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Finchie's Reviews > Exordia
Exordia
by
by
Finchie's review
bookshelves: arc, butch-and-or-femme
Jul 12, 2023
bookshelves: arc, butch-and-or-femme
Read 2 times. Last read August 21, 2023 to August 22, 2023.
"History has suffered an intervention."
Reading Exordia felt like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle while being chased by wolves, if the puzzle pieces were defense industry contractors and the wolves were also defense industry contractors who were laughing at you. This is not a fun, easy read. It's a book about hard truths and hard lies and the way everyone needs to believe they are the hero of their own story. It's violent and unsettling, but sometimes beautiful, and often darkly funny.
Exordia follows the same characters as Dickinson's short story "Anna Saves Them All," but expands far beyond that original story. Anna and Ssrin, bound together by fate, set off with a ragtag group of scientists and soldiers to save the world. Unfortunately, "save" and "world" mean different things to everyone involved.
It's difficult to talk about most of the content of Exordia without spoiling anything or needing essays worth of context, but be aware that this book focuses heavily on traumatic subjects like genocide and the military-industrial complex alongside its discussion of more abstract concepts like metaphysics and the nature of moral action. I expect other reviews will address these elements in more detail.
There were some characters I didn't like (Erik and Clayton almost made me put the book down), some I liked, and some I absolutely loved (Chaya and Aixue!!), so I appreciated the way the POV changed frequently. I didn't have to spend too much time in anyone's head(s) in particular. I was deeply drawn into the mystery and took more notes than I've ever taken on a first read before, and then immediately went back for a second read to find layers of foreshadowing. Exordia also happened to reference a lot of my favorite mildly obscure works of speculative fiction (Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, Interstellar Pig, etc.) so I may just be the exact target audience.
Recommended for fans of The Library at Mount Char, Annihilation, The Andromeda Strain, SCP files, Roadside Picnic, and the web serial Worm.
I received an advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
--
wow. will share more specifics than "wow" closer to release date.
--
just got an ARC, review TK -- very excited because Anna Saves Them All is one of my favorite short stories!!
Reading Exordia felt like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle while being chased by wolves, if the puzzle pieces were defense industry contractors and the wolves were also defense industry contractors who were laughing at you. This is not a fun, easy read. It's a book about hard truths and hard lies and the way everyone needs to believe they are the hero of their own story. It's violent and unsettling, but sometimes beautiful, and often darkly funny.
Exordia follows the same characters as Dickinson's short story "Anna Saves Them All," but expands far beyond that original story. Anna and Ssrin, bound together by fate, set off with a ragtag group of scientists and soldiers to save the world. Unfortunately, "save" and "world" mean different things to everyone involved.
It's difficult to talk about most of the content of Exordia without spoiling anything or needing essays worth of context, but be aware that this book focuses heavily on traumatic subjects like genocide and the military-industrial complex alongside its discussion of more abstract concepts like metaphysics and the nature of moral action. I expect other reviews will address these elements in more detail.
There were some characters I didn't like (Erik and Clayton almost made me put the book down), some I liked, and some I absolutely loved (Chaya and Aixue!!), so I appreciated the way the POV changed frequently. I didn't have to spend too much time in anyone's head(s) in particular. I was deeply drawn into the mystery and took more notes than I've ever taken on a first read before, and then immediately went back for a second read to find layers of foreshadowing. Exordia also happened to reference a lot of my favorite mildly obscure works of speculative fiction (Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, Interstellar Pig, etc.) so I may just be the exact target audience.
Recommended for fans of The Library at Mount Char, Annihilation, The Andromeda Strain, SCP files, Roadside Picnic, and the web serial Worm.
I received an advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
--
wow. will share more specifics than "wow" closer to release date.
--
just got an ARC, review TK -- very excited because Anna Saves Them All is one of my favorite short stories!!
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
(Hardcover Edition)
February 5, 2023
– Shelved
February 5, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
July 12, 2023
– Shelved as:
arc
August 21, 2023
–
Started Reading
August 22, 2023
– Shelved as:
butch-and-or-femme
August 22, 2023
–
Finished Reading
September 13, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
(Hardcover Edition)
September 13, 2023
– Shelved
(Hardcover Edition)
