Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer

[lightreads]

Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer

4/5. Final volume in this series about, um. *checks notes*. *checks other notes*. *Checks horoscope*. *Does today's Semantle*. *Opens this review*. *Closes this review*. *Has feelings about this book*. *Fails to accurately identify many of those feelings*.

Look, either you know this series is what it is or you haven't tried it yet, and if you haven't tried it yet God knows I'm not going to be able to adequately describe it.

This took me many months to read. Did I enjoy the experience? Yes, for the most part. Did I snap ugh this entire argument is such bullshit at least once? Oh yeah. Did I think several times that a particular scene was sublimely perfectly uniquely itself, and no one else in the entire field is doing things in the same zip code as that because Palmer invented a few zip codes of her own? Yeah. Did, at other points, I wonder if Palmer is okay because genuinely, truly, from the bottom of my heart, what the fuck was that? …Yeah.

Is it brilliant and layered and simultaneously shamelessly indulgent and deeply thoughtful and also, fundamentally, unhinged? Yep. Do I recommend it? Boy, IDK man, I feel like I'd have to have an intimate friendship with someone for like twenty years before I would begin to know whether they would love or loathe this.

Am I going to say anything of actual substance about this book? No, because my options are either to *gestures up* or write 10,000 words about it, and I don't have time for 10,000 words, so. This is what you get.

Amiright?

Comments

[runpunkrun]

Someone I follow on Goodreads posted a series of reviews pretty much identical to yours in feeling and tone, and now I'm even more curious about these books. I think I have the first one floating around digitally, so I'll give it a try sooner or later.

[readerjane]

I just tried the first one a few weeks ago. Got a little ways in and thought, “This book is doing… something very complicated, and I might love it someday, but right now what I need is 80% closer to fluff.” And put it away for awhile.

[lightreads]

Yes, accurate. The whole series is, like, 800,000 words of something complicated.

[christycorr]

This is genuinely the most perfect review for this book/series that I've ever read, kudos! I love this series like burning, and yeah: that, exactly.

(Here via a drive-by mention of your reviews by cathexys irl a few months back, have been lurking and reading along ever since. Hi!)

[lightreads]

Yeah, one day I am going to commit to rereading all of these again (which is quite a thing since I almost never reread anything) and I am going to have a great time doing it. But I have no idea what constellation of circumstances is going to prompt that endeavor.

Hello!

[rushthatspeaks]

I am glad and fascinated to know that Ada's books communicate so precisely what the experience of living with her was like.

[lightreads]

Lol, story checks out.

[rushthatspeaks]

I have had an intimate friendship with Ada for more than twenty years, I named several characters, and there are ways in which I have no idea how I feel about these books.