4 Followers
It's been a while since I read Mandel's other novel, Station Eleven but I still recall the level of immersion I felt while reading it and, happy to report, this was the case with Sea of Tranquility as well. The author excels at combining sci-fi or some other futuristic setting with heartwarming drama and an emphasis on human connections, comparable to Becky Chamber's Wayfarers series. I found myself wishing the book was longer so we could spend more time learning about the characters in different timelines. I would have found a book just about the disgraced nobleman's son and his time abroad just as enjoyable as learning more about the backstory of one of the deceased characters that is only mentioned in passing but has left a significant impact on the story and the people she loved behind. In essence, I even started caring about characters that are only there for a chapter or two - that's how good Mandel is at making you care. Reading this story post-pandemic was also quite a trip. The disease and quarantine described in 2200 could happen just as easily in the near future, if you even wanna go and think along those lines. Add to that some time-travel shenaningans and you've got an engaging plot with likable characters and will probably be on the look-out for more work by the author.
Dec 12, 2023
It's been a while since I read Mandel's other novel, Station Eleven but I still recall the level of immersion I felt while reading it and, happy to report, this was the case with Sea of Tranquility as well. The author excels at combining sci-fi or some other futuristic setting with heartwarming drama and an emphasis on human connections, comparable to Becky Chamber's Wayfarers series. I found myself wishing the book was longer so we could spend more time learning about the characters in different timelines. I would have found a book just about the disgraced nobleman's son and his time abroad just as enjoyable as learning more about the backstory of one of the deceased characters that is only mentioned in passing but has left a significant impact on the story and the people she loved behind. In essence, I even started caring about characters that are only there for a chapter or two - that's how good Mandel is at making you care. Reading this story post-pandemic was also quite a trip. The disease and quarantine described in 2200 could happen just as easily in the near future, if you even wanna go and think along those lines. Add to that some time-travel shenaningans and you've got an engaging plot with likable characters and will probably be on the look-out for more work by the author.
Dec 12, 2023
