Review: Emotionally raw sci-f that refused to let me go...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2014
This is my kind of sci-fi. Though, is that what this is? This one defies categorization while simultaneously filling many. Sort of like us human types. This is a running theme, both in the book and this review.Anything identified as alien is only done so because it’s specifically not of our earth. Otherwise, any physical characteristics, creature and planet both, are highly relatable. Emotional. This is another running theme in this book and this review. I mean, Imms, he may be an alien but everything about him is complex, transparent, unpredictable, patterned, habitual and unique to him. He walked right into my heart and took a lawn chair type of a seat. Open. Obvious. Weaved from many colors, not just the silver you can see.And then we have B. Closed off, shut down, looking for an escape, literally, to another planet. He gets that and so much more, but doesn’t remember to open the door to his own heart and leave it that way. History and pain and the unavoidable moth-to-the-flame effect that routine and the familiar can have on us all keep him from being able to completely open that door and let Imms in. Sort of. Almost. Sometimes. Yes. And no.This book is complicated and yet so simple in the presentation of that complication. Being human is messy. We’re selfish and yet incredibly giving, shirt-off-your-back giving. We’ll do just about anything for those we love. This is the very definition of selfish and self-sacrifice living together under one roof that looks oh so suspiciously like a beating heart.The depth of emotion in this book grabs a hold and refuses to let go. It didn’t let me go. It kept its grip on me through the entire story, no letdown, no respite. There was no mirage to which I could pin my hopes of taking a breath of something familiar, uncomplicated, something that didn’t demand such raw attention and admission of my own bruises and scars.Imms and B have come full circle, but it’s only one of many circles they’re going to encounter. There will be many broken, imperfect circles in need of time and hard work and healing. Only after having survived this one are they now in a place, together, to deal with the rest surely to come. At least, that’s how things appear, only to disappear, and then struggle back to life for another chance. That’s what happens when you cast your lot with someone, running into more circles, but you’re no longer Alone in dealing with them. Essentially, like Imms and B, I never felt like I was on solid footing, getting tossed around along with their continually changing reality. So, so good.As emotionally unsteady as it was to connect in the way this book forced me, it also made me feel… good. I actually feel compelled to use the word “gooey” and I don’t usually do gooey when it comes to the books I read. But that’s the thing, gooey is a part of real life, just like everything else in this story. It’s all reflected in that silver lake in the bathtub, but it dives deep below the surface, trying to work out the great mystery that is us human type things.I could go on about the writing (it’s quality), the supporting characters (just as varied as anything else), the settings (I could see and smell and feel and hear it all) and everything else technical about this book. Believe me, they’re all there. You just need to be reading this story already. Git to it. G’on.