A fabulous blend of genres with a punchy message
5 stars
Content warning Some spoilers, discussion of sexual depictions
This book really left a mark on me. The big ideas were compelling, and hard hitting. My only real critique is that, especially given that the main protagonist was a self-insert character, the time devoted to sex scenes felt just a bit indulgent. But I really enjoyed the blending of genres and the overall narrative and conceptual trajectory.
The climate message, and particularly the message about how we shouldn't respond to it is acute and punchy. The handling of the time travel was really neat and pretty original, especially the original concept presented at the start of the book.
I think the book was (from my admittedly very white perspective) really good at shining a light on the marginalized perspective of institutions of power, and of the ladder-climbers that ignore the problems in the hopes that they'll be one of the "good ones".
The thematic core connection 19th century values with the lingering worst impulses that seem to come out to play as the climate gets worse was brilliantly embodied through the time travel mechanics. It was the perfect plot devices to engage with questions about where we are going and where we have been, and how the we haven't really gone that far from the past which could totally screw over the future.
I appreciated the centering of the woman's experience in those scenes, refreshing for a sci-fi book, and the way the scenes were written was interestingly stylized. But with the relationship feeling a bit forced, and again the main character being a self-insert, it almost felt like the fictional character, over which the author has total control, was being coerced. Even more so because love interest was based on a real historical person.
