Beth C.
Written on Nov 27, 2016
First, this book is not really fantasy, though it is being marketed as such. Nor is it really sci-fi. It's almost more like a (very) loose Biblical parable, if Jesus was known as the Urfather and his disciples were Chinese killers and thieves. Having said that, as a person who is absolutely *not* religious, it was still a fairly decent story, and at no point was there anything overtly religious - just some...similarities. But - not fantasy, so if you're looking for that exclusively, you can stop reading here.
The story itself could be described as epic, if one is allowed to use that term about anything not in a series. It's long, there are a LOT of people involved, multiple plotlines, and various generations. It's also not a fast-moving tale. Instead of being like a race-horse, it's the slow and steady gate of a mule that will get you there. The names of the characters are...unusual...to the point that, sometimes, it sort of jerked me out of the story to try and reconcile what I was reading. Having said that, I still found myself interested in how the story would go and how all the various threads of the story would finish.
The characters never truly grabbed me, though I thought Sunshine the best of the lot. It's not that they weren't developed, but I simply did not feel like I cared about them. I'm not sure if it was due to the constant switching of viewpoints, or the large amount of viewpoints there were, but there just was not a connection forged.
Overall, it was just an ok book. I would recommend library over purchasing for most, unless you are already a fan of this author and his works.