Probably Not the Best Introduction to Tchaikovsky

There are some interesting premises and decent writing here, but the narrative arc is rather anemic and spending the bulk of the book with the sci-fi sigma incel community (regardless of them being the 'baddies') was just unpleasant, as is the fridge-tastic trope of the threat of abuse being aimed at a femme the protagonist has an emotional connection with being the catalyst for change.

I think this is ultimately a case of not the best book and not necessarily being my cup of tea, despite being so on paper, so your mileage may vary. There are definitely seeds of something intriguing here in the relationship and understanding of technology and software that reminds me a little of Horizon Zero Dawn. As an opener to a series though, this hasn't been enough for me to continue. I am still interested in checking out more of Tchaikovsky's work.

The curse of checking out respected authors through the Audible Included library strikes again!

Narration is decent. ( )

From the future looking back - all the way back to our time right now. The same way we look back to before the Dark Ages. What a book!

This book hits different as a child of parents who followed 2 violently opposing Abrahamic religions. (My siblings and I are basically proof these 2 religions can coexist I guess). Something eery about this story. It feels like the moment when hope is snuffed out - and yet, a slither remains. The way Tchaikovsky weaves the Casting Out/The Severance is magnificent, filled with the dread and the threat of violence both physical and emotional without actual violence in the way we understand it. The horror of being cut off and left to fend out in the wild and even hope that somehow, what is set in stone can be reversed are all themes in the opening chapters and just so haunting.

At first, I willed the community to see their error which was that ancient bag of bones Doctor's fault entirely - yet the community of Aro was set in its ways. Immovable, unchangeable and also ridiculous. And that right there is the moment I noticed what Aro and the Severance represented. And yet; the metaphor, the allegory, the curtain still wove and told this tale with painful elegance. Thereafter all I wanted for the main character was liberation and peace away from that community.

The Ghosts who took over the human host and dictated utter garbage to keep the sheep in check and unquestioning, not curious, just docile and at peace. But ambition and questioning, that seed of knowledge, first in the village of Orvo, via Ilbis, The Architect and then Sharskin, the Outcast Priest Would-Be-God granted "wisdom" and "truth" and who yearns for followers in a more frightening fashion that the ghosts of the old communities.

A new cycle begins. Like Moses but without the tribes of many, just Handry and Ostel, of they wandered into the "desert" in search of their place to belong. "Where it all began"

I digested this book in a way that the poor protagonist couldn't digest even an ounce of "normal" food thanks to the severance he did not deserve. ( )

Another impressive world building novella from AC. Incredible how he managed to pack so many concepts into such a short story. The choice of hero was particularly well done managing to shift the focus away from the more obvious people into the underdog.

No warfare or conquest in this. Humans on an obviously not-Earth planet have adapted well with a tight tribal culture living in isolated villages with everyone pulling their weight. And if you don't the Lawgiver will sentence you to exile, the Doctor painting you red, and suddenly everything is slightly weird. You can no longer sense the other villagers, the plants and berries don't nourish you, the six-legged animals fear you and the reader realises this really is a different world.

Our hero only accidently stumbles into the red paint but is still forced to flee the only home he's known. Life is exceptionally hard without a village to support you. But before too long he manages to find some other exiles and a charismatic priest who slowly explains that everyone else has been corrupted and those with the red paint have been returned to the Original Condition of their ancestors. The crumbling hulk they call home was once the bizarre concept of a space ship.

Just clever and well done throughout, it doesn't even feel rushed. ( )

3.5 stars, but rounded up for originality. It was interesting, but I thought it was too abbreviated; perhaps it was purposely made short, though. It was basically a glimpse into a time and place that was pretty unusual, but I had trouble relating to the people and not much actually happened. ( )

A child grows up on a strange planet in a small village but is rejected and cast out after being contaminated in an accident. After wondering widely and barely surviving on scraps he gets together with other outcasts and then a messianic leader unites them and takes them to the place of humanity's arrival on the planet. Our hero gradually pieces together the true story of the people's dependence on the expert systems and with his sister of the book’s title plots a way forwards in harmony with their ancestor's expert systems help. ( )