. Have a spoiler-free example:

To temper your confusion, reader, I shall not call Rousseau “she,” but I am tempted.

The worldbuilding is also some of the most intriguing and unique I’ve ever seen. Since it takes place on far-future Earth, the political situation and the culture are completely different – everyone being referred to as “they” (except by Mycroft as narrator, who uses “he” or “she” but based on his own logic) and gender being seen as something intimate/sexual being the most prominent example. Since I love well-done cultural worldbuilding, this is yet another point in its favour.

Man is more ambitious than patient. When we realize we cannot split a true atom, cannot conquer the whole Earth, we redefine the terms to fake our victory, check off our boxes, and pretend the deed is done.

And then the themes and the characters. The exploration of flaws in what sounds like a near-utopian society on paper is probably the main focus and incredibly well done. Because of Mycroft’s situation, we also get a huge focus on whether people who have committed terrible crimes can…not atone or redeem themselves, exactly, but perhaps be rehabilitated. Whether he’s likable or not is immaterial to me – he’s interesting, and that suffices. The other characters are no less fascinating or eccentric and I can’t wait to spend more time with them.

In short, onwards to the next book!

Enjoyment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5

Recommended to: fellow fans of weird books, anyone looking for something with a lot of twists, 18th century enthusiasts (though, like me, you might be disappointed if you expect any obscure references), those who like interesting cultural worldbuilding
Not recommended to: those who don’t like a heavy-handed narrative style, fourth wall breaking, or the narrator winking at and toying with the reader

Content warnings: rape, descriptions of extreme violence

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Carlex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and half stars

(apologies for mistreating the English language)

Crazy, seductive, dizzy, frustrating at times but also with some great ideas... I would need many more adjectives to review Ada Palmer’s novel.

I admit it, in the first chapters (I have reread them three times) I seriously considered to give up, but at last I think the effort was worth.

The author imagines a very detailed and full of nuances future society set in the twenty-fifth century. It reminds me another fascinating book, The Golden Age by John C. Wright: both books seduced me intellectually but I could not read them passionately; by an excess of information, I suppose. Also that both novels are set in a sort of utopic future, a Golden Age. In Too Like the Lightning there is a future without nation-states, without wars; and an universal cheap and fast transport. Really, it looks utopic, but… (...but nothing, because spoilers ;-).

For me, the principal criticism is that Ada Palmer’s first novel is excessively confusing. For example, the novel has a lot of characters, and some of them have two or three different names, so I consider it an unnecessary game of hide-and-seek for the reader, for me at least; and as consecuence of this the pace of the novel suffers a lot. On the other part, the novel deserves a reading because this is one of the more fascinating worldbuildings that I have read lately: bizarre but also coherent in its own framework.

The story ends with a cliffhanger so I buyed the second book and I will read it “in a not distant future” (for now I have had enough and I want a more lighter reading).

[Dawn F · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars!

Okay, but seriously. I’ve never read anything like this before. Written like a memoir, the narrator, Mycroft, speaks directly to we the readers, drawing us in by constantly breaking the fourth wall, sometimes even having internal debates with us. The language style is an approximation of late 1800s, while the plot takes place in an unrecognizable society in 2454, where nations don’t exist, people pledge allegiance to a Hive with its own set of rules (or they stay Hiveless), and gendered pronouns have fallen out of practice. Almost.

There’s very little world-building, instead we’re thrown into monologs and dialogs, describing events that are both fascinating and incomprehensible. Mycroft is a completely unreliable narrator, often contradicting himself yet convinced of his own justifications, and I must admit I found that part absolutely hilarious, once you start picking up on the discrepancies, especially all his views on gender.

As a big fan of both dialog-heavy stories and language, this tickled me in all the right places, it’s inventive and intelligent, and I can’t wait to read the next books!

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally finished it... a long read for not a long book.
Did I very much enjoyed parts of it? sure
Did I very much find some parts of it disgusting? again sure
Is this book brilliant?it definitely is

So how I'm going to review this excellent and at same time weird SF book?The story is told by Mycroft Canner the ex mass murderer and convict who now serves society and mostly high powers as a servicer which is now a lighthearted pacifist. This is a new high tech world which countries aren't powers anymore but there are 7 Hives which control everything and fight an unseen battle for power among themselves.

This is a political science fiction but at the same time is full of philosophical references, weird encounters, strange dialog and a vast different character sets.Sometimes I felt it's too unlike my taste in books (believe me that rarely happens for me in SF genre) and then I couldn't put it down for two hours...

This is an odd book but highly recommended. Just fight the temptation to drop it, take a break from reading, continue later.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive Debut Novel

I’m glad that a first published novel by a young fantasy/science fiction author was substantial, ambitious, and worth reading.

That’s not to say it was flawless, but for a first novel, it was very good.

I had to give the rating and review some thought for a few days, but I kept thinking about the book, even after starting a new read. That’s a good sign, as the author gave me plenty to think about.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!

I’ve tried to keep spoilers to a minimum here, but there are some minor ones.

My usual warning applies. I’ve used the spoiler tags, but I have little confidence that they always work. Also, what I don’t consider a spoiler, someone else might. So beware!

Unusual Narrator

Our main character and narrator, Mycroft Canner (that’s a wink and a nod to Sherlock Holmes, whose smarter older brother was named Mycroft), is a brilliant, though humble, guy, who knows all the important people in the world. He’s an ex-criminal (the nature of his crimes isn’t revealed until past the halfway point of the story) whose penance for his crime is to be a “servicer”, who provides unpaid service wherever he’s needed. He’s in big demand by the movers and shakers of his world. for his computational and analytic abilities, as well as his political savvy. But he might just as well be asked to help clean a sewer.

Twenty Fifth and Eighteenth Centuries

One of the major themes of the story is nostalgia in the 25th century (in which the story takes place) for the eighteenth century.

Mycroft tells us up front that he will narrate his tale in the style of the eighteenth century.

The 25th century has instituted an abundant future. The world is divided into seven “hives”—Humanist (athletes, artists, performers); Utopians (scientists and technology experts); Masons (the rulers and enforcers); Mitsubishi (wealthy property owners, mainly centered in Asia); Gordian/Brillist (rationalists and educators); Cousins (counselors/priests/social workers/those who take care of the common good, although religious groups and group discussions of theology have been outlawed); Europeans (self-explanatory); and The Anonymous (???). Within each hive there are communal “bash houses” (which have replaced the nuclear family).

There may be crossover amoung the hives. For example, the Humanists control most of the millions of self-driving vehicles. The prominent Weeksbooth-Saneer Humanist bash has a science teacher and technology experts among its members.

Nongendered language and dress are the prevailing norm. Organized religion is outlawed.

But…people are nostalgic for (and recreate aspects of) earlier times. They long for the gender distinctions and theology of earlier times.

My Reactions to the Story Changed as I Read

During the first few pages, I rolled my eyes, thinking this was a kiddie book mislabelled as science fiction/fantasy.

I quickly realized it wasn’t.

At the halfway point things dragged a bit.

Towards the end things picked up and much of the strange behavior of some of the characters was at least partially explained.

The Erotic Scenes were Off-Putting

There were a number of erotic scenes, which I found off putting rather than enticing. This may have been intentional, although I was never sure about that.

One of the centers of the action is a huge Parisian brothel.

Other Characters

There are many, many characters.

Some major ones include Carlyle Foster, a sensayer (a sort of priest/counselor), who many people describe as good. I, however. found him, although good at his job, shrill, self-righteous, pedantic, and prudish.

Another major character is a young boy, Bridger, about whom the less said here the better.

I might have preferred a deeper dive into the characters. The only one we get to know at all is our narrator, Mycroft, and we only get part of his backstory. However, as Mycroft points out, he’s here to relate a history, and too much delving into character (including his) would only bog things down.

Ambitious Scope

The novel takes place on earth in the twenty-fifth century. Its scope is global, and there are hints about possible off-planet colonization in the near future (there are already settlements on the moon and some Martian exploration happening).

Seven-Ten Lists

A major plot point revolved around the so-called Seven-Ten lists. Media outlets for each hive annually publish a list of the ten most influential people on earth.

Themes, Big Ideas

As I already mentioned, this novel grapples with a lot of large ideas.

Is there life after death? Does God exist?

Is harm to a few okay if it saves many, many ives?

Does civilization make humans unhappy because it pulls them away from their natural state in the wild?

In a global world, does nationalism or patriotism make sense anymore?

Should criminals be forgiven if they reform?

Is communal living better for people than the nuclear family?

And so forth…

My Issues with the Book

While I found this a great first effort, I also found it flawed.

My major problem with the book is this.

While any fiction writer worth their salt deals with big issues, they express those through story and character. That is, story and character are the primary focus.

Writers that come to mind are science fiction writers Neal Stephenson and Kim Stanley Robinson (okay, KSR gets preachy at times, but he’s also a great storyteller).

Or Richard Powers and David Mitchell, who aren’t strictly science fiction writers but have elements of science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism in their books.

All are great storytellers.

The problem with this book is it seems as if the “Big Ideas” take precedence over story and character. Ada Palmer does create vivid characters and her story is (mostly) intriguing, although the business of the seven-ten lists got a bit tedious at times.

It seems as if the characters and story exist to express the ideas, rather than the other way around. And Palmer isn’t subtle about this either. This is my problem with Isaac Asimov too, although his characters are flat, cardboard cutouts, where Palmer’s are a lot more alive, although we often learn little about them beyond surface impressions.

But sometimes the ideas drown out the story. For example, in the middle of an interesting scene in the Paris brothel Mycroft starts giving us a lecture on eighteenth century French philosophers Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau (as well as the Marquis de Sade).

I don’t really care about Voltaire or Diderot. I admit, though, as I reread the passages about Rousseau, I saw his relevance to the story. He was a big proponent of the idea I already mentioned that civilization makes humans unhappy because it pulls them away from their natural state in the wild.

But I didn’t read this book for a lecture on eighteenth century philosophy. I read it for story and characters. I am ambivalent about the inclusion of all this philosophy. Some of it was interesting, but some was tedious.

Another problem I have with this book is that, while the worldbuilding is excellent and unique, the imaginary future world described here didn’t seem credible to me. Well, okay, you might argue, this is science fiction so anything goes. Maybe, but to me this is more in the realm of fantasy (although it’s sort of crossover with the hints about space exploration in future books).

Maybe classification doesn’t matter that much. But the worlds described by writers like the aforementioned Neal Stephenson and Kim Stanley Robinson and by James S.A. Corey who wrote the The Expanse series, seem very plausible given where we are now (if sometimes that’s a stretch).

Palmer’s world seems less plausible to me. Although, since her world building is good, maybe it doesn’t matter.

Also there are times when things just seem too convoluted, although Palmer does tie up some loose ends at the book’s conclusion (not all, because the story continues in subsequent books).

Audio Narrator

Jefferson Mays, who narrated all the Expanse novels, is the audio reader here.

I have mixed feelings about his reading.
Overall he was an adequate reader.

He seemed to be reading from a different version of the text than the one I had.

He made some errors as well, although I couldn’t always tell whether they were errors or a different text.

He certainly butchered some of the French.