Wow, what a disaster.

This novel tried to do a thing it just couldn't do. The author took on a task that he was not prepared for. It tried to be deep and failed.

Now I love speculative, experimental fiction, but what on earth was going on here. I mean, I know. It's an extended metaphor. But I just need more... uh... bookishness from a book. You know. Plot, narrative, characters. Stuff to care about. Sorry!!! Love you Melville House.

As I read Oh God, The Sun Goes by David Connor, I was immediately drawn into the mysterious disappearance of the sun from the sky. The protagonist, an unnamed traveler, embarks on a journey through the dry, barren landscapes of the American Southwest to uncover the truth behind this strange phenomenon.

What I loved most about this book was its ability to seamlessly weave together elements of illusion, mystery, and redemption. The shifting astral mindscape is so vividly described that I felt as though I was in the midst of the journey myself. As the story progresses, the hallucinatory and deadpan picaresque suddenly transforms into a moving love story that left me feeling emotionally fulfilled.

Overall, Oh God, the Sun Goes is a unique and captivating read. It's the perfect blend of fantasy, mystery, and romance, making it a truly unforgettable experience. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a thought-provoking and engaging read that will leave you feeling both satisfied and inspired.

I am so thankful to Melville House Publishing, Netgalley, and David Connor for granting me both digital and physical access to this twisty thriller before it published on August 1, 2023.

Could not finish this book as I did not have the patience to endure the long metaphors and the search for the deeper meaning.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Have you ever read a book that’s so marmite, that you’re not even sure whether you liked it yourself, let alone how to recommend it to others? Oh God, The Sun Goes was that kind of book for me… It’s an experimental, hallucinatory piece of speculative literature that leans heavy into its extended metaphor. Só far in fact, that it at times tips over onto its back and struggles to upright itself again. Although I didn’t personally love it, it strongly feels like the kind of book that literary critics and expensive-wine-book-clubs will praise to high heavens for its clever devices and intellectual overtones. Fans of a more grounded novel, will likely be less enamored.

Our story opens with a literal world-changing premise: the sun has vanished from the sky, and nobody has been able to explain why it happened. Our unnamed protagonist takes it upon himself to quest for answers. Following a series of clues, gathered from his subconscious mind, as well as a series of eccentric characters he meets along the way, he embarks on a roadtrip across the American deserts. With every strange city he stops at, it becomes clearer that what he’s traversing isn’t simply a landscape but a mindscape too.

If this premise intrigues you, and if you enjoy a bit of an existential puzzle; stop reading this review and pick up the book. It’s a short read that you’ll fly through, and has a unique feel to it. The closest comp-title I can come up with is Shadowbahn by Steve Ericson, and even that’s not quite it.
In order to explain some of the elements that didn’t work for me, however, I have to get into spoiler-territory.

As is heavily hinted at in the synopsis; the entire novel is an extended metaphor for loss. The missing “sun” isn’t really the Sun, and the journey is a reflection of the protagonists mind, processing a major event. Although that premise has great potential, I felt it remained too gimmicky and lacked the depth to resonate emotionally.
The author clearly enjoys showing off his knowledge of brain-anatomy; cities/burrows we stop at are “Amygdala”, “Hippocampus”, “Wernicke’s area” etc. Each of these chapters relate in some way to the function of that specific brain-part. There’s even an appendix at the end of the book in which all these references are explained, in case functional anatomy isn’t your daily bread and butter. To me, this approach divides the audience into two camps, neither of which will be happy. On the one hand, these references are going to fly clear over many readers heads, and your appendix at the end is going to be too little too late to help that. On the other hand, to readers who are familiar with it, the presentation isn’t nearly as clever as the author thinks it is, and there’s bound to be a few eyerolls at the pseudo-intellectualism of it all.
In my opinion, a book with this premise can take either one of two approaches towards success: go for emotional depth with the loss-story-line, or go the gimmicky route and be self-aware about it. Connor does neither: there’s too little development of the characters to relate to our protagonists grief, but the book is too overwritten and takes itself too serious to be enjoyed for its fun gimmick. Also, dear God, do not get me started on the writing during that one sex-scene. That thing is truly atrociously overwritten and almost had me give up on the book.

Overall, I appreciate the authors originality and willingness to take a risk. I can see it being a new favourite for a certain audience, but I don’t think I’m personally among it.

Many thanks to Melville Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This reminds me of the OPPOSITE of the Twilight Zone episode "The Midnight Sun". Meaning....instead of boiling in apartments, the world is shut down in darkness and while grappling with this new reality, odd things happen along the way.

+ a beautiful love story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful view.

I made it all the way to the end. As I was reading the appendix, I realized things might’ve made more sense if I read that first… Just a thought!

I was entertained by the fact that Del Webb played a major role in the story. The longtime developer of planned communities bought a casino way back in the 80s in New Jersey; I worked there for a little while and left with a few shares of stock in Del Webb corporation. All these years later, I get my $.25 checks every quarter.

The author has quite a way with words. He can paint amazing pictures; the challenges trying to figure out what exactly those pictures mean and how does it all tied together in the story. I’m not sure I ever figured it out.

At one point I thought I actually understood what was happening – I think I was wrong. Clues that I thought meant something. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. It was never clear.

I did make it all the way to the end of the book. It’s not a long read and if you made it to the end of my review and aren’t quite sure what to make of it – then you have an understanding of how I felt about the book.

I DNF'd this book at about 59% and where I stopped, I was hanging at around a two-star rating. I was intrigued by this story at first, curious to find out what happened to the sun, but then it fell into something that felt a bit more existential and speculative than I had anticipated. When sex (and the terrible writing of it) came into the plot, it lost me once and then twice, and I stopped after the second time.

I'm sure this book will appeal to those who want to pry a deeper meaning out of this book and parallel that meaning with life, but it just didn't do it for me.

I received this book as an ARC. I had a very hard time getting through this book because it was difficult to hold my interest. I found myself having a hard time focusing on what was happening in the story. I feel like there is potential and it’s a great effort but ultimately it was not for me.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Melville House Publishing for an advanced copy of this debut novel by an author who is going to be talked about, featuring a missing sun, a trek around the Southwest, and coming to grips with loss of all kinds.

"Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the Sun." So says billionaire industrialist Montgomery Burns, from the Simpsons. His plan was to block out the Sun, and leads to a lot of problems in the small town of Springfield. Oh God, The Sun Goes, the debut novel by David Connor thinks much bigger. What if one day the Sun just went away. No blocking, no exploding or imploding, just never came back from wherever it goes. There is still a light in the sky, the Earth and other planets suddenly don't fall out of orbit, life just kind of goes on. Or does it. Strange things are happening, as the narrator of the book starts to find. Or has the world always been a little off, but the lack of a Sun is making the weirdness more apparent.

The Sun has been gone for awhile, not with a bang, but just one day the orb was just gone from the sky. Our narrator, unnamed, though the occasional alias is mentioned has decided to travel to Arizona to meet with a Doctor who has announced that he knows where the Sun has gone. The narrator travels to Sun City, America's first retirement community, to find that the doctor has been sleeping since he decided he knew where the Sun went. Breakfasting in a diner he watches as two men dance to a song on a jukebox, and is given a letter that he left in his booth, a letter he has no memory of. From the same person he learns that her son, a competitive swimmer on forgot how to swim on the day the sun went away. An idea that stays with him. The narrator also learns that the bees have disappeared, a hive clearing out after hearing a drone share a very long story, a story that every bee in the hive was interested in including the Queen. From there the narrator travels to Phoenix, where clues come quick, but not in the way our narrator expects.

A novel that is not for everyone, but one that I really enjoyed. The writing is very good, filled with imagery. The American Southwest is rendered not just beautifully but mysterious, dangerous, and more then slightly off. There is a lot going on and many different set pieces I couldn't describe in full. Like the bees. Or the dancing in the diner. This is a short novel, but the book aims very high and gets there most of the time. There is a lot of power to the story, that slowly unfolds and becomes a lot more than expected from the beginning. This is a novel about love, loss, making someone the center of one's world, and what happens when the center can not hold. And also the appendix of the book is quite informative. A novel for people who like metaphors in writing, thinking while reading, and for lovers of words and ideas.

A debut that swings for the fence, and does a good job, and one that I enjoyed. Fans of the writers Jonathan Carroll, Steve Erickson, even Mark Leyner will enjoy this novel.

While unique and creative, I don't think a lot of readers will "get" this story. But for those that do like it, I suspect they'll really like it.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

DNF - I was interested in this book because the synopsis is very intriguing; draws in attention right away. Ultimately, I just didn't vibe with this story the way that I thought I would. I couldn't engage with the way it was written.

This book was one big metaphor.. and I'm not sure I fully understood it. Maybe it took too long for me to catch on that this was less sci fi/post apocalyptic/thriller than conceptual drama, but it didn't click with me.

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.....". How many ways can you fashion metaphors for heartbreak? How many more creative and lyrical options can there be if you open up the field by adding twists that are absurd, dreamlike, clinical, philosophical, or magical? Well, Connor certainly has the skills and the nerve to keep you bobbing and weaving on a stunning walkabout that delivers a little bit of everything. Given the ambition on display here it's natural that a few bits don't work, but most of it does, and when it really works it can be stunning.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.