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Ugh. This book got glowing reviews from many of my friends, but it just did not work for me. It has passion and anger �� but it takes more than that to make a good story. Passion and anger and strong emotions can only carry it so far. N.K. Jemisin and P. Djèlí Clark use these to create powerful stories. This one, unfortunately, falls quite short.

Maybe if it was just a realistic fiction dealing with criminal justice system and its faults, it could have been better. Maybe if it was a fiery opinion piece on incarceration, it would have made for a better read. But it incorporated - or at least tried to - fantastical elements which did not combine well with the main narrative thread. It’s like the author took two separate, unrelated ideas and tried to force them together, but instead of cohesion these ideas just jarred and jumbled, leading to plot holes and a nagging feeling that it’s an unfinished draft that needs more work.

It addressed issues and messages at the detriment of character development, especially that of Ella. What do I know of Ella by the end of it? That every time she’s on page, she somehow acquires yet another superpower - teleportation, telekinesis, precognition, time travel �� off page �� and yet absolutely zero is ever done to help anyone that she’s supposedly cares about? It is not integrated into the story, feels like a gimmick that’s only needed for the ending (that vision of ruthless retribution), and is a prime source of eyebrow-raising, especially every time she “levels up�� without explanation or much consequence. It’s described as her “Thing�� and that’s what it felt like - a “thing��, undeveloped and vague and jarring. And that damn implanted chip - the idea behind it is clear but the execution is slapdash and messy, and it’s just another “thing��. And, honestly, so are the Stepford-like compounds that are introduced and then fizzle out - just a “thing�� that could have been interested if explored and developed properly.

I can’t quite pinpoint what it was about the writing style itself that kept me at arms length in this story, but something about it just kept a wall between me and the book. It had that half-finished quality of a quickly jolted down outline that was supposed to be revised and tightened, but wasn’t, leaving “things�� unfinished and vague.

Really, it feels that the author is counting on the readers�� existing anger about injustices perpetuated in this world. But to create a good story, you can’t just rely on the existing feelings; then it’s not a story but a manifesto, which is a wholly different bag of chips.

To add to it all, I’m a determined pacifist, so the message in the end further soured already lackluster reading experience. “So much death, but there’s joy in it.�� No, I can’t agree; violence for me - a pacifist - is not acceptable regardless of which side it comes from. Burn down the old to build the new is a tempting but juvenile solution that is yet to work well.

1-2 stars.

—�Ĕ���
In the acknowledgements, Onyebuchi credits N.K. Jemisin and her The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season / The Obelisk Gate / The Stone Sky with teaching him how to “write angry��. I’d advise reading that series instead �� that would be a better use of your time.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ—�Ĕ�Ĕ��

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: /review/show...