Member Review

I had heard such good things about this book but to be honest...I hated it. I don't usually say that about books very often but this was one that I absolutely had to pull myself through internally kicking and screaming.

I'm definitely down for some sci-fi (especially a story set in Africa) but I basically had no idea what was going on the majority of this book. The timelines jumped around so much that I couldn't keep straight what was happening in the past or in the present. It was also hard for me to get a handle on a lot of the futuristic terms - I need a pretty clear framework to get my imagination on board. There didn't seem to be much point to the plot (it felt to me like the book ended in the exact same place it started), and the main character was so unlikeable that I couldn't feel connected in any way to him.

I have no idea how this book got expanded into a trilogy and I'm completely stumped by the many prizes it was awarded. Maybe it's just me, but this was a definite no-go for me.