Review: An interesting mix of genres
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2014
I was quite wary of Children Of Na at first. Within the first few pages, we jump from an antechamber of a mysterious planet run by a genetically engineered creature, to WWII Russia. From the maps provided before the prologue, it becomes apparent that the story can only get stranger from here.As other reviewers have mentioned, this is definitely an interesting mix of genres, hopping from science fiction to WWII adventure to pre-Civil War drama and more. While I enjoyed the interplay of the different genres, I felt that this was also a hindrance at times. I found that the WWII sections with Yakob had the strongest and most refined writing, while the Plantation sections felt the weakest and most raw. On their own, each of these storylines could be expanded to a short story or novella that ties into the same plot, but by being put together, there isn’t as much space to focus on the separate threads as individual stories, resulting in an unpolished feel in some parts. The dialogue is also a bit heavy-handed at times, bordering the line between realistic dialogue and caricature dialogue.Even with these drawbacks (and don’t get the wrong idea, they are quite minor nitpicks of mine), I still enjoyed the overall plot greatly, if not for the interesting concept, then at least for the gutsy decision to try to pull it off (and be mostly successful). The story definitely starts off a bit slow, and because of the hopping around, the pacing also feels a bit off at times, but it definitely picks up in the last two-thirds of the book. I could see some people not liking the book because of what feels like a lack of focus due to the genre-hopping, but I could also see some people really enjoying it the blend of genres. Of all the genre fans, it would most likely appeal to science fiction fans the most, as the other two genres feel more like a result of the plot instead of being plot drivers. While it’s not for everyone, I’d still be likely to recommend it to fans of science fiction.