I probably wouldn’t even bother reviewing this one if I wasn’t doing this Book Bingo Project, because it’s such a short little book and I really don’t have any strong feelings about it, so let’s make this pretty quick.
The Fire Opal Mechanism by Fran Wilde is the second of three novellas in the same setting. I read the first one around when it first came out, and it didn’t make much of an impression on me. This was when Tordotcom was putting out what felt like an endless stream of novellas and I got tired of paying what they were asking for such books, so when this one came out, I didn’t bother with it. But then I saw it fit a book bingo prompt I was having trouble filling, and I recalled several people saying how much they enjoy this setting, so I decided to give it another try.
The problem with this book is the problem that many Tordotcom novellas have: it is too. dang. short. Everything feels rushed. There’s no time for character development. The central relationship progresses at a breakneck speed with nothing on the pages to support it. It’s like the author said “They’re friends now, I decided” and we just have to go with it.
Given another 150-200 pages, this could have been a really great book. I would have liked to get to know the characters better. I would have liked to have a better understanding of the antagonists’ origins and motives. I would have liked the characters to actually have time to think harder about the conflict between the Pressmen (who want knowledge accessible to everyone, but only through their books) and the Universities (who believe in having many sources of knowledge, but only accessible by those with the means to attend). Instead I’m left with what feels like a rough draft, waiting for the author to fill it in.
Interestingly, this ended up being the third book I read in a row which centered around a library! So it has that going for it.
CWs and TWs: This book was so forgettable that I can’t remember if there was anything. If there was, it was minor.
Format and Source: I read this as an ebook from Sno-Isle Libraries.
Book Bingo Prompts
Brick & Mortar: Includes Time Travel. You wouldn’t think it would be hard for me to find a book to read with time travel in it, but I’ve already read a lot of the good ones, and with the short timespan of this challenge, I didn’t want to tackle a really thick sci-fi novel. I was excited for this one because I feel like it’s rare to see time travel in a fantasy setting, so I’m sad I didn’t like it better.
This did get me my second bingo on the card, though!
Current Bingo Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 7 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 4 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Brick & Mortar: 16 out of 25 prompts complete. 2 bingos.