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A review by storyorc
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The tone, craft, and imagination is so good that it took me half the book to realise that each new story was either an unwanted interruption of the last, or a fascinating speedrun of a futuristic concept/dynamic that ended too soon. I would have preferred the content pick a few storylines and really dig in.
Some stories seemed to circle the same themes or even plots (e.g. crush on dying customer) though I may have just missed the fresh element in those. Despite this, I greatly enjoyed piecing together all the hints of previous narrators' fates which trickled through the novel. It created a big-picture connectedness that skillfully balanced out enough of the pain to prevent How Far We Go from becoming depressing.
The fantastical ending is a cool idea but I've seen it done more impactfully elsewhere. I was expecting an ending that centered the strong emotional core of the human stories.
Some stories seemed to circle the same themes or even plots (e.g. crush on dying customer) though I may have just missed the fresh element in those. Despite this, I greatly enjoyed piecing together all the hints of previous narrators' fates which trickled through the novel. It created a big-picture connectedness that skillfully balanced out enough of the pain to prevent How Far We Go from becoming depressing.
The fantastical ending is a cool idea but I've seen it done more impactfully elsewhere. I was expecting an ending that centered the strong emotional core of the human stories.