Radiance

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.