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A review by incipientdreamer
Rose/House by Arkady Martine
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
3.5 stars
I love weird architecture. Correction: I find weird architecture unsettling and that intrigues me. I loved how Spiral and Eye-coded Rose House was. Reading Rose/House was like living in a dreamy fugue state. The writing is great, no surprises there, Arkady Martine has proven herself to be a master wordsmith and that is pretty obvious in the way she so wonderfully builds the atmosphere of this novella.
I still don't think I completely get the book. It's a mixture of gothic noir murder mystery but set in the 22nd century about an AI house. I loved the atmosphere of the story, it feels pretty classic gothic, except the whole technological aspect to it which makes the story very creative and unique. I don't know if this was an experimental piece by Martine, but it was really really good in selling the spooky vibes but keeping the concept fresh at the same time.
I was a bit miffed about the ending since I found it abrupt. This might be one of those cases where an open-er ending would have worked better. Since I was really digging the foggy narrative style. Other than that, the main selling point for this has to be the great writing and atmosphere.
I love weird architecture. Correction: I find weird architecture unsettling and that intrigues me. I loved how Spiral and Eye-coded Rose House was. Reading Rose/House was like living in a dreamy fugue state. The writing is great, no surprises there, Arkady Martine has proven herself to be a master wordsmith and that is pretty obvious in the way she so wonderfully builds the atmosphere of this novella.
I still don't think I completely get the book. It's a mixture of gothic noir murder mystery but set in the 22nd century about an AI house. I loved the atmosphere of the story, it feels pretty classic gothic, except the whole technological aspect to it which makes the story very creative and unique. I don't know if this was an experimental piece by Martine, but it was really really good in selling the spooky vibes but keeping the concept fresh at the same time.
I was a bit miffed about the ending since I found it abrupt. This might be one of those cases where an open-er ending would have worked better. Since I was really digging the foggy narrative style. Other than that, the main selling point for this has to be the great writing and atmosphere.