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A Trip to the Stars

Nicholas Christopher

Start date: June 1, 2011

Finish date: August 31, 2011

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Sep 22, 2016 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: former-bees

I really have no idea how to review this book. I really enjoyed the rich, textured and deeply layered story, and the main two to four characters were very enjoyable, but all that being said, even though I tried to read this carefully, I feel like I probably missed a lot. The astral symbolism throughout the book was immense, and I think I probably missed bread crumbs and clues along the way because I am not well versed in astronomy and celestial navigation.
**SPOILERS**
That all being said, I did I really have no idea how to review this book. I really enjoyed the rich, textured and deeply layered story, and the main two to four characters were very enjoyable, but all that being said, even though I tried to read this carefully, I feel like I probably missed a lot. The astral symbolism throughout the book was immense, and I think I probably missed bread crumbs and clues along the way because I am not well versed in astronomy and celestial navigation.
**SPOILERS**
That all being said, I did enjoy the slow unravel and then weaving of the stories together. The structure of the book itself follows the two main characters as the separate from one another and their search for each other over the next 15 years. Or, I should say, Alma's search and Enzo's life. And this is one part of the book that I really though had the potential for the most heart, but wasn't expanded upon at all. Alma spirals her life out of control for years search for Loren while he goes on to have a relatively pleasant, if not a little eccentric upbringing. I believe at the end the intent was likely to punish Loren for his heritage which he did not know about, but Alma really ended up being punished for it, and in the Samax story line, she's not even a blip on the radar.
**END SPOILERS**

The whole story could read a bit like a multi-generation mob family saga, but it holds itself back from that, which I thought was good. I wouldn't have read that book. It also has a tendency to stray a bit into the fantastical - at one point vampires were introduced and thought oh no, here we go - but it also manages to bring that back to ground as well.

I suspect this review doesn't do the book justice at all. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone; it's a bit of an odd duck. And it is not an easy read. It is highly detailed; not a beach read, you really must pay attention. But, if what you like is a bit of a mystery, one that is highly literate with rich, deep characters that you can savor for awhile, this is probably a good book for you. ...more

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