My rating is only based on the audiobook, which is probably inferior to the print version in a number of ways. Have you ever listened to an audiobook and realized that the narration, while well done, detracts from a personal interpretation that would have been more enjoyable? I think there's a solid chance that I wouldn't have grown so tired of the slowly building story if every character didn't sound like Mary from Downton Abbey.
The world building is exquisite; the narrative style inventive and interesting. I adore pulp and there is a fantastic, interplanetary femme fatale story line, into which I grew impatient to go deeper throughout the many, many hours of languid (and beautiful) exposition that ultimately wore me out. After 6 hours of listening, my interest in this gorgeous solar system has waned to the point where I've lemmed it.
That said, one day I will pick the book back up and finish it. I know, from other reviews, that the story picks up in the last third and is wonderful.
I would watch the hell out of the movie. David Lynch would be a perfect choice to direct the film (and the films within the film) of this novel. Because it's written so visually, with such painstaking emphasis on every element of the setting, a movie version would be able to introduce plot elements before the viewer lost interest.
Radiance is a work of art, and someday I will be up to the challenge of enjoying it on its own terms.
Question #321: Absinthe is to Radiance as _______ is to Space Opera.
a) seratonin
b) melatonin
c) aerosolized cocaine
d) all of the above, combined with a knocked-over bottle of champagne, late night ice cream, and the survival of a species. So you might as well enjoy it.
The correct answer, of course, is D. Excellent.
So. Much. Fun.
Excellent pacing - maybe I'm the exact perfect age for this book, because it was like a big ball of fun/scary nostalgia. And yeah, I cried at the end.
I loved this book. I fell into this world immediately and didn't want to leave; how could I, anyway, abandon Maia to this unfamiliar nest of treachery? I've seen comments on the difficulty of keeping track of the similar names / use of honorifics, but completely disagree that there is any flaw in these things. I was no more confused than any reluctant heir who had been hidden away in a gloomy and isolated keep for eighteen years, so I found it to be a skillful technique in producing an empathetic reader with a strong affinity for the protagonist. Excellent!
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