Review: Too Like the Lightning

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't even know where to begin.

A book that is a mystery/thriller set in the 25th Century, couched in neo-Age of Enlightenment philosophy and occasionally true Age of Enlightenment, 18th Century language, in a world that is a failed Utopia. There is so much richness in this book but it is not a facile read. Following the central characters of Mycroft Canner and Carlyle Foster, we enter a world in which countries are largely abolished in favor of a multi-hive concept and hives are further broken down into 'bashes, a concept I love so much, I can't tell you. A 'bash is like a family but in this future world, you can choose your family. You can be part of the Humanist hive and a member of the Saneer-Weeksbooth 'bash, for instance, and that is in fact, where we begin. In addition to firm country affiliations falling by the wayside, religion is banned and gender is rendered neutrally complex. There isn't supposed to be gender (though Cousins are counted as female?) but the use of ungendered pronouns like "they" is sometimes followed with extensive description of ample breasts and considerable pondering about what's under someone's skirts or robes. So clearly, that 'they' thing is going nowhere. (The religion ban is also not going well.) Sex, however, is doing just fine. And so is violence. There is also plenty of questionable morality about childraising.

There are some truly luminous, spellbinding moments in this book. My favorite was a discussion between Carlyle, a sensayer (spiritual counselor, yeah, but not religious, think more like a philosophical therapist), and Bridger, a child, about the ethics and morality of using his unique gift. There are others, namely dealing with gender, and gender expression, that made me want to throw my phone (listened to the excellent audiobook and often followed up on the ebook when I would say to myself, "wait... what!?") across the room.

This is a big, complicated, sprawling, crazy quilt. It's worth your time if you want a challenge, and against all odds, considering that at the halfway point I was considering not finishing, I'm looking forward to starting the second book when I'm done with my reading for the Hugos. While I don't think of reading sci-fi and fantasy books because I want a challenge, in this case my interest has been piqued enough to want more challenge.

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