Goliath

I finished listening to the audiobook, and can definitively say that this book was not meant for me.

I mean that in two very different ways:

First, this book definitely wasn't what I was expecting when I gave it a shot. It checks the post-apocalyptic sci-fi box, but neglects basically everything else on the list of what I was looking for at the time. That's not the fault of the author, but a fault of my expectations. This was a very literary read, and aside from the setting being sci-fi, this could basically have been a deep literary fiction read and I'd never question it. It's got a very large cast that tells their stories nonsequentially, and aside from some general character POV overlaps, doesn't really impact each other. There's also no real story exactly, nothing the story is working towards except to give each character the space to tell their own story about this irradiated Earth they live in. An incident happened, the world changed, and the haves went to space, and the have-nots stayed behind and lived (and died) as best they could. This book explores racial issues, climate issues, social issues, gentrification, and a whole host of topics that someone looking for a sci-fi read might not be expecting. In fact, that's basically the book in a nutshell–there's no larger story beyond it being a character piece.

Second, this book is meant for a point of view that I acknowledge I don't have. I've read many books in the past exploring racial issues from a variety of different angles, but this book in particular is fairly hostile in its tone. I didn't feel like this book was intended to solve the issues, gently bring everyone together, and speak some higher moral prose about working together to solve injustices. This book pulls no punches, makes its position very clear, and knows its audience. I'm not the audience the author seems to be going for, and at no point did I feel like I was welcome to try and understand. Which, fair, not all books are for all people.

So, even though I finished this book, I don't feel like I can properly give it a star rating, nor do I really know who I'd recommend it to. The writing is phenomenal, the audiobook had a ton of different narrators that really sold their parts, and there's really something here if you're looking for a literary view of social inequality. But I'd recommend passing on this if you're just looking for a sci-fi post-apocalyptic story.

First, thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for sending me this ARC in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This book, set in the near future, explores what the world would be like if humanity decided to colonize space. It explores the class and race divisions that are sure to be created. The people with the money and the means are the ones that abandon a dying Earth to go live in space with clean air and water. What's left of Earth is a radiation filled planet, where only the wealthiest of cities are able to afford a dome for protection. Many POC are left behind to live on this planet to eke out a life with little resources.

This book was a harrowing read, mostly for it's reality. A lot of this book has real life references in it, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. It talks about how these things changed society and led to space colonization. This created a book that felt like all too real of a possibility. It talks about the BLM protests, and how many white people became educated, but that didn't mean things changed. The Colonies in space learn all about white privilege, but are still the ones in space.

A lot of this book was very confusing. The story telling isn't linear, and there are many POVs. I found myself not knowing what was going on a lot of the time, and I'm sure even by the end I missed things. However, that didn't really bother me. I thought that the story telling made the reader feel how dark and chaotic this life was for these people.

All in all, I think this book is incredible. It is a beautifully crafted exploration of classism, racism, and how the two dictate the kind of life you're allowed to live.

TW: alcohol, alcoholism, amputation, assault, attempted murder, blood, bones, cancer, cannibalism, child death, death, depression, drugs, famine, fire, gore, gun violence, hallucinations, hospitalization, hostages, murder, poisoning, police brutality, racism, slavery, terminal illness, violence