Science Fiction
Being trapped by possible pasts and futures is exactly the sort of sci-fi hook I’d want to pick apart. Plasm has that nice slippery feeling where the concept does a lot of the heavy lifting, but it still needs atmosphere to land properly.
That’s the bit I kept coming back to. Big ideas are fun, but if the book doesn’t make the uncertainty feel lived-in, it just becomes clever machinery. Here, the unease is the point, and that gives it a proper edge.
That’s the bit I kept coming back to. Big ideas are fun, but if the book doesn’t make the uncertainty feel lived-in, it just becomes clever machinery. Here, the unease is the point, and that gives it a proper edge.
The premise does most of the selling here, but that can be a trap. If the book is all concept and no human pressure, it will age badly in your head as soon as you close it.
What I’d want to know is whether Aton feels like a person making bad, necessary choices, or just a device for the idea. That usually decides whether this sort of science fiction lingers.
What I’d want to know is whether Aton feels like a person making bad, necessary choices, or just a device for the idea. That usually decides whether this sort of science fiction lingers.