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The Just City,
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Jo Walton
It's 110,000 words.
The first three chapters are on Tor.com http://www.tor.com/2014/12/15/the-jus... which seems to me the best way to check whether you like the style.
It's three different first person points of view, which seems to me something people either like or do not.
All my books are different, so even if you had read my stuff before it wouldn't necessarily mean you'd like this one. But I'm kind of fond of it.
The first three chapters are on Tor.com http://www.tor.com/2014/12/15/the-jus... which seems to me the best way to check whether you like the style.
It's three different first person points of view, which seems to me something people either like or do not.
All my books are different, so even if you had read my stuff before it wouldn't necessarily mean you'd like this one. But I'm kind of fond of it.
Eric Hines
Stylistically, I'd say it's somewhere between your well-written general fiction and well-written YA. Walton, as this implies is a very good writer. I did get the sense that her imagined reader is on the young side, but nothing terribly obtrusive. As to its going wrong: inasmuch as you can take these plot devices at all, you should be able to get along with them here. Walton is a literary craftsperson (?) of a very high order.
Rob
I find it very approachable and plausible (for time-travelling Greek gods), and I enjoy the emphasis on dialogue. The shift between narrators keeps it fresh and interesting, even when it's one of the gods speaking. This is more of a cerebral and emotional novel than an action adventure, and Walton's research and subsequent world-building makes the setting seem pretty vibrant and real. There are a lot of characters in here, mortal and immortal, that I wish I could sit down and have a nice long Socratic debate with!
Michèle
Jo's works are always out-of-the-beaten-path books.
I'm reading the Just City as a fun thought experiment. So no car pursuit or dragons/sorcerers attacks/knight battles in that one. Complex female, male and God characters.
I'm in the middle of the book now, taking my time to absorb the implications and the frailty of the City organizers. Because I do not want to gorge myself too fast this excellent Banquet.
I'm reading the Just City as a fun thought experiment. So no car pursuit or dragons/sorcerers attacks/knight battles in that one. Complex female, male and God characters.
I'm in the middle of the book now, taking my time to absorb the implications and the frailty of the City organizers. Because I do not want to gorge myself too fast this excellent Banquet.
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