pickThis book‘s origin story is beyond cool.
It‘s about two warring factions, traveling through time and manipulating events (often in small ways but sometimes hugely & violently) to ensure that their side wins. The two protagonists are agents for each side: Red & Blue. They begin leaving one another letters, taunting at first, and they fall in love.
The book is co-written, one author responsible for each perspective/alternating chapter. 👇🏻
monalyisha 1/3: Red, written by Max Gladstone, represents technology. Blue, written by El-Mohtar, represents nature…but it‘s not clear which side, if either side, the reader should champion. Each side has its viciousness and its selfishness. 3mo
monalyisha 2/3: The two authors collaboratively penned an outline…but then they wrote in response to the letters they received (ostensibly from Red or Blue), the contents of which were a surprise. 3mo
monalyisha 3/3: I can‘t say that I always understood what was going on. I was, however, entirely transfixed. It was a wonder to learn how the letters would be coded and sent: in tea leaves, in the guts of a seal, in the flowing lava of a volcano‘s explosion. I also enjoyed the mindfuck of an ending, the message about binary extremes [and political factions], and the importance of keeping something for oneself (even if community is revered). 3mo
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KadaGul @monalyisha I have this Book 📖 for 2024 library challenge. Im looking👀 forward to reading it. #LibraryChallenges (edited) 3mo
Blackink_WhitePaper Sounds interesting. Stacked 3mo
monalyisha Another thought: it‘s hard to imagine a future in which interconnectedness is the norm…but I think the novel effectively shows how loneliness can reign even when you feel (suffocatingly) like you‘re never actually alone or unobserved. This is a more natural conclusion on Red‘s side. I tend to err on the side of looking to nature for lessons on how to be interconnected. I suppose you‘ve got to look at it as more of a predator/prey model, maybe? (edited) 3mo
Read-y_Picker This is super interesting! I'm so glad you shared :) I just picked this book up. I believe it had been featured on LeVar Burton Reads a few years ago and was just hanging out on my wish list. I now have something else to keep in mind when I finally get around to reading it (it IS on my February bingo board). 3mo