M@ reviewed Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer
Review of 'Seven Surrenders' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Well, my least favorite part of [b:Too Like the Lightning|26114545|Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota, #1)|Ada Palmer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443106959s/26114545.jpg|46061374] metastasized and spread to this book's bones, liver, spleen, and heart.
The world's most notorious serial killer was trying to prevent a war with his killing spree, the level-headed polymath is actually a God, the child who can bring back toys to life is pretty much Jesus, if not by full name than by allusion, and the final chapter is the Jesus Clef transforming himself into Achilles -- yes, the actual Achilles from [b:The Iliad|1371|The Iliad|Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388188509s/1371.jpg|3293141]. And I've been meticulous about adding spoiler tags even though the author wasn't; there'd be entire chapters, mostly of dialog, that you'd have to click on to reveal.
So in conclusion, the author builds a truly magnificent world and then populated it with uncompelling, almost indistinguishable characters who spent 800+ pages smashing said world to bits. At …
Well, my least favorite part of [b:Too Like the Lightning|26114545|Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota, #1)|Ada Palmer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443106959s/26114545.jpg|46061374] metastasized and spread to this book's bones, liver, spleen, and heart.
The world's most notorious serial killer was trying to prevent a war with his killing spree, the level-headed polymath is actually a God, the child who can bring back toys to life is pretty much Jesus, if not by full name than by allusion, and the final chapter is the Jesus Clef transforming himself into Achilles -- yes, the actual Achilles from [b:The Iliad|1371|The Iliad|Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388188509s/1371.jpg|3293141]. And I've been meticulous about adding spoiler tags even though the author wasn't; there'd be entire chapters, mostly of dialog, that you'd have to click on to reveal.
So in conclusion, the author builds a truly magnificent world and then populated it with uncompelling, almost indistinguishable characters who spent 800+ pages smashing said world to bits. At least they pause for long discussions of philosophy, religion, politics, and gender theory in between their seemingly-random acts of superhuman activity and semi-Machiavellian plotting.
In short, I didn't particularly care for it.
