Sea of Tranquility

It's easy to get swept away to Emily St. John Mandel's far flung settings as the story briskly moves from moment to moment, character to character, and timeline to timeline. St. John Mandel's writing is clean and the plot never lingers long enough for inertia to set in. And while that makes for a quick read, there's a certain slightness to the story that's hard to shake. St. John Mandel raises interesting questions and ideas, but doesn't really explore them in any deep, meaningful way.

I was lukewarm on Station Eleven, even though I loved the vibe and world St. John Mandel had crafted. I felt similarly about this book. I wanted to be more invested than I was and the major moments did not hit me as hard as I hoped they would.

HBO's adaptation of Station Eleven is one of the best shows I've watched in years, so perhaps I just need to wait for Sea of Tranquility to get the same treatment someday.

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.