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Occupy Me
A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world. Breathtaking SF from a Clarke Award-winning author.Tricia Sullivan has written an extraordinary, genre defining novel that begins with the mystery of a woman who barely knows herself and ends with a discovery that transcends space and time. On the way we follow our heroine as she attempts to track down a killer in the body of another man, and the man who has been taken over, his will trapped inside the mind of the being that has taken him over. And at the centre of it all a briefcase that contains countless possible realities.Tricia Sullivan returns to the genre with a book that will define the conversation within the genre and will show what it is capable of for years to come. This is the best book yet from a writer of exceedingly rare talent who is much loved in the genre world.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2016
60 people are currently reading
1189 people want to read
About the author
Tricia Sullivan
34 books75 followersTricia Sullivan (born July 7, 1968 in New Jersey, U.S.) is a science fiction writer. She has also written fantasy under the pseudonym Valery Leith.
She moved to the United Kingdom in 1995. In 1999 she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Dreaming in Smoke. Her novel Maul was also shortlisted for the same award in 2004.
Sullivan has studied music and karate. Her partner is the martial artist Steve Morris, with whom she has three children.
She moved to the United Kingdom in 1995. In 1999 she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Dreaming in Smoke. Her novel Maul was also shortlisted for the same award in 2004.
Sullivan has studied music and karate. Her partner is the martial artist Steve Morris, with whom she has three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
May 4, 2016
This was a weird book. Part sci-fi, part mystery, and part thriller. The strangest thing of all was that it was the sci-fi elements of the story that let the story down!
The premise was super intriguing. Pearl, an angel, with no memory of how or why she ended up on earth is trying to track down Dr. Kisi Sorle, the man responsible for stranding her on this planet in the first place. He stole something of hers. It looks like an ordinary briefcase, but is in fact a gateway to another dimension. Pearl needs it back if she is ever to make it home and learn the truth about her true nature. Dr. Kisi Sorle is a man with problems of his own. He is a prisoner in his own body, at the mercy of an unknown individual who can seize control of his body at will, and who will stop at nothing to see the completion of some unknown plan.
It was definitely an interesting story. Tricia Sullivan also had a very engaging writing style which made this an easy and engaging read. We got three POV perspectives in the form of Pearl, Dr. Sorle, and near the end from Allison, a Scottish vet in her early 60s. All of the characters were fairly interesting, but it was Pearl who was the star of the show. She was an unusual character and not just because of her wings which exist half in another dimension! She was over 6 feet tall, with a muscular build, and appeared around 50 in age. She was also super easy to like and root for.
The other weird thing is that Sullivan told this story from the first, third, and second person perspective. It was weird to have a second person perspective, but it just about worked.
The major failing of this story was the sci-fi elements of the tale. They were just too abstract. Which made them quite confusing to follow at times. I was hoping they would be fleshed out and explained by the end, but that never really happened to my satisfaction.
All in all I though this was an enjoyable read that suffered from a few flaws that held it back from being an excellent one.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: Penelope Rawlins narrated the female characters and gave a fantastic performance. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart narrated the male POV and gave a decent performance as well.
The premise was super intriguing. Pearl, an angel, with no memory of how or why she ended up on earth is trying to track down Dr. Kisi Sorle, the man responsible for stranding her on this planet in the first place. He stole something of hers. It looks like an ordinary briefcase, but is in fact a gateway to another dimension. Pearl needs it back if she is ever to make it home and learn the truth about her true nature. Dr. Kisi Sorle is a man with problems of his own. He is a prisoner in his own body, at the mercy of an unknown individual who can seize control of his body at will, and who will stop at nothing to see the completion of some unknown plan.
It was definitely an interesting story. Tricia Sullivan also had a very engaging writing style which made this an easy and engaging read. We got three POV perspectives in the form of Pearl, Dr. Sorle, and near the end from Allison, a Scottish vet in her early 60s. All of the characters were fairly interesting, but it was Pearl who was the star of the show. She was an unusual character and not just because of her wings which exist half in another dimension! She was over 6 feet tall, with a muscular build, and appeared around 50 in age. She was also super easy to like and root for.
The other weird thing is that Sullivan told this story from the first, third, and second person perspective. It was weird to have a second person perspective, but it just about worked.
The major failing of this story was the sci-fi elements of the tale. They were just too abstract. Which made them quite confusing to follow at times. I was hoping they would be fleshed out and explained by the end, but that never really happened to my satisfaction.
All in all I though this was an enjoyable read that suffered from a few flaws that held it back from being an excellent one.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: Penelope Rawlins narrated the female characters and gave a fantastic performance. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart narrated the male POV and gave a decent performance as well.
October 23, 2023
I thought this book was going to be one I could not finish, but I persisted in the hope I might begin to enjoy it more. For me, this is one of those novels that had huge potential to be fantastic but the execution let it down badly. I found reading this book hurt my brain and that's not what you want when reading a book for pleasure.
The plot felt very disjointed and I struggled for a lot of the book to have a clear grasp on what was really going on, in addition to that the characters all seemed so much out of reach, I could not connect with any of them. It had moments where it would really shine, then it would just slide again and I was confused and finding it too much hard work. Darn shame as I really liked the sound of the plot. I think this book needed more simplicity, maybe too much was going on. I don't know. It just did not float my boat.
A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world. Breathtaking SF from a Clarke Award-winning author.
Tricia Sullivan has written an extraordinary, genre defining novel that begins with the mystery of a woman who barely knows herself and ends with a discovery that transcends space and time. On the way we follow our heroine as she attempts to track down a killer in the body of another man, and the man who has been taken over, his will trapped inside the mind of the being that has taken him over.
And at the centre of it all a briefcase that contains countless possible realities.
One of the things that really stood out for me is that I got no sense that the main winged female character was even female! I got more of a masculine sense from the way it was written. I wonder what other readers thought?
Too much going on here and sadly only 3 stars from me, to be honest I nearly gave it 2 stars as I did not like it but bumped it up for some of the better moments in the book. I have no idea if others will like, love or dislike this book. It might be a mixed bag.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The plot felt very disjointed and I struggled for a lot of the book to have a clear grasp on what was really going on, in addition to that the characters all seemed so much out of reach, I could not connect with any of them. It had moments where it would really shine, then it would just slide again and I was confused and finding it too much hard work. Darn shame as I really liked the sound of the plot. I think this book needed more simplicity, maybe too much was going on. I don't know. It just did not float my boat.
A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world. Breathtaking SF from a Clarke Award-winning author.
Tricia Sullivan has written an extraordinary, genre defining novel that begins with the mystery of a woman who barely knows herself and ends with a discovery that transcends space and time. On the way we follow our heroine as she attempts to track down a killer in the body of another man, and the man who has been taken over, his will trapped inside the mind of the being that has taken him over.
And at the centre of it all a briefcase that contains countless possible realities.
One of the things that really stood out for me is that I got no sense that the main winged female character was even female! I got more of a masculine sense from the way it was written. I wonder what other readers thought?
Too much going on here and sadly only 3 stars from me, to be honest I nearly gave it 2 stars as I did not like it but bumped it up for some of the better moments in the book. I have no idea if others will like, love or dislike this book. It might be a mixed bag.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 8, 2017
Bats**t crazy SF involving an angel, international financial shenanigans, possession by a malevolent entity, international malfeasance by an oil company and a surprise pterosaur.
There's no plot summary I could give that wouldn't spoil the hell out of this, and the basic setup just doesn't make much sense anyway. This book is a puzzle-box and at least half the fun in trying to work out how it all comes together, who all these people are and what they're trying to do. It's a very ambitious story and told with a very ambitious structure as well with the three narrators each being written in first, second and third person respectively.
You've got to respect the difficulty level here. Pearl as an angel (and ) has a very difficult point of view to write and Dr. Kisi Sorle, the possessed African expatriat who has brought Pearl to our world, isn't any easier to write. However, the main flaw in the book is a failure to communicate everything going on while delivering much of an emotional connection to these characters. Pearl in particular is likable, but the constant reinforcement in the book that she's probably not even a person or fully sentient all makes it hard to appreciate her. Dr. Sorle is being possessed by himself (there's an explanation for this weirdness), and it can be difficult working out who is driving at any one point. The third narrator, Alison, a 60-year old Edinburgh veterinarian, is actually quite a relatable character, but I found her blithe acceptance of the craziness going on around her a little hard to swallow.
If you like puzzles and out-there SF, this book may well be to your taste. I like both those things, but I felt the book a little bit too flawed for my taste.
There's no plot summary I could give that wouldn't spoil the hell out of this, and the basic setup just doesn't make much sense anyway. This book is a puzzle-box and at least half the fun in trying to work out how it all comes together, who all these people are and what they're trying to do. It's a very ambitious story and told with a very ambitious structure as well with the three narrators each being written in first, second and third person respectively.
You've got to respect the difficulty level here. Pearl as an angel (and ) has a very difficult point of view to write and Dr. Kisi Sorle, the possessed African expatriat who has brought Pearl to our world, isn't any easier to write. However, the main flaw in the book is a failure to communicate everything going on while delivering much of an emotional connection to these characters. Pearl in particular is likable, but the constant reinforcement in the book that she's probably not even a person or fully sentient all makes it hard to appreciate her. Dr. Sorle is being possessed by himself (there's an explanation for this weirdness), and it can be difficult working out who is driving at any one point. The third narrator, Alison, a 60-year old Edinburgh veterinarian, is actually quite a relatable character, but I found her blithe acceptance of the craziness going on around her a little hard to swallow.
If you like puzzles and out-there SF, this book may well be to your taste. I like both those things, but I felt the book a little bit too flawed for my taste.
November 5, 2018
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/11/05/...
Occupy Me was probably one of the chanciest books I have ever attempted to read, knowing full well from the blurb and countless reviews how strange and bizarre it would be. I’ve made it no secret that I don’t always do well with “weird” books. But still, I decided to give it a try because I was in the mood for something a little outside of the box, and I was also curious to see what the science fiction literary awards circuit had been raving about.
And wow, what a trip this was. I’m not even sure how to describe the story, so I’m going to let the publisher description do most of the talking: “A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world.” Pearl is the woman with wings in question, an “angel” who works for a nebulous organization known as the Resistance. Posing undercover as a flight attendant, improving the world a little bit at a time with small incremental acts of kindness, she secretly hides an uncanny past and is determined to track down a killer responsible for pulling her out of her dimension and trapping her here on this earthly realm.
However, the killer is actually her prey wearing another man’s body. Dr. Sorle is not Dr. Sorle, for he has someone else living inside him. He is also in possession of an ordinary looking briefcase that is in fact an interdimensional gateway defying all the rules of time and space—an item which Pearl is in desperate need to get a hold of, for only then will she be able to unlock the mystery of herself and find her way home. But the briefcase isn’t going to yield its secrets freely, nor is Sorle willing to relinquish it that easily. Released from the Resistance, Pearl is forced to embark on her quest alone, chasing down this unpredictable madman and his freaky briefcase that can open into any number of dimensions, allowing all kinds of creatures to escape.
Obviously, if you’re looking for a coherent and straightforward story, you’re not really going to get that here. Occupy Me is mind-bendingly weird, there’s no doubt about that. Thing is, it’s not exactly weird in the “I’ve eaten a bunch of mushrooms and I’m all tripped out” kind of sense. I would say it’s more weird in the way that a lot of people find anime “weird”. The book is certainly contained in its own eccentric, quirky little world, and like all unfamiliar and odd things, it takes getting used to. The plot itself is actually quite easy to follow, and I enjoyed it immensely once I fell into the rhythm of not expecting anything to conform to reality. For me, I think that happened around the time a fucking pterosaur flew out of the briefcase.
Still, I’m not going to lie and say it was smooth sailing from there. I struggled plenty to wrap my head around a lot of the ideas and crazy concepts to spring forth from the hyper-imaginative mind of Tricia Sullivan, but I will say, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. While everything about the book was unusual, I also thought it was highly entertaining and even humorous in many places. Pearl is a hoot to follow with her unique personality and background, not to mention her forthright way with words. Never knowing what to expect around the next corner meant at no time did I find myself caught in a dull moment, and I always felt on guard trying to prepare myself for whatever strange surprise might pop up next.
Needless to say, it’s very difficult to recommend books like Occupy Me. Because they are so different and unusual, they may only appeal to a thin slice of the speculative fiction audience. All the same though, I feel that they also demand a certain level of admiration, if nothing else for being so boldly imaginative and fearless in defying genre expectations and convention. This novel is most certainly not for everyone, but if you’re looking to shake up your reading with something outside your comfort zone—something that might twist your mind and kick your imagination into high gear—then it might be worth a look.
Occupy Me was probably one of the chanciest books I have ever attempted to read, knowing full well from the blurb and countless reviews how strange and bizarre it would be. I’ve made it no secret that I don’t always do well with “weird” books. But still, I decided to give it a try because I was in the mood for something a little outside of the box, and I was also curious to see what the science fiction literary awards circuit had been raving about.
And wow, what a trip this was. I’m not even sure how to describe the story, so I’m going to let the publisher description do most of the talking: “A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world.” Pearl is the woman with wings in question, an “angel” who works for a nebulous organization known as the Resistance. Posing undercover as a flight attendant, improving the world a little bit at a time with small incremental acts of kindness, she secretly hides an uncanny past and is determined to track down a killer responsible for pulling her out of her dimension and trapping her here on this earthly realm.
However, the killer is actually her prey wearing another man’s body. Dr. Sorle is not Dr. Sorle, for he has someone else living inside him. He is also in possession of an ordinary looking briefcase that is in fact an interdimensional gateway defying all the rules of time and space—an item which Pearl is in desperate need to get a hold of, for only then will she be able to unlock the mystery of herself and find her way home. But the briefcase isn’t going to yield its secrets freely, nor is Sorle willing to relinquish it that easily. Released from the Resistance, Pearl is forced to embark on her quest alone, chasing down this unpredictable madman and his freaky briefcase that can open into any number of dimensions, allowing all kinds of creatures to escape.
Obviously, if you’re looking for a coherent and straightforward story, you’re not really going to get that here. Occupy Me is mind-bendingly weird, there’s no doubt about that. Thing is, it’s not exactly weird in the “I’ve eaten a bunch of mushrooms and I’m all tripped out” kind of sense. I would say it’s more weird in the way that a lot of people find anime “weird”. The book is certainly contained in its own eccentric, quirky little world, and like all unfamiliar and odd things, it takes getting used to. The plot itself is actually quite easy to follow, and I enjoyed it immensely once I fell into the rhythm of not expecting anything to conform to reality. For me, I think that happened around the time a fucking pterosaur flew out of the briefcase.
Still, I’m not going to lie and say it was smooth sailing from there. I struggled plenty to wrap my head around a lot of the ideas and crazy concepts to spring forth from the hyper-imaginative mind of Tricia Sullivan, but I will say, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. While everything about the book was unusual, I also thought it was highly entertaining and even humorous in many places. Pearl is a hoot to follow with her unique personality and background, not to mention her forthright way with words. Never knowing what to expect around the next corner meant at no time did I find myself caught in a dull moment, and I always felt on guard trying to prepare myself for whatever strange surprise might pop up next.
Needless to say, it’s very difficult to recommend books like Occupy Me. Because they are so different and unusual, they may only appeal to a thin slice of the speculative fiction audience. All the same though, I feel that they also demand a certain level of admiration, if nothing else for being so boldly imaginative and fearless in defying genre expectations and convention. This novel is most certainly not for everyone, but if you’re looking to shake up your reading with something outside your comfort zone—something that might twist your mind and kick your imagination into high gear—then it might be worth a look.
February 13, 2016
Pearl is an angel, a being with wings that only exist in another dimension. She works for the Resistance–a mysterious organisation that promotes the spread of kindness among humans. As she returns from one of her missions, she recognises a passenger: he’s the man who stranded her here, away from her home. Dr. Sorle, meanwhile, has another problem: he has a passenger, one who regularly hijacks his body, and now, under the influence of that invisible rider, he’s stolen a briefcase that may or may not contain universes–and the soul of a dead man…
Occupy Me is a densely packed SF novel, brimming with ideas about past, future, the meaning of the self, and a cornucopia of universe nested like Russian dolls. That it manages to make all of this work while remaining rooted in its (mainly) 21st-Century setting is testament to Sullivan’s powerful writing. It’s not a book you pick for light reading, but if you’re ready to invest in something that will blow your mind and challenge your perceptions of the real, this is exactly the thing.
Occupy Me is a densely packed SF novel, brimming with ideas about past, future, the meaning of the self, and a cornucopia of universe nested like Russian dolls. That it manages to make all of this work while remaining rooted in its (mainly) 21st-Century setting is testament to Sullivan’s powerful writing. It’s not a book you pick for light reading, but if you’re ready to invest in something that will blow your mind and challenge your perceptions of the real, this is exactly the thing.
December 7, 2017
This book has three narrators: one each in first, second, and third person. They are Pearl, Dr Sorle, and Alison the veterinarian respectively. Second person is not a favorite of mine but it ends up getting explained later on and the explanation makes this really work.
Pearl is an angel, complete with wings, who gets pulled over from her home world, a place she calls HD - the Higher Dimensions. She has no memory of this world and spends the book trying to get her "launcher" back so that she can go back home. Dr Sorle is the man who stole the launcher, but things are a tad bit complicated because there are two Dr Sorles, and they both use the same body.
Pearl gets a job as an angel for an airline and spends her time soothing and assisting people, right up until she discovers Dr Sorle on her flight, and he's got her launcher. Chaos ensues. There's a moment that reminds me of The Satanic Verses and then Sorle and Pearl are separated. Pearl spends her time trying to track Sorle down so she can get her launcher back and go home. Sorle spends him time switching back and forth between the two Sorles and getting in trouble. One Sorle seems to be determined to start trouble and the other just wants to calm things down and go home. I had no idea which was which at times, so this part did become confusing.
This book has these odd occasional moments of levity that I found rather awkward. Overall it's imaginative and unique, and I really enjoyed it. It's actually one that I like even more the more I think about it.
Pearl is an angel, complete with wings, who gets pulled over from her home world, a place she calls HD - the Higher Dimensions. She has no memory of this world and spends the book trying to get her "launcher" back so that she can go back home. Dr Sorle is the man who stole the launcher, but things are a tad bit complicated because there are two Dr Sorles, and they both use the same body.
Pearl gets a job as an angel for an airline and spends her time soothing and assisting people, right up until she discovers Dr Sorle on her flight, and he's got her launcher. Chaos ensues. There's a moment that reminds me of The Satanic Verses and then Sorle and Pearl are separated. Pearl spends her time trying to track Sorle down so she can get her launcher back and go home. Sorle spends him time switching back and forth between the two Sorles and getting in trouble. One Sorle seems to be determined to start trouble and the other just wants to calm things down and go home. I had no idea which was which at times, so this part did become confusing.
This book has these odd occasional moments of levity that I found rather awkward. Overall it's imaginative and unique, and I really enjoyed it. It's actually one that I like even more the more I think about it.
January 29, 2016
A brilliantly mind-warping, fast-paced science fiction thriller starring, among others, a powerful angel, a fifty-ish Scottish veterinarian who also does cross-stitch, a massive carnivorous quetzlcoatlus, a briefcase containing other dimensions, and a doctor whose timeline has been split by blood and oil. It's all so gripping and so much FUN - and so funny, too, at times! - that I couldn't stop reading. It's not my usual kind of read, but I loved it.
January 8, 2016
This was a complex, challenging sci-fi read with some interesting ideas and I really quite liked the characters. The lead Pearl is female, but is muscular and has wings when she defaults to her ‘angelic’ form. Other times she can constrict herself and hide the wings from view, appearing human in appearance. The book opens with her being unsure of who she really is, where she came from or what her purpose in life is. She knows however she has been robbed of a component of herself and needs it back. The component is in the form of a briefcase and she will hunt down the man who stole it from her.
The story was initially tricky to get to grips with, but once I got into it and began to grasp some of the concepts, it became clearer and more enjoyable. Even so I found the concepts a bit too grand and the writing a little over elaborate. I doubt I'll be the last person reading this book to feel it was all a bit much. An interesting book, likeable characters (especially Pearl) and good ideas, but I felt the author through her writing was constantly challenging me as to who was the cleverest and she won. In the final part I kept going back and re-reading little sections to ensure I got what the author was meaning. I think I got the gist of most of the story and quite liked it.
By the final part of the book Pearl has some realisation of where she is from, what she is and the possibilities. Again it’s all great leaps of the imagination and high end fantasy sci-fi which was intriguing but challenging for me to fully comprehend. I’m happy to have finished this but it’s probably more for your Sci-fi aficionados rather than your average fiction reader. (ARC Received)
January 22, 2016
If I had to categorise Occupy Me it would be as speculative fiction about a secret and unseen war. Or about secret and unseen dimensions; also, time-travel and non-linear causality. Or perhaps as an exploration of selflessness through conflict. Or maybe a mystery thriller where the mystery stretches human comprehension.
Actually, I’d rather not try and categorise this book. I’d rather you went out and got a copy, and read it for yourself.
The cast is as diverse as you can get: a being who may be an angel (depending on one’s definition, not that she’s sure herself); a man whose life has been about trying to hold a moral centre against compromise (and increasingly against being possessed by someone or something else) and a homely, approachable Scottish vet whose hobbies include cross-stitch and single malt. And a pterosaur: don’t forget the pterosaur. One of the many achievements of this crazy and compelling narrative is the fact that each person's story is told in a different point of view: third, first and – most daringly – second.
The story starts with a dying industrialist who will do anything to live forever, but the deal he's made isn’t what he thinks. The ride then takes in intrigue, love, conspiracies and higher dimensional physics, amongst other things. The writing is effortlessly readable, perfectly paced and darkly comic. I’m still not sure what the book was about; not that it matters.
Occupy Me is a book whose originality may tell against it, and that would be a great shame. Just go and read it.
Actually, I’d rather not try and categorise this book. I’d rather you went out and got a copy, and read it for yourself.
The cast is as diverse as you can get: a being who may be an angel (depending on one’s definition, not that she’s sure herself); a man whose life has been about trying to hold a moral centre against compromise (and increasingly against being possessed by someone or something else) and a homely, approachable Scottish vet whose hobbies include cross-stitch and single malt. And a pterosaur: don’t forget the pterosaur. One of the many achievements of this crazy and compelling narrative is the fact that each person's story is told in a different point of view: third, first and – most daringly – second.
The story starts with a dying industrialist who will do anything to live forever, but the deal he's made isn’t what he thinks. The ride then takes in intrigue, love, conspiracies and higher dimensional physics, amongst other things. The writing is effortlessly readable, perfectly paced and darkly comic. I’m still not sure what the book was about; not that it matters.
Occupy Me is a book whose originality may tell against it, and that would be a great shame. Just go and read it.
April 12, 2020
DNF @30%
This is SO BORING. There is no reprieve in sight. The audiobook narration doesn't help, either.
This is SO BORING. There is no reprieve in sight. The audiobook narration doesn't help, either.
September 16, 2017
DNF at 50%.
I just stopped halfway through the book after giving it my full attention for an hour at the library, and asked myself, do I care what's going to happen next? How did I even start reading this? And decided that it was too.... I don't know, strange. There's a special angel (like, not a regular angel) called Pearl (there didn't seem to be any reason why this name was chosen, frankly I find it sickly sweet), a briefcase with a blackhole in it, strange men and demons... it just feels like a Men in Black movie.
I don't really like Men in Black.
I just stopped halfway through the book after giving it my full attention for an hour at the library, and asked myself, do I care what's going to happen next? How did I even start reading this? And decided that it was too.... I don't know, strange. There's a special angel (like, not a regular angel) called Pearl (there didn't seem to be any reason why this name was chosen, frankly I find it sickly sweet), a briefcase with a blackhole in it, strange men and demons... it just feels like a Men in Black movie.
I don't really like Men in Black.
April 2, 2016
Reviewed on my blog - Books by Proxy
2.5 Stars
This book was received from Netgalley in return for an honest review
As soon as I finished Occupy Me, the latest novel from sci-fi author Tricia Sullivan, I knew that I would have a hard time writing a review for it. At its best, Occupy Me is a beautiful, twisted and chaotic novel which sings with wonderful prose and an obvious depth of skill and imagination. At its worse, however, it is confusing, utterly strange and left me at times thinking ‘what was the point?’
Written in a distinctive voice, with a healthy dose of imagination, Sullivan’s talents as a writer are undeniable. However, this is a book which I can only imagine will be loved or loathed in equal measure by those who embark on unravelling those mysteries which are held between its pages. I’m afraid that after a promising start, by it’s conclusion, my feelings fell more in line with the latter.
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Sullivan paints a strange picture of a world where angels nudge humanity in a favourable direction and which is coloured by both the innocence and the disenchantment of the protagonists. These protagonists – one angel: Pearl; and one doctor: Kisi Sorle – spin the narrative into something akin to a chase across the globe, where aims are not always clear and the hunter and the hunted are often interchangeable. This is a novel where, should it be undertaken, the utmost attention should be paid to the very least of strings lest the reader get mired in the cacophony of madcap themes and schemes which undoubtedly unfold the moment one’s attention drops.
Occupy Me, however, benefits from an assortment of strange, repulsive and somewhat amusing characters who, whilst providing a diverse cast, failed to make me truly care for any by its conclusion. Unfortunately, with little connection to the majority of the cast, it became increasingly difficult to care about their place in the narrative even when I understood what was going on at all. But whilst these may not have been characters I ‘liked’, they were all rather interesting, if not entirely bizarre, and often became the driving force behind the plot, heaping moments of excitement and utter confusion on the reader in equal measure.
And not least Pearl. An angel whose memories of her past are lost and whose present and future are uncertain, Pearl is an oddity in this world and beyond. Her interactions are strange and amusing, her view of the world is both innocent and all too knowing, and her life is entwined with mystery and a sense of the unknown. Her attachment to ‘the briefcase’ and her failed attempts at its retrieval are, when not entirely confusing, some of the most nonsensical, absurd and enjoyable moments in the novel, and her almost alien composition keep the level of intrigue and mystery at a peak throughout.
Dr. Kisi Sorle on the other hand is a good man who, in a strange case of possession and an unusual attachment to a certain briefcase, finds himself complicit in murder, crime and other nefarious acts. In his – or rather the other his’ – attempt at causing instrumental global change, the world as we know it is broken apart in a torrent of chaos, flashes of bright light and the apparition of prehistoric monsters at inconvenient moments. The strange which surrounds Dr. Sorle is entirely more my cup of tea and his chapters, whilst equal in absurdity, were entirely more comprehensible and provided welcome intervals throughout the novel.
However, it would be an unfair review to say there were no parts of this novel which I enjoyed from start to finish, including an interesting play in perspective writing which made for one of the highlights of the novel. These sections, written in second person perspective (an idea which would usually give me nightmares), were some of the most enjoyable chapters and their increase in frequency would have been of benefit throughout. Similarly, Sullivan’s prose is relatively distinctive and is one of the few novels I’ve felt compelled to read in an American voice. Her passages are often marked by interesting, amusing description and surprising observations, and Sullivan’s obvious love for the strange is something which I would be eager to read in her future work.
Despite these aspects of the narrative which I enjoyed all the way through, a lack of clarity and a firm sense of confusion seemed to grip me by its end. The strange questions raised throughout the novel failed to yield the answers I was so desperate to find out; the science came with little explanation and even less sense; and the characters shifted from being interesting if a little strange to being almost unbearably confusing. This novel, which began with an intriguing and incredibly readable opening chapter, started to weigh heavily over its course and became something of a chore to read by its conclusion. Occupy me is, altogether, a book which has left me in more than one state of confusion.
-
Whilst Occupy Me may not have been the read I had hoped it would be, and whilst it may not have been the best introduction to Tricia Sullivan, there were still positives and enjoyable moments to pull from its pages. I may have felt a little too much relief as I drew to its conclusion but, you never know, it may just take you by surprise. Be open to the strange and the strange may just open up to you… just take care that the strange in question isn’t a briefcase.
2.5 Stars
This book was received from Netgalley in return for an honest review
As soon as I finished Occupy Me, the latest novel from sci-fi author Tricia Sullivan, I knew that I would have a hard time writing a review for it. At its best, Occupy Me is a beautiful, twisted and chaotic novel which sings with wonderful prose and an obvious depth of skill and imagination. At its worse, however, it is confusing, utterly strange and left me at times thinking ‘what was the point?’
Written in a distinctive voice, with a healthy dose of imagination, Sullivan’s talents as a writer are undeniable. However, this is a book which I can only imagine will be loved or loathed in equal measure by those who embark on unravelling those mysteries which are held between its pages. I’m afraid that after a promising start, by it’s conclusion, my feelings fell more in line with the latter.
-
Sullivan paints a strange picture of a world where angels nudge humanity in a favourable direction and which is coloured by both the innocence and the disenchantment of the protagonists. These protagonists – one angel: Pearl; and one doctor: Kisi Sorle – spin the narrative into something akin to a chase across the globe, where aims are not always clear and the hunter and the hunted are often interchangeable. This is a novel where, should it be undertaken, the utmost attention should be paid to the very least of strings lest the reader get mired in the cacophony of madcap themes and schemes which undoubtedly unfold the moment one’s attention drops.
Occupy Me, however, benefits from an assortment of strange, repulsive and somewhat amusing characters who, whilst providing a diverse cast, failed to make me truly care for any by its conclusion. Unfortunately, with little connection to the majority of the cast, it became increasingly difficult to care about their place in the narrative even when I understood what was going on at all. But whilst these may not have been characters I ‘liked’, they were all rather interesting, if not entirely bizarre, and often became the driving force behind the plot, heaping moments of excitement and utter confusion on the reader in equal measure.
And not least Pearl. An angel whose memories of her past are lost and whose present and future are uncertain, Pearl is an oddity in this world and beyond. Her interactions are strange and amusing, her view of the world is both innocent and all too knowing, and her life is entwined with mystery and a sense of the unknown. Her attachment to ‘the briefcase’ and her failed attempts at its retrieval are, when not entirely confusing, some of the most nonsensical, absurd and enjoyable moments in the novel, and her almost alien composition keep the level of intrigue and mystery at a peak throughout.
Dr. Kisi Sorle on the other hand is a good man who, in a strange case of possession and an unusual attachment to a certain briefcase, finds himself complicit in murder, crime and other nefarious acts. In his – or rather the other his’ – attempt at causing instrumental global change, the world as we know it is broken apart in a torrent of chaos, flashes of bright light and the apparition of prehistoric monsters at inconvenient moments. The strange which surrounds Dr. Sorle is entirely more my cup of tea and his chapters, whilst equal in absurdity, were entirely more comprehensible and provided welcome intervals throughout the novel.
However, it would be an unfair review to say there were no parts of this novel which I enjoyed from start to finish, including an interesting play in perspective writing which made for one of the highlights of the novel. These sections, written in second person perspective (an idea which would usually give me nightmares), were some of the most enjoyable chapters and their increase in frequency would have been of benefit throughout. Similarly, Sullivan’s prose is relatively distinctive and is one of the few novels I’ve felt compelled to read in an American voice. Her passages are often marked by interesting, amusing description and surprising observations, and Sullivan’s obvious love for the strange is something which I would be eager to read in her future work.
Despite these aspects of the narrative which I enjoyed all the way through, a lack of clarity and a firm sense of confusion seemed to grip me by its end. The strange questions raised throughout the novel failed to yield the answers I was so desperate to find out; the science came with little explanation and even less sense; and the characters shifted from being interesting if a little strange to being almost unbearably confusing. This novel, which began with an intriguing and incredibly readable opening chapter, started to weigh heavily over its course and became something of a chore to read by its conclusion. Occupy me is, altogether, a book which has left me in more than one state of confusion.
-
Whilst Occupy Me may not have been the read I had hoped it would be, and whilst it may not have been the best introduction to Tricia Sullivan, there were still positives and enjoyable moments to pull from its pages. I may have felt a little too much relief as I drew to its conclusion but, you never know, it may just take you by surprise. Be open to the strange and the strange may just open up to you… just take care that the strange in question isn’t a briefcase.
May 29, 2017
Puh, das war schwere Kost für mich. Von Anfang an habe ich das Gefühl, etwas total cleveres zu lesen, dessen Sinn sich mir aber einfach nicht erschliessen will. Und mit fortschreitender Lektüre steigt in mir die Erkenntnis hoch, dass mich die Auflösung dieses verschwurbelten Konstrukts eigentlich auch gar nicht interessiert. Sechzig Seiten vor Schluss hat's mir dann endgültig gereicht.
Ich bin definitiv zu einfach gestrickt für dieses Werk, muss jetzt dringend einen "Perry Rhodan" zur mentalen Entschlackung lesen.
Ich bin definitiv zu einfach gestrickt für dieses Werk, muss jetzt dringend einen "Perry Rhodan" zur mentalen Entschlackung lesen.
July 26, 2017
Nuts. Absolutely, nuts. The most surreal sci-fi book I've ever read. So obscure, I can't even attempt to describe it. Reading this was like trying to watch 'The East' and several episodes of 'Sense8' at once. Whilst on acid. I enjoyed it, but I did feel a bit sick afterwards. Make of that what you will!
February 11, 2016
I always enjoy that moment of trepidation that arrives whenever I’m reading an author’s work for the very first time. I’ve not read any of Tricia Sullivan’s other novels, so this was new territory for me.
Pearl, an angel who lives amongst us, is an intriguing creation. Innocent in many respects, but world weary in many others, her view of humanity shifts on a minute by minute basis. There is an unaffected air of otherworldliness that makes Pearl consistently fascinating character. She is captivated by the universe and all of its wonders. Every detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant, attracts her attention. Her inquisitiveness and determination feel almost palpable.
There are also a handful of chapters written from the perspective of the doctor whose body is being randomly possessed by a killer. Sullivan does a fantastic job of capturing the sense of growing panic and confusion this individual experiences. I loved how the writing perfectly describes his feelings of impending dread.
At the most basic level, I suppose Occupy Me could simply be viewed as a huge globe-trotting chase; certainly the action spans multiple continents. You would be wrong to dismiss it as just that however. In fact, if it is a simple, straightforward read you’re looking for, I would probably give this book a miss. This novel is a wonderfully mind-bending work. There is a satisfyingly complex narrative that explores all manner of different theories and ideas. As Pearl learns more and more about the nature of existence and all that it entails, this gives Tricia Sullivan the opportunity to pick apart a plethora of subjects. Everything from global politics and the definition of free will, to multiple realities and causality are discussed. If you are looking for genuinely thought provoking fiction, then you need look no further.
All this going on and I haven’t even mentioned the most important briefcase that has ever ever existed. No spoilers on that one, I’ll let you try and unravel that particular conundrum yourself.
Reading is such a subjective, personal thing that I suspect when presented with Occupy Me, different readers will pick up on entirely different themes. They are going to come to differing conclusions about what underlying messages may be held within. There is a line in the novel that sums up this literary adventure perfectly
This is so not what I imagined it would be
I rather like the idea of reading without a safety net, and Occupy Me feels exactly like that. I realised on more than one occasion I had no inkling where the plot was going to head next. That little frisson of excitement while devouring fiction is always a joy.
This is the sort of book that I think I need to sit down and talk to a group of people about after they’ve finished reading it. I’m burning with curiosity to see what other readers will think. If nothing else, I’m sure it will prompt debate.
In hindsight I’m not even sure I have the adequate vocabulary to do a review of this book justice. There is so many different ideas and concepts that I could waffle on about indefinitely. This is truly subtle, masterful writing that has so much to offer. All I can do is recommend that you give Occupy Me a try and see what you think. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I’m a sucker for fiction that forces a reader to think.
Pearl, an angel who lives amongst us, is an intriguing creation. Innocent in many respects, but world weary in many others, her view of humanity shifts on a minute by minute basis. There is an unaffected air of otherworldliness that makes Pearl consistently fascinating character. She is captivated by the universe and all of its wonders. Every detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant, attracts her attention. Her inquisitiveness and determination feel almost palpable.
There are also a handful of chapters written from the perspective of the doctor whose body is being randomly possessed by a killer. Sullivan does a fantastic job of capturing the sense of growing panic and confusion this individual experiences. I loved how the writing perfectly describes his feelings of impending dread.
At the most basic level, I suppose Occupy Me could simply be viewed as a huge globe-trotting chase; certainly the action spans multiple continents. You would be wrong to dismiss it as just that however. In fact, if it is a simple, straightforward read you’re looking for, I would probably give this book a miss. This novel is a wonderfully mind-bending work. There is a satisfyingly complex narrative that explores all manner of different theories and ideas. As Pearl learns more and more about the nature of existence and all that it entails, this gives Tricia Sullivan the opportunity to pick apart a plethora of subjects. Everything from global politics and the definition of free will, to multiple realities and causality are discussed. If you are looking for genuinely thought provoking fiction, then you need look no further.
All this going on and I haven’t even mentioned the most important briefcase that has ever ever existed. No spoilers on that one, I’ll let you try and unravel that particular conundrum yourself.
Reading is such a subjective, personal thing that I suspect when presented with Occupy Me, different readers will pick up on entirely different themes. They are going to come to differing conclusions about what underlying messages may be held within. There is a line in the novel that sums up this literary adventure perfectly
This is so not what I imagined it would be
I rather like the idea of reading without a safety net, and Occupy Me feels exactly like that. I realised on more than one occasion I had no inkling where the plot was going to head next. That little frisson of excitement while devouring fiction is always a joy.
This is the sort of book that I think I need to sit down and talk to a group of people about after they’ve finished reading it. I’m burning with curiosity to see what other readers will think. If nothing else, I’m sure it will prompt debate.
In hindsight I’m not even sure I have the adequate vocabulary to do a review of this book justice. There is so many different ideas and concepts that I could waffle on about indefinitely. This is truly subtle, masterful writing that has so much to offer. All I can do is recommend that you give Occupy Me a try and see what you think. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I’m a sucker for fiction that forces a reader to think.
February 9, 2016
A brilliant read! Full review to come.
February 17, 2019
The characters were interesting. The plot was okay for three quarters and then the last quarters was terrible
July 5, 2022
Wow. There's thinking outside the box and there's 'What's a box and why would I need one?' Tricia Sullivan's imagination is delightfully unbridled. If you can jump in and not worry about falling and just trust that everything will work out, you're in for a great time with 'Occupy Me'
You know those science fiction books that are about inter-planetary wars with human colonies spread out through space, travelling through the endless void in thin vulnerable metal boxes that they still insist on using to try to kill one another? Well, this isn't one of those books. 'Occupy Me' makes those books seem like they're a lazy translation of late seventeenth century pirates dressed in space suits and armed with mythical 'energy weapons', taking no account of how big the universe is or how it really works.
'Occupy Me' takes a different, more numbers-based view of life, the universe and the nature of causality. No, it's not one of those 'Look! Physics can be fun' nerdy books or one of those 'Let's science the shit out of this' uber-competent male scientist books. 'Occupy Me' does something unique, in my experience. It gets across the vastness of space and time, our limited, overly-linear view of causality and our inability truly to think in geological timeframes while building a compelling action-packed thriller filled with relatable people.
What made the book work for me was that although the core of the plot involved concepts that stretched my imagination - chains of events that are aeons long, a view of reality as essentially malleable if you can only read the code it's written in, and the difficulty of sustaining a sense of purpose and identity in the face of entropy - it was made accessible and engaging by the nature of Pearl, the main protagonist in the story.
Pearl doesn't know who she is, what she is or why she's here. She does know that she has an instinct-deep need to fix broken things, including people, and that part of her, an important part, is not just missing but has been stolen from her. Pearl is a delight. Her curiosity-driven journey from ignorance to mind-blowing comprehension as she tries to get her component back and go home powers the book. Pearl works her way from squatting in a junkyard where she throws cars around to keep in shape, to working as an agent of the Resistance (although she's not clear what they are resisting) to falling in love with her Resistance handler, destroying a passenger jet in mid-flight while working as a flight attendant, to becoming a wanted terrorist engaged in a covert struggle with a ruthless billionaire and the equally ruthless oil company that he used to work for and which is now trying to track him down. Did I mention that she also has wings (although they're not always physically present), an affinity with Doberman guard dogs that makes them behave like puppies and the ability to alter people's thoughts and moods?
Yeah, well, this isn't an easy book to summarise. And I haven't even talked about the guy who stole the component that Pearl is searching for or why he stole it or how there seems to be more than one of him using the same body or that the component is in a briefcase that isn't a briefcase but some kind of portal which, amongst other things, occasionally releases a not very happy dinosaur upon his enemies.
I had a wonderful time with this book. I liked Pearl. The ideas, especially the scale of the ideas, were intoxicating. The story was exciting.
But - like anything really original - to get the most out of it, you have to put your assumptions and preconceptions to one side and give yourself up to the experience.
I think that's easier to do if you listen to the audiobook version of 'Occupy Me'. It has two narrators, one for Pearl and one for the man who stole from her. Penelope Rawlins gives an outstanding performance as Pearl who, for reasons I never really understood, has a strong Long Island accent. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart counterbalances Pearl's extravagance with a more sober performance for his character
You know those science fiction books that are about inter-planetary wars with human colonies spread out through space, travelling through the endless void in thin vulnerable metal boxes that they still insist on using to try to kill one another? Well, this isn't one of those books. 'Occupy Me' makes those books seem like they're a lazy translation of late seventeenth century pirates dressed in space suits and armed with mythical 'energy weapons', taking no account of how big the universe is or how it really works.
'Occupy Me' takes a different, more numbers-based view of life, the universe and the nature of causality. No, it's not one of those 'Look! Physics can be fun' nerdy books or one of those 'Let's science the shit out of this' uber-competent male scientist books. 'Occupy Me' does something unique, in my experience. It gets across the vastness of space and time, our limited, overly-linear view of causality and our inability truly to think in geological timeframes while building a compelling action-packed thriller filled with relatable people.
What made the book work for me was that although the core of the plot involved concepts that stretched my imagination - chains of events that are aeons long, a view of reality as essentially malleable if you can only read the code it's written in, and the difficulty of sustaining a sense of purpose and identity in the face of entropy - it was made accessible and engaging by the nature of Pearl, the main protagonist in the story.
Pearl doesn't know who she is, what she is or why she's here. She does know that she has an instinct-deep need to fix broken things, including people, and that part of her, an important part, is not just missing but has been stolen from her. Pearl is a delight. Her curiosity-driven journey from ignorance to mind-blowing comprehension as she tries to get her component back and go home powers the book. Pearl works her way from squatting in a junkyard where she throws cars around to keep in shape, to working as an agent of the Resistance (although she's not clear what they are resisting) to falling in love with her Resistance handler, destroying a passenger jet in mid-flight while working as a flight attendant, to becoming a wanted terrorist engaged in a covert struggle with a ruthless billionaire and the equally ruthless oil company that he used to work for and which is now trying to track him down. Did I mention that she also has wings (although they're not always physically present), an affinity with Doberman guard dogs that makes them behave like puppies and the ability to alter people's thoughts and moods?
Yeah, well, this isn't an easy book to summarise. And I haven't even talked about the guy who stole the component that Pearl is searching for or why he stole it or how there seems to be more than one of him using the same body or that the component is in a briefcase that isn't a briefcase but some kind of portal which, amongst other things, occasionally releases a not very happy dinosaur upon his enemies.
I had a wonderful time with this book. I liked Pearl. The ideas, especially the scale of the ideas, were intoxicating. The story was exciting.
But - like anything really original - to get the most out of it, you have to put your assumptions and preconceptions to one side and give yourself up to the experience.
I think that's easier to do if you listen to the audiobook version of 'Occupy Me'. It has two narrators, one for Pearl and one for the man who stole from her. Penelope Rawlins gives an outstanding performance as Pearl who, for reasons I never really understood, has a strong Long Island accent. Dugald Bruce-Lockhart counterbalances Pearl's extravagance with a more sober performance for his character
June 26, 2022
Life-long fascination with angels, fallen or otherwise, meant I thought this would be a winner. Really good concepts, some wonderful characters (Pearl herself was writ large - emotionally and physically), great use of language and imagery and a narrative hook that definitely caught me… I kept reading in the hope that it would pull together into some kind of coherence.
It didn’t.
PoV jumps from character to character with no establishing shots and no way to identify who’s speaking at any one time, not helped by also jumping from first person to second to third for no reason I could easily define. The narrative threads don’t weave together, they just get left dangling and there was no real way to pull any of them into a plot or a picture. WAY too abstract for me - finishing this was a real struggle.
It didn’t.
PoV jumps from character to character with no establishing shots and no way to identify who’s speaking at any one time, not helped by also jumping from first person to second to third for no reason I could easily define. The narrative threads don’t weave together, they just get left dangling and there was no real way to pull any of them into a plot or a picture. WAY too abstract for me - finishing this was a real struggle.
November 4, 2021
Not for the faint hearted. Does it make sense? For the most part, if you stick with it. Is it entertaining? You betcha. As long as you find batshit crazy entertaining. But it’s certainly original. In the hands of a lesser writer this could have been a mess, but it’s actually quite remarkable. Lots of fun.
October 31, 2020
3,0 stars. Interesting. A bit weird at times, but I liked the writing style and especially the main characters. I feel we don’t get to read from perspectives like these often. For anyone interested in sci-fi, with a bit of humor and higher dimensions added to the mix, I would say pick it up!
February 7, 2022
A higher dimensional entity/hyperspatial being (nominally an 'angel' but really only so-called because she has wings [though the wings mostly exist in HD space]) who might be considered an AI (or an EI?)...but biological...some sort of Frankensteined creature, at least, cobbled together by the 'birdmothers' from the scanned wave particles of other beings (I think - or maybe she is the scanner?)...who's chasing after/trying to help the man who stole her reality launcher and 'hears' (through quantum entanglement) the 'ghosts' of his ancestors in crude oil and has been 'hijacked' by an alternate version of himself and keeps regressing to his primeval form of a quetzalcoatlus all while simply trying to 'level up' humanity (evolutionarily speaking) to where humanity might be able to perceive alinear time & 'see' into the multiverse...
Narratively, Occupy Me is basically a William Gibson-esque hard-boiled cyberpunk thriller (though also an ontological mystery), but substantively it's mixed with higher mathematics (not to mention humour/absurdity) reminiscent of Rudy Rucker & the psychotropic surrealism of Jeff Noon (feathers!), which takes the book into weird new directions...the closest comparison might be Justina Robson's Living Next Door to the God of Love, which I also liked a lot, where physics verges on magic (or is?) and fantasy/the fantastical is as real (or realer?) than reality.
The above is more of a summary than a review and is very much a simplification of a complex & intricate novel (I had to look up a lot of the just casually, passingly mentioned mathematical theorems), but I did think Occupy Me was a lot of fun and I'm curious to read more of Sullivan's work.
Narratively, Occupy Me is basically a William Gibson-esque hard-boiled cyberpunk thriller (though also an ontological mystery), but substantively it's mixed with higher mathematics (not to mention humour/absurdity) reminiscent of Rudy Rucker & the psychotropic surrealism of Jeff Noon (feathers!), which takes the book into weird new directions...the closest comparison might be Justina Robson's Living Next Door to the God of Love, which I also liked a lot, where physics verges on magic (or is?) and fantasy/the fantastical is as real (or realer?) than reality.
The above is more of a summary than a review and is very much a simplification of a complex & intricate novel (I had to look up a lot of the just casually, passingly mentioned mathematical theorems), but I did think Occupy Me was a lot of fun and I'm curious to read more of Sullivan's work.
May 25, 2017
2017 ARTHUR C CLARKE AWARD SHORTLIST BOOK 3
An angel with wings in another dimension, working for 'The Resistance', an order who gently nudge humanity towards kindness, loses a briefcase which is a portal to another dimension and forgets who she is. The briefcase has been stolen by a man possessing the body of another man, the latter being forced to do things against his will. There's some gubbins about a race of birdpeople, dinosaurs popping up from other realms and all sorts of other batshit crazy stuff that I lost track of. Yep, this book is pretty out there.
I can't remember the last time I was so stultifyingly bored by a book as I was Occupy Me. For the first half there were some interesting ideas but neither the characters nor the plot drew me in at all. I just completely failed to tune into this novel in any way. I was also irritated by one of the character perspectives being written in the second person.
I stuck with it in the hope the second half would start to connect things together but it just became ridiculously obscure. If I'm honest I barely have any idea what the hell was going on for much of the final third. Whether that's just me being stupid or the writer not expressing herself enough I'll leave open to conjecture. But reading other reviews, it seems I'm not the only one left baffled and even many of the positive ones seem to confess bewilderment.
I hate to dish out 1 star reviews, this is clearly a work that the writer has put a lot into, it's wildly imaginative, some of the prose is good and the fact it's been nominated for the Clarke awards means a lot of people are finding something in it that I didn't. But I absolutely hated it, to the point I came close to abandoning it altogether (something I pretty much never do!) and haven't felt so relieved to reach the end of a book for a long time. Fortunately it's a fairly brief novel!
An angel with wings in another dimension, working for 'The Resistance', an order who gently nudge humanity towards kindness, loses a briefcase which is a portal to another dimension and forgets who she is. The briefcase has been stolen by a man possessing the body of another man, the latter being forced to do things against his will. There's some gubbins about a race of birdpeople, dinosaurs popping up from other realms and all sorts of other batshit crazy stuff that I lost track of. Yep, this book is pretty out there.
I can't remember the last time I was so stultifyingly bored by a book as I was Occupy Me. For the first half there were some interesting ideas but neither the characters nor the plot drew me in at all. I just completely failed to tune into this novel in any way. I was also irritated by one of the character perspectives being written in the second person.
I stuck with it in the hope the second half would start to connect things together but it just became ridiculously obscure. If I'm honest I barely have any idea what the hell was going on for much of the final third. Whether that's just me being stupid or the writer not expressing herself enough I'll leave open to conjecture. But reading other reviews, it seems I'm not the only one left baffled and even many of the positive ones seem to confess bewilderment.
I hate to dish out 1 star reviews, this is clearly a work that the writer has put a lot into, it's wildly imaginative, some of the prose is good and the fact it's been nominated for the Clarke awards means a lot of people are finding something in it that I didn't. But I absolutely hated it, to the point I came close to abandoning it altogether (something I pretty much never do!) and haven't felt so relieved to reach the end of a book for a long time. Fortunately it's a fairly brief novel!
January 30, 2016
This is an interesting book with some impressive qualities, but it seems reluctant to share them. I found it a hard book to warm to, it just feels cold and distant. The book flips between first, second, and third person perspectives which makes it hard to find the voice of the book and slows the pace considerably. As things progress it does become easier, but ultimately it took too long to draw me in.
There's some interesting ideas in the book though. Corporate corruption, causality, time and space, life beyond three dimensions (especially interesting alongside my recent reading of Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension), and entropy. These themes work together well and make for a good story, but one that lacks the energy I'd hope for. It exists early on, with drama in the skies and an air of mystery, but the slow pace that takes shape just withholds the impact that seems to bubbling away slightly out of reach - a little burst and glimmer before fading.
There's not much depth to many of the characters. We just don't explore much of them. Pearl's backstory is vague for good reason, that aspect works, but Kisi Sorle sounds as if he has a rich backstory yet we only glance over it. Most feels slightly rushed and slotted in. Alison brings some much needed warmth to the story though, she adds an extra dimension to the whole thing and really keeps it all together.
If you're happy with the obstacles this book throws at you I think it has enough to really work for you. If you want a light easy read then save your time and look elsewhere.
I received an ARC through First Reads.
There's some interesting ideas in the book though. Corporate corruption, causality, time and space, life beyond three dimensions (especially interesting alongside my recent reading of Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension), and entropy. These themes work together well and make for a good story, but one that lacks the energy I'd hope for. It exists early on, with drama in the skies and an air of mystery, but the slow pace that takes shape just withholds the impact that seems to bubbling away slightly out of reach - a little burst and glimmer before fading.
There's not much depth to many of the characters. We just don't explore much of them. Pearl's backstory is vague for good reason, that aspect works, but Kisi Sorle sounds as if he has a rich backstory yet we only glance over it. Most feels slightly rushed and slotted in. Alison brings some much needed warmth to the story though, she adds an extra dimension to the whole thing and really keeps it all together.
If you're happy with the obstacles this book throws at you I think it has enough to really work for you. If you want a light easy read then save your time and look elsewhere.
I received an ARC through First Reads.
January 25, 2020
This is terribly written.
Dialogue is clunky and stilted.
Bad sci-fi is so much worse than mediocre examples of other genres. Half arsed ideas everywhere, and a very loosely held together 'story'.
Grand suggestions at narrative that go absolutely nowhere.
Do not bother with this trash.
Dialogue is clunky and stilted.
Bad sci-fi is so much worse than mediocre examples of other genres. Half arsed ideas everywhere, and a very loosely held together 'story'.
Grand suggestions at narrative that go absolutely nowhere.
Do not bother with this trash.
January 29, 2016
I reviewed this book on my blog:
http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=1356
http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=1356
September 21, 2017
One of those books that I'm sure I'd think is brilliant if I only knew what it was going on about.
Read
January 3, 2021I don't even know what is happening to me anymore. In my heart is some perfect harmony, some sweetness where every interaction flows against the gradient, conning death, laughing at entropy, tricking decay out of its wages. It isn't an image, it's a feeling, a configuration of moments and so-called weak interactions, a fullness. Something wants to burst out of the ruination. Out of futility, out of crushed hope, out of that broken place where nothing can ever help. No superglue to repair this tear in the universe. Loss is just the way it is.
There's a reason I haven't offered a star rating for this novel: It's taken me literally years - two? three? four? It was published in 2016, 20 it can't be more than that - to finish it, so the most I can offer by way of a review is the vaguest of recollections of its parts.
I read and quite liked Sullivan's earlier novel, Maul, a decade or more ago, and I've had some contact with her via a social network (Livejournal, if you care), so I really wanted to like this book as well, but ...
... but it took me years to finish it.
As best I can recall, the quote with which I opened this "review", and which comes from very near to the end of the novel, is pretty representative of the entirety. A novel in which little, or nothing, is clear; a protagonist who spends the story chasing after understanding - and if she reaches it, I had long since lost enough of the details to share it with her.
Sullivan writes well, but this book didn't hook me; I finished it only because - damn it! - I wanted to like it and (maybe) because I had it, seemingly forever, as my "currently reading" book here on Goodreads.
So. I've read it, but I can't offer an honest critique; for that, I'd have to read it again, and I have no interest in doing so again. It might be your cup of tea, but it clearly wasn't mine.
January 28, 2018
I don't get it.
What the hell did I just read? I mean, I'm all for weird, I quite like weird. But this was not the weird for me. I could have dealt with that. It wouldn't have been so bad.... except.... for all those frigging perspective changes. First to second to third and back again, only ever a few pages at a time in one perspective. Nup. Couldn't stand it.
But that's ok. If you're up for experimental stuff, give it ago. But only if you can get your friends to read it also. It's a book best read to be discussed.
What the hell did I just read? I mean, I'm all for weird, I quite like weird. But this was not the weird for me. I could have dealt with that. It wouldn't have been so bad.... except.... for all those frigging perspective changes. First to second to third and back again, only ever a few pages at a time in one perspective. Nup. Couldn't stand it.
But that's ok. If you're up for experimental stuff, give it ago. But only if you can get your friends to read it also. It's a book best read to be discussed.
October 15, 2019
I love how weird Tricia Sullivan is, and I love how many chances her books take. Some of them work, and some of them don't, but the result is always far past what I could have imagined on my own.
Things that I didn't get: unfortunately, the climax of the book was very muddy and could have used some more editing. That kind of let down the emotional resolution of the story and was supes frustrating.
Things I loved: multiple POVs, multiple queer and POC characters, that bit where Alison is trying to kidnap a frozen prehistoric toad and I just about died laughing, the wibbly wobbly timeline, and also the whole thing with the pteranodon.
Things that I didn't get: unfortunately, the climax of the book was very muddy and could have used some more editing. That kind of let down the emotional resolution of the story and was supes frustrating.
Things I loved: multiple POVs, multiple queer and POC characters, that bit where Alison is trying to kidnap a frozen prehistoric toad and I just about died laughing, the wibbly wobbly timeline, and also the whole thing with the pteranodon.
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