'Zenith' by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings | book review
By Julita Stefaniak - January 20, 2020
Rating: 1.75/5
Goodreads link: Zenith
Read in: Polish (physically), English (audiobook)
Dates read: 05/12/19 - 07/01/20
It's been a while since I've finished this book, so I don't know how well (or badly) this review is gonna go. However, with my second semester of uni starting, I'll probably read less and therefore I'll have less writing opportunities. Looking at my past behaviour, that could lead to abandoning this blog again and I don't want that to happen.
I feel like with books written by booktubers one always has to make those disclaimers at the beginning to make sure the fanbase is not offended; so here it is: I'm judging the book, not the author. I have been watching Sasha for a few years and I absolutely love her content. I'm also extremely proud of a person I've followed for this long to make their dreams come true and publish a novel (that's been translated to a few languages as well!). However, I have to be honest and truthful.
I am not a fan of Zenith.
I have soo many problems with it, but maybe let's start with some good things to lighten up the mood.
1. Androma wasn't a bad character, so maybe if the book focused just on her, I would have enjoyed it so much more. I liked how smart she was, a boss-lady who came after what she wanted. Yeah, she was winey at times, but I just blamed that on her troubled past.
2. I shipped Androma with Dex and quite liked their scenes together. I'm a romance-seeking kinda gal, so if they were in the spotlight, I would be happier and more eager to follow the story.
3. The audiobook was the way to go. I'm gonna put it as a good thing, BUT was I able to doze off sometimes and still get those pages done?
Maybe.
And that's where the good things end.
1. The writing styles were just off. Zenith was written by two authors and it shows. One was so flowery I could barely read a few sentences without completely losing the point and the interest in continuing. And that happened in the first chapter, which already made the reading experience not so promising. The second style was better but at times too simple for me. If it was in between it has the potential to be quite good.
2. The world-building.. or lack thereof. The whole concept was weird and there were a lot of plot holes I caught while listening, so I'm scared to even think how I would feel about them if I gave the storyline more thought.
I know, sci-fi is not easy to write. Creating a world so complex is a difficult task and I'm sorry to see that Sasha and Lindsay didn't deliver.
3. There were so many perspectives I was getting really confused. I still don't really know who was who exactly. Some chapters were just pointless and boring because the narration was focused on some side character I had no interest in.
4. The book was too long and there were too many threads. The polish edition has over 600 pages and when I got to page 300 I was already ready to wrap that baby up. And it just kept going and going... Maybe if it was divided into two separate books it would have been more bearable?
As I'm writing the first draft, I'm slowly realising the so many "if things were different" parts, which just show that:
a) I'm not the target reader for action-packed sci-fi without lovers and with many points of view.
b) maybe if more editing has gone into it, it would be a more pleasurable read.
The second book in the Androma Saga is on its way (or maybe it's already published, I'm not so sure) but what I'm sure of, is that I won't be reading it. However, I know that Sasha has been working on something on her own and I'll definitely give it a try when it gets published. Maybe in the meantime, I'll try something by Lindsay as well?
Only time will tell.
1 Comments
This review went great Babe <3!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting look at this book! I am a fan o action packed sci-fi, but reading all the cons you noticed, I think I wouldn't like this book either.
Writing style is very important and so is the world-building. Any Sci-Fi action without an understandable and wide world is just unbearable.
I also hate when the book changes perspectives. I can understand it in some cases, but as you noticed, here, it is to much.
Therefore, although I am a fan of the genre, I would probably also get easily bored :D.
Can't wait for your next reviews Love 😍😘💖