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The Mimameid Solution
Ragnarök was only the beginning.
Five years after the world he knew collapsed in ecological disaster, Lysander is back in his homeland of Old Scandinavia with his companions, Magdelena and Linnaea. The atmosphere is full of ash, the days are cold and dark and they are constantly under threat from the Celts, who have invaded and are burning the countryside in their wake. When a rogue group of soldiers led by a fiery Lieutenant named Petra offers them refuge in a place called Mimameid, they are tempted by a chance at safety.
But when Mimameid turns out to be more than he bargained for, Lysander must take control of his own fate and decide whether to stay or to go.
Five years after the world he knew collapsed in ecological disaster, Lysander is back in his homeland of Old Scandinavia with his companions, Magdelena and Linnaea. The atmosphere is full of ash, the days are cold and dark and they are constantly under threat from the Celts, who have invaded and are burning the countryside in their wake. When a rogue group of soldiers led by a fiery Lieutenant named Petra offers them refuge in a place called Mimameid, they are tempted by a chance at safety.
But when Mimameid turns out to be more than he bargained for, Lysander must take control of his own fate and decide whether to stay or to go.
560 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2023
10 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Kempf
3 books18 followersKatherine Kempf is a US expat with her Bachelors in Anthropology and Masters in Journalism from University, City London, both of which seep their way into her stories more than a little bit. Originally from Virginia, she now calls Germany home, which has fueled her love for multicultural stories even more. Katherine is a chronic mood reader, far-too-competitive Catan player and a hiker who always packs the most (best) snacks.
Her current project is The Mimameid Trilogy, the first of which, The Mimameid Solution, placed as a quarterfinalist in the SPSFC3 science fiction competition.
Follow her on Instagram @katherinekempfwrites or sign up for her newsletter at www.katherinekempfbooks.com
Her current project is The Mimameid Trilogy, the first of which, The Mimameid Solution, placed as a quarterfinalist in the SPSFC3 science fiction competition.
Follow her on Instagram @katherinekempfwrites or sign up for her newsletter at www.katherinekempfbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 8, 2023
The world is devastated by ecological disaster, called Ragnorok by the Norse.
As if the end of the world isn’t bad enough, when the Celtic islands flooded, they had sailed east to find a new place to live. With pre-existing tension, both the Celts and the Norse were bristling for a fight.
Now, the majority of Norse survivors live in an underground haven called Mimameid, waiting for the time when the earth is fertile and ready.
This follows the story of Lysander - an engineer, Magdelena - a botanist, her daughter Linnaea, and Petra - a military recruit in the Mimameid.
Kempt has an easy and addicting writing style to settle into which was perfect for this futuristic dystopian story full of secrets and tension.
At first, I cringed at how overt the Celts and Norse were pitted against each other. The Celts as Barbadian instigators and the Norse as the perfect, wise defenders.
But then Kempt cleverly subverts the worldview by introducing new characters and facts that forces characters to reconsider their circumstances.
I loved the way culture was discussed. Such as the banning of language, providing privileges to certain social groups, forcing uniformity, and surveillance. At times, this gave me Big Brother vibes.
”Because people must be allowed the feeling of rebellion, they must have the illusion of freedom or else they will suffocate."
The way the futuristic Mimameid below-sea was contrasted with the devastated and primal above-ground was extremely profound.
Finally, I have to highlight and applaud the dead representation and the use of sign language. This is something that it always refreshing and needed to see in books!!
Thank you to the author for sending me a physical copy in exchange for a review!
Bookstagram
As if the end of the world isn’t bad enough, when the Celtic islands flooded, they had sailed east to find a new place to live. With pre-existing tension, both the Celts and the Norse were bristling for a fight.
Now, the majority of Norse survivors live in an underground haven called Mimameid, waiting for the time when the earth is fertile and ready.
This follows the story of Lysander - an engineer, Magdelena - a botanist, her daughter Linnaea, and Petra - a military recruit in the Mimameid.
Kempt has an easy and addicting writing style to settle into which was perfect for this futuristic dystopian story full of secrets and tension.
At first, I cringed at how overt the Celts and Norse were pitted against each other. The Celts as Barbadian instigators and the Norse as the perfect, wise defenders.
But then Kempt cleverly subverts the worldview by introducing new characters and facts that forces characters to reconsider their circumstances.
I loved the way culture was discussed. Such as the banning of language, providing privileges to certain social groups, forcing uniformity, and surveillance. At times, this gave me Big Brother vibes.
”Because people must be allowed the feeling of rebellion, they must have the illusion of freedom or else they will suffocate."
The way the futuristic Mimameid below-sea was contrasted with the devastated and primal above-ground was extremely profound.
Finally, I have to highlight and applaud the dead representation and the use of sign language. This is something that it always refreshing and needed to see in books!!
Thank you to the author for sending me a physical copy in exchange for a review!
Bookstagram
January 18, 2024
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I read this book as a judge for the third annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: violence, blood, injury, medical content, murder, death, sexual violence/rape (off page)
--
This book takes place in a future where ecological disasters have made much of the world uninhabitable. We follow two primary characters, one being Lysander an engineer who with his companions Magdalena and her daughter Linnaea are traversing Scandinavia with a goal of locating Linnaea’s father. They are also doing their best to steer clear of the barbarous Celts who are slowly making their way east after their islands flooded. On their travels they run into a group of soldiers, one of whom is the second protagonist Petra. They offer to take Lysander and Co back to Mimameid, an underwater haven that is home to the surviving Norse people.
The pacing from the get go is on the slow side which meant it took me a while to get into the actual story but I was immediately intrigued by the characters, particularly with how each of them seemed to be hiding something and I really wanted to know why everyone was being so cryptic.
I also really liked the worldbuilding, Kempf’s writing draws you right into the atmosphere and gives you a real sense of the post-apocalyptic setting as we accompany the characters to Mimameid. However, it was Mimameid itself that really grabbed my attention. Technology, that is fascinating but also unsettling, is deeply woven into the community and though there was the tendency for the characters to over project their thoughts and feelings I enjoyed observing Lysander expose the layers of this civilisation. Plus the mix of cultures and social hierarchy side of things made it all the more interesting.
What I found to be less nuanced was the whole Norse vs Celts thing, the black and white nature of the conflict there meant it often felt a bit heavy handed. It felt like the direction of the plot around this was primarily there to lay the foundations for the following book and the fact that one character’s arc had a sort of full circle moment added to that for me.
I also found that the passage of time as well as the characters’ motivations weren’t often made clear enough. For instance there is a romance subplot and there wasn’t enough there at first to make it seem anything other than insta-love but then the same relationship seemed more convincing later on, we just don’t see a lot of that development happen on page.
That aside all the tension and twists were well written and kept me reading and the closing scenes have set up the sequel nicely.
**I read this book as a judge for the third annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: violence, blood, injury, medical content, murder, death, sexual violence/rape (off page)
--
This book takes place in a future where ecological disasters have made much of the world uninhabitable. We follow two primary characters, one being Lysander an engineer who with his companions Magdalena and her daughter Linnaea are traversing Scandinavia with a goal of locating Linnaea’s father. They are also doing their best to steer clear of the barbarous Celts who are slowly making their way east after their islands flooded. On their travels they run into a group of soldiers, one of whom is the second protagonist Petra. They offer to take Lysander and Co back to Mimameid, an underwater haven that is home to the surviving Norse people.
The pacing from the get go is on the slow side which meant it took me a while to get into the actual story but I was immediately intrigued by the characters, particularly with how each of them seemed to be hiding something and I really wanted to know why everyone was being so cryptic.
I also really liked the worldbuilding, Kempf’s writing draws you right into the atmosphere and gives you a real sense of the post-apocalyptic setting as we accompany the characters to Mimameid. However, it was Mimameid itself that really grabbed my attention. Technology, that is fascinating but also unsettling, is deeply woven into the community and though there was the tendency for the characters to over project their thoughts and feelings I enjoyed observing Lysander expose the layers of this civilisation. Plus the mix of cultures and social hierarchy side of things made it all the more interesting.
What I found to be less nuanced was the whole Norse vs Celts thing, the black and white nature of the conflict there meant it often felt a bit heavy handed. It felt like the direction of the plot around this was primarily there to lay the foundations for the following book and the fact that one character’s arc had a sort of full circle moment added to that for me.
I also found that the passage of time as well as the characters’ motivations weren’t often made clear enough. For instance there is a romance subplot and there wasn’t enough there at first to make it seem anything other than insta-love but then the same relationship seemed more convincing later on, we just don’t see a lot of that development happen on page.
That aside all the tension and twists were well written and kept me reading and the closing scenes have set up the sequel nicely.
January 7, 2024
"We knew it was only a matter of time. The earth told all of us - the biologists, the geologists, the meteorologists - that it was hurting. We knew there would come a time when the earth would say enough, and we would have to start again. And we hoped you would be the one to survive what was coming, Linnaea. That your generation would be strong enough to start anew and do things right this time."
The highlight of the book for me was the writing which is beautiful.
Complementing the top-notch writing is great character work, plotting, pacing, excellent worldbuilding and theming.
I just want to read Book 2 now. Have nothing to nitpick.
Unhesitatingly recommend to all readers of speculative fiction.
The highlight of the book for me was the writing which is beautiful.
Complementing the top-notch writing is great character work, plotting, pacing, excellent worldbuilding and theming.
I just want to read Book 2 now. Have nothing to nitpick.
Unhesitatingly recommend to all readers of speculative fiction.
October 6, 2023
I read this as part of a judging team for the third annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), where it was in our first round allotment.
The Mimameid Solution actually reminds me very much of a book from last year’s competition: Aestus, The City, which finished 3rd place out of over 250 entries. They’re both slow-paced post-apocalyptic epics featuring underground societies with leadership that is absolutely 100% not being honest with the people.
The writing style is engaging and smooth, but the foreshadowing in the early stages comes thicker than I would like—it spends too much time letting the reader know to watch for a betrayal, and it slows the pace more than necessary.
The characters are engaging, and the plot is interesting, though the first book is in many ways set up for the remainder of the series. There’s plenty of conflict, and not many factions are entirely likable. I do find some of the later plot twists rely on frustrating oversights by key characters, which broke immersion at times. But there’s a lot good here!
First impression: 13/20. Full review to come at www.tarvolon.com
The Mimameid Solution actually reminds me very much of a book from last year’s competition: Aestus, The City, which finished 3rd place out of over 250 entries. They’re both slow-paced post-apocalyptic epics featuring underground societies with leadership that is absolutely 100% not being honest with the people.
The writing style is engaging and smooth, but the foreshadowing in the early stages comes thicker than I would like—it spends too much time letting the reader know to watch for a betrayal, and it slows the pace more than necessary.
The characters are engaging, and the plot is interesting, though the first book is in many ways set up for the remainder of the series. There’s plenty of conflict, and not many factions are entirely likable. I do find some of the later plot twists rely on frustrating oversights by key characters, which broke immersion at times. But there’s a lot good here!
First impression: 13/20. Full review to come at www.tarvolon.com
March 20, 2025
DNFing at 52%, but standing by my partial rating of 2/5 stars. Because the cultural world-building in this was not only garbage, but borderline... offensive actually. 😬 More later.
Full video review: https://youtu.be/UvNiceyaA54.
Synopsis:
Set scene: near-future climate apocalypse + volcanic winter… the Ulster Irish take over the Republic, presumably mass convert the nation to Neo-Druidry (rofl) and conquer the UK – because this is a badly novelised EU IV campaign – then do a ‘reverse-Viking' for shits n’ giggles and go rampaging in Scandinavia for resources (but not, ya know, in the Netherlands? Belgium? Northern France? I mean it’s all right there across the Channel but yaight). Some “Norse” folks in Scandinavia live in a (presumably) Asatru-dedicated techno-bunker and do shit.
Yes, please make sure to read all of the above with a very, and I do mean very heavy tone of sarcasm.
Review:
I always try and remain fair towards books, even when I thoroughly dislike them, so I’ll start by listing the very few positives I have to share about this one:
• The prose was fluid overall. There was good descriptive writing. The text itself read pretty quickly (thank goodness for that, I wouldn’t have made it to 52% otherwise). The dialogues were fine as well, from a structural and… ‘these humans sound human’ point of view at least.
• The ‘post-apocalyptic techno-bunker society’ premise was decently intriguing on its own.
• As was the book's basic "we’re gonna do a 'reverse-Viking' with peeps from the Hiberno-British Islands" idea...
Alas! The execution of said basic idea was an abject, and I mean abject failure because the world-building needed to create solid, believable foundations for it to actually work was entirely missing. Yes, the world-building was >hot garbage AND, it not only broke my immersion pretty quickly, it also read as mildly offensive, quite frankly!
The world-building, or why it’s not okay to do this kind of shit with living cultures, including white European ones:
a) A lot of things did not make any sense from a strictly 'post-apocalyptic survival' point of view: access to certain kinds of resources that had previously been established to be rare, scorched-earth raiding tactics employed by people otherwise looking for viable land to settle (?!), cultural and linguistic take-overs that wouldn't make an iota of sense without the presence of a state governments... which had been established, in-text, to have collapsed, etc...
b) This major issue was further compounded by the fact I was basically given the impression the story took place in the near-future. Nothing specific was ever given in terms of dates, or broader timelines, but judging by the general level of tech people claimed they'd only just recently lost access to, I’d say the book's plot can’t have taken place more than one, maybe two generations at the absolute maximum from now. Concerning what the book stated regarding the shifts in religious and linguistic practices, specifically: there is no way in Hell any of that made any kind of goddamn sense within a 50 to even 70 years timeframe, especially once again given the absence of semi-stable, centralised state institutions!
c) And then shit actually got offensive in places, because a lot of the book's 'cultural world-building', centring on its two 'player factions', the "Norse" and the "Celts" (no fucking way am I typing those without air quotes), relied on gross stereotypes and hand-waved away the fact these groupings were extrapolated from REAL, LIVING cultures with REAL, LAYERED histories! This is especially true when it comes to the book's... blegh, "Celts", or rather Irish, really (cuz I mean come on, it all fucking starts in Ireland, give me a break). I'm like: the Irish Troubles aren't exactly old history in the fucking slightest, in fact there are still, ongoing ramifications from this conflict affecting the socio-political situations of Ireland and the UK TODAY ! 🤬
Now onto more specific examples of stuff that made me laugh, then nuked my immersion, then pissed me off:
a) The Finns and Sámi were sometimes included in the grouping of "Norse", which made absolutely no sense. This wasn’t consistent though so… problem with the book’s editing perhaps?
b) A big one that legit made me lose my mind for a hot second: two “Norse” characters laugh at the idea that whiskey translates to ‘Water of Life’ in Irish (yes, it's IRISH, not Gaelic, the language is actually called IRISH in English, by Irish people in Ireland, my fucking god – and it's Gaeilge in the language itself). And I was like: EXCUSE ME HWUT?! ... HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF AKVAVIT??????? It’s a spirit FROM SCANDINAVIA OMFG. And it LITERALLY MEANS WATER OF LIFE, because it comes from the Latin aqua vitae. And guess what? We have it in French too: EAU DE VIE!! It also exists in Slavic languages, LITERALLY TWO SECONDS OF GOOGLING WILL SHOW YOU THIS!!! This shit is borderline pan-European, so riddle me this: why the fuck would Scandinavian people find this weird or funny in the fucking slightest?! Tell me you know nothing about actual European cultures without telling me you know nothing about actual European cultures, or that you don’t know how to do your bloody research, at the very least!
c) Excerpt: “She had thought it was so ridiculous at the time that the "Celts" didn’t just adhere to the same passage of time as the rest of the known world.” Omg please KMN: AGAIN, why were these supposedly Scandinavian characters acting like peeps from the (relatively) neighbouring British Islands were fucking aliens?! Even from the asinine (and underbaked as fuck) ‘pseudo-neo-Pagan’ perspective the book chose to slap onto its ridiculous world-building: the Norse and Celtic calendars shouldn't be radically different, because again the vast majority of the cultures in Europe are somewhat related, gaaaah! Heck, even on a broader, global scale, you’ll often find most cultures celebrate important events of the solar and/or agricultural calendar around the same time, because we're all goddamn humans! 🤦♀️
d) This then of course exposes the nonsensical religious world-building: “They didn’t cannibalise people for their bonfire festivals as a ritual to please their gods." So you’re seriously telling me the Irish just all converted back to fucking druidic paganism in the span of, what, a hundred years AT MOST?! CATHOLIC IRELAND, REALLY?! I could’ve bought weird and colourful doomsday cults; I could've bought splinter neo-Druidic factions in conflict with majority Catholic and Protestant groups, but a BLANKET CONVERSION OF THE ISLAND OF IRELAND? THEN OF GREAT BRITAIN?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? And same goes for the "Norse", honestly, cuz like... whatever happened to all the Protestants in Scandinavia?! Come the fuck on!
e) “The Cornish were still English and the English were still "Celts", last she had heard.” This one is so clunky it’s hilarious, actually. Additionally: the way 'linguistic hegemony' was described in the book also didn’t make a lick of sense. Cuz you're telling me all of Ireland just magically ditched English for Irish, then forced it on the UK... really!? ROFL. But then, other Celtic languages, such as Welsh, were also, at times, called ‘Gaelic’, and I was like… hwut!? I'll be nice here and say there must have been an issue with the editing there – I guess.
f) Another biggie: “I understand,” she breathed. And she really did. It had been subtle at first, but she had started to notice the way the English were treated here, as second-class citizens, as traitors to their own people. It reminded her of the way the Sámi, the Finns, and the Danes were sometimes treated in Mimameid."
Hoooo boy. 🤦♀️ At best, the above reads as an edgy Irish-American teen's revenge fantasy played out in EU VI. At worst, unfortunately, and coming from a work of SF literature presumably penned by an adult, this is actually bordering on the offensive, given the way it, just, blatantly hand-waves away REAL history affecting REAL PEOPLE TO THIS DAY. IN WHAT UNIVERSE can you write, with a straight face, a story that equates the ENGLISH to the SÁMI, with THE IRISH as the OPPRESSING BADDIES. Just: what the actual ever loving fuck?!
And all the more so given the book also states the “Celts” were 'particularly good at guerrilla warfare… USING CAR BOMBS'. Fucking. Christ. 🤮
Then there was also a camp of "Celtic" peoples and they were all, or nearly all... you guessed it: REDHEADS! 🤦♀️ AND WEARING COLOURFUL TARTAN - BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Like bestie, do you know the amount of fucking resources you’d need to make brightly coloured tartan, in A POST-APOCALYPTIC SCENARIO? Where were all the fucking sheep and dye plants, then, huh? Cuz the book also made it pretty fucking clear most of the plants had gotten their shit kicked in by an ongoing volcanic winter. YOU CANT HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO WITH THIS STUFF, MY GOD! Coloured clan tartan is also SCOTTISH, not IRISH, as an FYI, for fuck's sake. And sure, Ireland does have the highest incidence (afaik) of gingers, but that incidence only amounts to about 10 percent, not 90 percent! And it's like 6%-8% in the UK... which sure is a lot compared to most other places on Earth, but it's NOT the majority! Like seriously: could one possibly write any more stereotypically????? 🤬🤮
Just: garbage. Ludicrous, and mildly offensive garbage.
Full video review: https://youtu.be/UvNiceyaA54.
Synopsis:
Set scene: near-future climate apocalypse + volcanic winter… the Ulster Irish take over the Republic, presumably mass convert the nation to Neo-Druidry (rofl) and conquer the UK – because this is a badly novelised EU IV campaign – then do a ‘reverse-Viking' for shits n’ giggles and go rampaging in Scandinavia for resources (but not, ya know, in the Netherlands? Belgium? Northern France? I mean it’s all right there across the Channel but yaight). Some “Norse” folks in Scandinavia live in a (presumably) Asatru-dedicated techno-bunker and do shit.
Yes, please make sure to read all of the above with a very, and I do mean very heavy tone of sarcasm.
Review:
I always try and remain fair towards books, even when I thoroughly dislike them, so I’ll start by listing the very few positives I have to share about this one:
• The prose was fluid overall. There was good descriptive writing. The text itself read pretty quickly (thank goodness for that, I wouldn’t have made it to 52% otherwise). The dialogues were fine as well, from a structural and… ‘these humans sound human’ point of view at least.
• The ‘post-apocalyptic techno-bunker society’ premise was decently intriguing on its own.
• As was the book's basic "we’re gonna do a 'reverse-Viking' with peeps from the Hiberno-British Islands" idea...
Alas! The execution of said basic idea was an abject, and I mean abject failure because the world-building needed to create solid, believable foundations for it to actually work was entirely missing. Yes, the world-building was >hot garbage AND, it not only broke my immersion pretty quickly, it also read as mildly offensive, quite frankly!
The world-building, or why it’s not okay to do this kind of shit with living cultures, including white European ones:
a) A lot of things did not make any sense from a strictly 'post-apocalyptic survival' point of view: access to certain kinds of resources that had previously been established to be rare, scorched-earth raiding tactics employed by people otherwise looking for viable land to settle (?!), cultural and linguistic take-overs that wouldn't make an iota of sense without the presence of a state governments... which had been established, in-text, to have collapsed, etc...
b) This major issue was further compounded by the fact I was basically given the impression the story took place in the near-future. Nothing specific was ever given in terms of dates, or broader timelines, but judging by the general level of tech people claimed they'd only just recently lost access to, I’d say the book's plot can’t have taken place more than one, maybe two generations at the absolute maximum from now. Concerning what the book stated regarding the shifts in religious and linguistic practices, specifically: there is no way in Hell any of that made any kind of goddamn sense within a 50 to even 70 years timeframe, especially once again given the absence of semi-stable, centralised state institutions!
c) And then shit actually got offensive in places, because a lot of the book's 'cultural world-building', centring on its two 'player factions', the "Norse" and the "Celts" (no fucking way am I typing those without air quotes), relied on gross stereotypes and hand-waved away the fact these groupings were extrapolated from REAL, LIVING cultures with REAL, LAYERED histories! This is especially true when it comes to the book's... blegh, "Celts", or rather Irish, really (cuz I mean come on, it all fucking starts in Ireland, give me a break). I'm like: the Irish Troubles aren't exactly old history in the fucking slightest, in fact there are still, ongoing ramifications from this conflict affecting the socio-political situations of Ireland and the UK TODAY ! 🤬
Now onto more specific examples of stuff that made me laugh, then nuked my immersion, then pissed me off:
a) The Finns and Sámi were sometimes included in the grouping of "Norse", which made absolutely no sense. This wasn’t consistent though so… problem with the book’s editing perhaps?
b) A big one that legit made me lose my mind for a hot second: two “Norse” characters laugh at the idea that whiskey translates to ‘Water of Life’ in Irish (yes, it's IRISH, not Gaelic, the language is actually called IRISH in English, by Irish people in Ireland, my fucking god – and it's Gaeilge in the language itself). And I was like: EXCUSE ME HWUT?! ... HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF AKVAVIT??????? It’s a spirit FROM SCANDINAVIA OMFG. And it LITERALLY MEANS WATER OF LIFE, because it comes from the Latin aqua vitae. And guess what? We have it in French too: EAU DE VIE!! It also exists in Slavic languages, LITERALLY TWO SECONDS OF GOOGLING WILL SHOW YOU THIS!!! This shit is borderline pan-European, so riddle me this: why the fuck would Scandinavian people find this weird or funny in the fucking slightest?! Tell me you know nothing about actual European cultures without telling me you know nothing about actual European cultures, or that you don’t know how to do your bloody research, at the very least!
c) Excerpt: “She had thought it was so ridiculous at the time that the "Celts" didn’t just adhere to the same passage of time as the rest of the known world.” Omg please KMN: AGAIN, why were these supposedly Scandinavian characters acting like peeps from the (relatively) neighbouring British Islands were fucking aliens?! Even from the asinine (and underbaked as fuck) ‘pseudo-neo-Pagan’ perspective the book chose to slap onto its ridiculous world-building: the Norse and Celtic calendars shouldn't be radically different, because again the vast majority of the cultures in Europe are somewhat related, gaaaah! Heck, even on a broader, global scale, you’ll often find most cultures celebrate important events of the solar and/or agricultural calendar around the same time, because we're all goddamn humans! 🤦♀️
d) This then of course exposes the nonsensical religious world-building: “They didn’t cannibalise people for their bonfire festivals as a ritual to please their gods." So you’re seriously telling me the Irish just all converted back to fucking druidic paganism in the span of, what, a hundred years AT MOST?! CATHOLIC IRELAND, REALLY?! I could’ve bought weird and colourful doomsday cults; I could've bought splinter neo-Druidic factions in conflict with majority Catholic and Protestant groups, but a BLANKET CONVERSION OF THE ISLAND OF IRELAND? THEN OF GREAT BRITAIN?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? And same goes for the "Norse", honestly, cuz like... whatever happened to all the Protestants in Scandinavia?! Come the fuck on!
e) “The Cornish were still English and the English were still "Celts", last she had heard.” This one is so clunky it’s hilarious, actually. Additionally: the way 'linguistic hegemony' was described in the book also didn’t make a lick of sense. Cuz you're telling me all of Ireland just magically ditched English for Irish, then forced it on the UK... really!? ROFL. But then, other Celtic languages, such as Welsh, were also, at times, called ‘Gaelic’, and I was like… hwut!? I'll be nice here and say there must have been an issue with the editing there – I guess.
f) Another biggie: “I understand,” she breathed. And she really did. It had been subtle at first, but she had started to notice the way the English were treated here, as second-class citizens, as traitors to their own people. It reminded her of the way the Sámi, the Finns, and the Danes were sometimes treated in Mimameid."
Hoooo boy. 🤦♀️ At best, the above reads as an edgy Irish-American teen's revenge fantasy played out in EU VI. At worst, unfortunately, and coming from a work of SF literature presumably penned by an adult, this is actually bordering on the offensive, given the way it, just, blatantly hand-waves away REAL history affecting REAL PEOPLE TO THIS DAY. IN WHAT UNIVERSE can you write, with a straight face, a story that equates the ENGLISH to the SÁMI, with THE IRISH as the OPPRESSING BADDIES. Just: what the actual ever loving fuck?!
And all the more so given the book also states the “Celts” were 'particularly good at guerrilla warfare… USING CAR BOMBS'. Fucking. Christ. 🤮
Then there was also a camp of "Celtic" peoples and they were all, or nearly all... you guessed it: REDHEADS! 🤦♀️ AND WEARING COLOURFUL TARTAN - BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Like bestie, do you know the amount of fucking resources you’d need to make brightly coloured tartan, in A POST-APOCALYPTIC SCENARIO? Where were all the fucking sheep and dye plants, then, huh? Cuz the book also made it pretty fucking clear most of the plants had gotten their shit kicked in by an ongoing volcanic winter. YOU CANT HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO WITH THIS STUFF, MY GOD! Coloured clan tartan is also SCOTTISH, not IRISH, as an FYI, for fuck's sake. And sure, Ireland does have the highest incidence (afaik) of gingers, but that incidence only amounts to about 10 percent, not 90 percent! And it's like 6%-8% in the UK... which sure is a lot compared to most other places on Earth, but it's NOT the majority! Like seriously: could one possibly write any more stereotypically????? 🤬🤮
Just: garbage. Ludicrous, and mildly offensive garbage.
February 4, 2025
The Mimameid Solution thrives on world-building, a vast collection if characters and plenty of details. It is a rich world with two important, very different places where most of the story takes place.
All that world-building does mean that you have to be patient, wait for the ‘action’. The first half consists of a lot of storytelling, getting to know the characters and their relationships.
When you get to the second half, the pacing picks up and then you really don’t want to put The Mimameid Solution down! It truly is a Valhalla of excitement.
I recommend this book to lovers of scifi, realism and rich, dystopian worlds.
All that world-building does mean that you have to be patient, wait for the ‘action’. The first half consists of a lot of storytelling, getting to know the characters and their relationships.
When you get to the second half, the pacing picks up and then you really don’t want to put The Mimameid Solution down! It truly is a Valhalla of excitement.
I recommend this book to lovers of scifi, realism and rich, dystopian worlds.
May 14, 2024
Excellent character development. Can’t wait for the next one in the trilogy
January 8, 2025
This review was originally posted on SFFINSIDERS.COM
The Mimameid Solution was a really enjoyable epic I could not put down. I was swept away by the futuristic tech juxtaposed by the frozen wasteland of what the world has become and the old world roots that made their way back to the surface in the wake of devastation. The characters jumped off the page and into your heart, for better or worse, and I couldn’t help but rush through the chapters. Katherine’s writing makes the read so enjoyable and if you're one for details, she's got you covered.
The Mimameid Solution by Katherine Kempf
We open in what’s left of an ash ridden, cold, dank Scandinavia, following Lysander, a brilliant engineer, with his friends Magdelena and her daughter Linnaea trying desperately to survive. They are met face to face with Petra and her party, soldiers of sorts offering to bring the group to the safety of Mimameid. As the group makes their way to their destination and beyond, the world and characters start to peel back their layers to reveal this beautiful epic. And though the plot took a bit of a backseat in the first half, I thought that was actually pretty wonderful. The depth we were allowed to venture with this crew was really nice and I think necessary for where the story feels like it wants to take us in future books.
“What she felt was the pull of home. And it felt so raw, like the landscape of the North Country being pulled free from the receding ice. The frozen layers that protected her heart were melting away. The wild North was calling to her.”
And that was because the world building in this book was really amazing. Kempf took the time to let the world develop, and though the pacing was on the slow side the first half of the book, I felt like it was totally worth the build. You really get to experience the atmosphere of their world affected by ecological disaster and the power struggles that were born from it, and the sanctuary of Mimameid that stands in stark contrast to what's above the surface. I was in love with all the Norse and Celtic vibes, and what those identities mean to the different characters. The dynamics of a dystopian Scandinavian world with modern weapons and cool sci-fi tech built within, but lots of primitive social structures in it’s post apocalyptic state were very cool. For a lover of politically heavy worlds, it was really fun to follow this story. Just as you think everything is fairly black and white, Kempf keeps you on your toes, even giving a bit of an Orwellian feel at times.
“The whirring of the parallel ventilation systems made him smile in a way that only a machine he had repaired ever could.”
These characters were wonderful. You had a wide cast to enjoy, with different, and a lot of times conflicting, motivations. Lysander and Petra were great points of view, and Arthur really grew on me. Magdalena and Linnaea’s relationship was a great addition, and I liked how a wide range of ages were represented in the story. There were beautiful found family moments and I was definitely interested in the romance, though I wish there was a little more development and would love to see where it all goes in books to come. The deaf representation was really lovely, and the author’s awareness for it throughout the book was done so well. I loved how it didn’t seem like the author favored or focused on a particular sex with her writing style, all of her characters were so well rounded and believable, and she really took the time to give them identities within and outside themselves. This makes for a story you become really invested in. I didn’t want to see these characters lose each other, and it’s really comforting to have some good left in their hearts amidst this very bleak world.
This slow paced story left so much room for rich description, and I drank in every adjective. The suspense sprang every word to life on the page. I had the extreme privilege of winning an annotated copy from the author and it is a true treasure. She dove into some amazing research behind the scenes to make this book come to life in such a beautiful, meaningful way. I know that this trilogy will become an absolute favorite and I can’t wait to read more!
“She’d seen what Petra hadn’t even known until that moment. That her love was a far more powerful force than her hate. And far more destructive.”
This book is special and one I will likely reread when in a slump to get me back to the core of why I love what I do. It gave me the best cinematic vibes, reminding me of The Hunger Games, The Last Kingdom, The 100 and yes, Snowpiercer.
If you want a small glimpse into this world, you can check out Katherine Kempf’s Cornish Steel, a short story in the world of The Mimameid Solution that is a treat, and give you a look into Arthur’s origins, and free when you sign up for her email list, or you can grab it on Amazon. I loved this story so much and know once you read it you'll want to jump right into The Mimameid Solution.
The Mimameid Solution was a really enjoyable epic I could not put down. I was swept away by the futuristic tech juxtaposed by the frozen wasteland of what the world has become and the old world roots that made their way back to the surface in the wake of devastation. The characters jumped off the page and into your heart, for better or worse, and I couldn’t help but rush through the chapters. Katherine’s writing makes the read so enjoyable and if you're one for details, she's got you covered.
The Mimameid Solution by Katherine Kempf
We open in what’s left of an ash ridden, cold, dank Scandinavia, following Lysander, a brilliant engineer, with his friends Magdelena and her daughter Linnaea trying desperately to survive. They are met face to face with Petra and her party, soldiers of sorts offering to bring the group to the safety of Mimameid. As the group makes their way to their destination and beyond, the world and characters start to peel back their layers to reveal this beautiful epic. And though the plot took a bit of a backseat in the first half, I thought that was actually pretty wonderful. The depth we were allowed to venture with this crew was really nice and I think necessary for where the story feels like it wants to take us in future books.
“What she felt was the pull of home. And it felt so raw, like the landscape of the North Country being pulled free from the receding ice. The frozen layers that protected her heart were melting away. The wild North was calling to her.”
And that was because the world building in this book was really amazing. Kempf took the time to let the world develop, and though the pacing was on the slow side the first half of the book, I felt like it was totally worth the build. You really get to experience the atmosphere of their world affected by ecological disaster and the power struggles that were born from it, and the sanctuary of Mimameid that stands in stark contrast to what's above the surface. I was in love with all the Norse and Celtic vibes, and what those identities mean to the different characters. The dynamics of a dystopian Scandinavian world with modern weapons and cool sci-fi tech built within, but lots of primitive social structures in it’s post apocalyptic state were very cool. For a lover of politically heavy worlds, it was really fun to follow this story. Just as you think everything is fairly black and white, Kempf keeps you on your toes, even giving a bit of an Orwellian feel at times.
“The whirring of the parallel ventilation systems made him smile in a way that only a machine he had repaired ever could.”
These characters were wonderful. You had a wide cast to enjoy, with different, and a lot of times conflicting, motivations. Lysander and Petra were great points of view, and Arthur really grew on me. Magdalena and Linnaea’s relationship was a great addition, and I liked how a wide range of ages were represented in the story. There were beautiful found family moments and I was definitely interested in the romance, though I wish there was a little more development and would love to see where it all goes in books to come. The deaf representation was really lovely, and the author’s awareness for it throughout the book was done so well. I loved how it didn’t seem like the author favored or focused on a particular sex with her writing style, all of her characters were so well rounded and believable, and she really took the time to give them identities within and outside themselves. This makes for a story you become really invested in. I didn’t want to see these characters lose each other, and it’s really comforting to have some good left in their hearts amidst this very bleak world.
This slow paced story left so much room for rich description, and I drank in every adjective. The suspense sprang every word to life on the page. I had the extreme privilege of winning an annotated copy from the author and it is a true treasure. She dove into some amazing research behind the scenes to make this book come to life in such a beautiful, meaningful way. I know that this trilogy will become an absolute favorite and I can’t wait to read more!
“She’d seen what Petra hadn’t even known until that moment. That her love was a far more powerful force than her hate. And far more destructive.”
This book is special and one I will likely reread when in a slump to get me back to the core of why I love what I do. It gave me the best cinematic vibes, reminding me of The Hunger Games, The Last Kingdom, The 100 and yes, Snowpiercer.
If you want a small glimpse into this world, you can check out Katherine Kempf’s Cornish Steel, a short story in the world of The Mimameid Solution that is a treat, and give you a look into Arthur’s origins, and free when you sign up for her email list, or you can grab it on Amazon. I loved this story so much and know once you read it you'll want to jump right into The Mimameid Solution.
July 17, 2024
This book is slow paced environmental sci-fi at its best. There was so much behind every scene, image, and word; I can see the effort that the author put into crafting this story. There was so much intention behind every image and I loved her use of language. I could really see it all in my head perfectly.
The plot and world building were excellent, but what I loved most were the characters. They had so much depth and I cared about them a lot.
I was silently rooting for Peetra and Lysander to get together in the end, but I also adore Arthur (once I decided I trusted him). Now, I'm team Lysander and Magdelena! I was so sad when they left <3
The Norse vs. Celt conflict sort of went over my head a bit, but I was able to follow the story and enjoy it nonetheless. This book is classified as "slow paced" (in a good way - it's just very thought out and careful to unravel) but once it does unravel, in the final few chapters or so, I couldn't stop reading. I was NOT expecting the ending, and I'm really excited to see how this sets up the next book!
The plot and world building were excellent, but what I loved most were the characters. They had so much depth and I cared about them a lot.
I was silently rooting for Peetra and Lysander to get together in the end, but I also adore Arthur (once I decided I trusted him). Now, I'm team Lysander and Magdelena! I was so sad when they left <3
The Norse vs. Celt conflict sort of went over my head a bit, but I was able to follow the story and enjoy it nonetheless. This book is classified as "slow paced" (in a good way - it's just very thought out and careful to unravel) but once it does unravel, in the final few chapters or so, I couldn't stop reading. I was NOT expecting the ending, and I'm really excited to see how this sets up the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2023
A fantastic first novel by an exciting young American woman author! A compelling premise, great characters, and vivid descriptions will leave you hoping Katherine Kempf is hard at work on the next book in this trilogy. The book appeals to a wide range of readers, blending elements of thriller, sci-fi, and eco-apocalypse - with a touch of humanizing romance - to create a book that you simply can’t put down. All in all great story telling from a promising new author!
April 19, 2023
Clear your calendar. This story will pull you in to the point nothing else gets done until you finish. The characters are sculpted into rich personalities that lead the reader to love, worry, question, and dislike all at the same time. I feel like I KNOW them. The multifaceted features are exceptionally well developed. Waiting for book two is going to be excruciating!
January 19, 2024
I discovered this book while it was a quarterfinalist in the third Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, and reading it helped me get out of a tough reading slump!
The Mimameid Solution is a post-apocalyptic romp through Scandinavia where people are pitted against the technology of the new and the cultures of the old. The story itself is a decadent tale, reminiscent of a director’s cut of a movie. I’ve read some reviewers argue that portions of the book are superfluous to the main story; however, I argue everything written is written for a reason and only aids in the richness of the story. Ms. Kempf truly has a grasp for writing relatable characters that act human, rather than like characters that act like they’re in a book.
The writing is professionally done and allows the reader to easily slip into the story without getting pulled out by jagged sentences or errors.
I cannot recommend this book enough!
The Mimameid Solution is a post-apocalyptic romp through Scandinavia where people are pitted against the technology of the new and the cultures of the old. The story itself is a decadent tale, reminiscent of a director’s cut of a movie. I’ve read some reviewers argue that portions of the book are superfluous to the main story; however, I argue everything written is written for a reason and only aids in the richness of the story. Ms. Kempf truly has a grasp for writing relatable characters that act human, rather than like characters that act like they’re in a book.
The writing is professionally done and allows the reader to easily slip into the story without getting pulled out by jagged sentences or errors.
I cannot recommend this book enough!
June 26, 2023
The Mimameid Solution takes place in the time following the demise of the world, a world which was destroyed due to a lack of concern for ecological responsibilities. Immediately my mind was drawing connections to what is happening in the world today with the increased number of natural disasters and climate changes. But The Mimameid Solution is not a tale about being good stewards to the earth. Instead it is the tale of class discrimination, humans struggling to make a good life, survival, friendship, and even a little bit of love. Katherine Kempf has masterfully crafted this story using the perspectives of two characters navigating the same plot. The chapters alternate between Petra and Lysander, weaving the story through their experiences. It was interesting to see the different responses to the same event and I felt their experiences were seamlessly woven together to build the plot. Her descriptive writing style makes the story alive and vivid. For example, she wrote, "the trees about them stood stark like jagged headstones in a grey cemetery of a world destroyed." At one point, I needed to make myself a cup of tea after Lysander got his first meal in the canteen. The first chapter or two were challenging for me as the author established the characters and setting, but once the story got rolling, I didn't ever want to stop reading. There are a number of editorial mistakes which made reading distracting at times. For this reason, I withheld a rating of 5, but would love to give it a 4.5 if that option existed.
June 20, 2023
Rating: 4.5 Stars
If you asked me to describe this book in one word, I would choose “intriguing”. With every word, I wanted to know more about Petra, Lysander, and the world they inhabited. The atmosphere of dread kept me fully immersed; throughout the book, I kept feeling this pervasive feeling that something was not quite right. I was fully invested in figuring out why. Whenever I picked it up on my lunch breaks, I wanted to read for hours even though I had to get back to work. Fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games will definitely enjoy it, and I highly recommend giving it a read!
If you asked me to describe this book in one word, I would choose “intriguing”. With every word, I wanted to know more about Petra, Lysander, and the world they inhabited. The atmosphere of dread kept me fully immersed; throughout the book, I kept feeling this pervasive feeling that something was not quite right. I was fully invested in figuring out why. Whenever I picked it up on my lunch breaks, I wanted to read for hours even though I had to get back to work. Fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games will definitely enjoy it, and I highly recommend giving it a read!
April 30, 2023
The vivid and elaborate descriptions of the post apocalyptic world have quickly drawn me in and make me want to continue reading.
A world destroyed by climate change, flooding and earthquakes. People reverting back to their nationalities, fighting other tribes with brutal violence. Refugees trying to survive.
The dystopic world sometimes has a frightening resemblance to our reality.
When the characters reach Mimameid they are hoping to be safe. But is this technocratic submarine society really the sanctuary they are wishing for?
A world destroyed by climate change, flooding and earthquakes. People reverting back to their nationalities, fighting other tribes with brutal violence. Refugees trying to survive.
The dystopic world sometimes has a frightening resemblance to our reality.
When the characters reach Mimameid they are hoping to be safe. But is this technocratic submarine society really the sanctuary they are wishing for?
April 18, 2023
The world and setting of this story were beautiful, and the suspense gradually built to a climatic ending. I wanted to scream, swoon, and cry at different times or do all those at once. My only issue is that the sequel is not out already, BECAUSE THE ENDING LEFT ME NEEDING MORE! I’ll eagerly be awaiting book 2! 💙
July 25, 2023
This book is so well-written, the character development is so masterfully done that I couldn’t put the book down, I had to see what the next chapter held for each character. So suspenseful, wonderfully written and totally engrossing!
May 3, 2023
This is such a wonderful platform to connect with readers and hear about your love for The Mimameid Solution. Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to leave a review - it means so much to me!
April 8, 2023
3.5* rounded up. Full review to come 🙂
April 22, 2023
A wonderful, engaging story with complex and relatable characters. Beautiful descriptions - I felt like I was really there. I can't wait for the sequel!!
May 9, 2023
A must read. Holds your attention from the beginning and can’t wait to see what happens next!
May 18, 2023
I was immediately hooked at the start of this book. This writing was so descriptive, I was transported to Mimameid while reading. I can't wait until the next book comes out!
June 22, 2023
The best english book that i read so far
October 3, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a slow-paced, character-focused dystopian scifi with a really interesting premise - Ragnarok has happened, the survivors in Scandinavia are trying to eke out a living and then the Celts invade.
With a pace this slow (and chapters this long herre jemini) it's important to have characters that are three-dimensional, engaging and interesting. Kempf has definitely managed to craft two worthy main characters in Lysander and Petra. I was very invested in their struggles, both internal and external, and following their arcs, how they converged and broke apart, was quite a treat. And when the story finally ramps up, the stakes are so high and the action is so gut-wrenching! So worth the time it took to get there. I'm really excited to see what happens in the sequel :D
I did have some issues with the book, tho, mostly linguistical ones (I'm Norwegian). I struggled to understand where people were supposed to be from because none of the different language "flavors" were consistent. Characters would be speaking a mish-mash of Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic, and I had a hard time figuring out if this was intentional or not. It made the start of the book somewhat frustrating. So if you're Scandinavian like me, just assume the characters in this book have developed some sort of Norse esperanto and you'll be fine.
Also, this book did require a pretty sizeable suspension of disbelief regarding the viability of an underwater base off the coast of Norway (I'm assuming) if the mainland has been ravaged by earthquakes. Norway is so far in on a tectonic plate that we don't really notice any earthquakes although the area is very prone to them, but most of them happen around Svalbard or in the seabed in the North Sea. We've had one or two that have rattled the chandeliers on the mainland in 2017 and 1904. No deaths tho. So if the mainland has been hit by earthquakes big enough to alter the landscape, you can bet the seabed is going to be a mess! But now I'm being nitpicky, haha.
This is a slow-paced, character-focused dystopian scifi with a really interesting premise - Ragnarok has happened, the survivors in Scandinavia are trying to eke out a living and then the Celts invade.
With a pace this slow (and chapters this long herre jemini) it's important to have characters that are three-dimensional, engaging and interesting. Kempf has definitely managed to craft two worthy main characters in Lysander and Petra. I was very invested in their struggles, both internal and external, and following their arcs, how they converged and broke apart, was quite a treat. And when the story finally ramps up, the stakes are so high and the action is so gut-wrenching! So worth the time it took to get there. I'm really excited to see what happens in the sequel :D
I did have some issues with the book, tho, mostly linguistical ones (I'm Norwegian). I struggled to understand where people were supposed to be from because none of the different language "flavors" were consistent. Characters would be speaking a mish-mash of Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic, and I had a hard time figuring out if this was intentional or not. It made the start of the book somewhat frustrating. So if you're Scandinavian like me, just assume the characters in this book have developed some sort of Norse esperanto and you'll be fine.
Also, this book did require a pretty sizeable suspension of disbelief regarding the viability of an underwater base off the coast of Norway (I'm assuming) if the mainland has been ravaged by earthquakes. Norway is so far in on a tectonic plate that we don't really notice any earthquakes although the area is very prone to them, but most of them happen around Svalbard or in the seabed in the North Sea. We've had one or two that have rattled the chandeliers on the mainland in 2017 and 1904. No deaths tho. So if the mainland has been hit by earthquakes big enough to alter the landscape, you can bet the seabed is going to be a mess! But now I'm being nitpicky, haha.
November 13, 2024
Reading The Mimameid Solution felt to me like starting with a lot of wires. (The wires being a very big cast of characters and all their pre-existing relationships, the post-ragnarok history, and long-standing conflict between two cultures.)
I liked both POV characters, Petra the sweet badass, and Lysander the cinnamon roll.
Things I loved: the Norse mythology, unique worldbuilding, warm tender moments, the last 10% of the book as the tension is to breaking. Arthur (can’t help but love a good doctor), beautiful sensory detail peppered throughout. Lysander’s care for his friends, especially the young ones.
Things I felt I didn’t totally understand: the external conflict between the Celts and the Norse and the extreme personal hatred between. And, while I really enjoyed the love story between two characters, I felt it started too abruptly.
As the story progresses, the spool turns slowly and gathers these wires together. They wind tighter and tighter, slowly but inevitably, until the tension is so high they start to snap and break. Then the spool breaks too, leaving the reader with a pounding heart and need for the next two books of this trilogy.
I liked both POV characters, Petra the sweet badass, and Lysander the cinnamon roll.
Things I loved: the Norse mythology, unique worldbuilding, warm tender moments, the last 10% of the book as the tension is to breaking. Arthur (can’t help but love a good doctor), beautiful sensory detail peppered throughout. Lysander’s care for his friends, especially the young ones.
Things I felt I didn’t totally understand: the external conflict between the Celts and the Norse and the extreme personal hatred between. And, while I really enjoyed the love story between two characters, I felt it started too abruptly.
As the story progresses, the spool turns slowly and gathers these wires together. They wind tighter and tighter, slowly but inevitably, until the tension is so high they start to snap and break. Then the spool breaks too, leaving the reader with a pounding heart and need for the next two books of this trilogy.
April 20, 2023
This book ruled my life for the past two days. Anything that was not a MUST DO on my TO DO list was ignored. After reading Hunger Games and Divergent and other dystopian novels, it was hard to imagine that a new series could draw me in and not let me go until I had finished the last page.
The Mimameid Solution is a thrilling read with a new approach to possible ways of life after our world, as we now know it, collapses. This Solution focuses not on future science fiction possibilities but on how human nature will influence future possibilities.
When is the next book coming out? Soon, I hope.
The Mimameid Solution is a thrilling read with a new approach to possible ways of life after our world, as we now know it, collapses. This Solution focuses not on future science fiction possibilities but on how human nature will influence future possibilities.
When is the next book coming out? Soon, I hope.
June 10, 2024
If you loved the Hunger Games, here's your follow up. Kempf has a cinematic writing style- the narrative is easy to follow, and she paints vivid pictures that envelope the reader in her world. And what a world! The devastation of the McCarthy-esque post-apocalyptic earth and the wonder of Mimameid is what keeps you intrigued through the first third or so, before the action starts to pick up. Once the ball gets rolling, the book is impossible to put down.
July 25, 2023
What a set of characters to fall in love with- nuanced and very relatable. The plot develops at a generous pace, tension delivered at just the right places. The description of this future earth is wonderful- sad, yet hopeful. Please hurry with the sequel!
January 17, 2025
This is the last of my SPSFC quarter finalists read. All the opinions are my own and not the team's. This book just wasn't for me is the kindest thing I can say. There is no plot, no tension, everything kept dragging on and on till the final 15% which seems to me to be too long a set up. It started off well, but soon the tension was gone and there was way too much foreshadowing and the insta love between Petra and Arthur didn't do anything for me. Lysander was the only interesting character but even his arc was too slow to get going.
If you love post apocalyptic scenarios with slow build up and epic scopes, this may be the book for you.
To me, more than 75% of this book was just flab.
If you love post apocalyptic scenarios with slow build up and epic scopes, this may be the book for you.
To me, more than 75% of this book was just flab.
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