Cormorant Run

by Lilith Saintcrow

Aliens meets Under the Dome in this new post-apocalyptic novel from New York Times bestseller Lilith Saintcrow.

It could have been aliens, it could have been a trans-dimensional rift, nobody knows for sure. What's known is that there was an Event, the Rifts opened up, and everyone caught inside died.

Since the Event certain people have gone into the drift... and come back, bearing priceless technology that's almost magical in its advancement. When Ashe -- the best Rifter of her generation -- dies, the authorities offer her student, Svinga, a choice: go in and bring out the thing that killed her, or rot in jail.

But Svin, of course, has other plans...

How far would you go and what would you risk to win the ultimate prize?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Horror, Fantasy

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2017

About the author

Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as a child, and fell in love with writing stories when she was ten years old. She and her library co-habitate in Vancouver, Washington.

Reviews

[SB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lilith Saintcrow’s explosive novel is a modern sci-fi and post-apocalyptic thriller about a young woman named Svinga who is a prisoner in the near future. After the death of a fellow Rifter, “Svin” is pressured into crossing through a Rift to find answers, or spend the rest of her life in prison. Svin reluctantly complies and journeys into a danger, unknown territory with a small group of other soldiers. What follows is a descent into chaos within an unfamiliar world where stepping forward seems to only put the group ten steps back as the path behind them literally changes as they go.

The strongest element of the novel is the way in which setting is incorporated in the novel with brilliant world-building. From the prison to outside facilities and into the Rift itself, there are some fantastic descriptions and great writing to truly encapsulate the growing confusion and terror at being thrown into a dangerous situation where there appears to be no way out.

Unfortunately what felt flat for me were the characters themselves. While our female protagonist Svin began as an independent young woman who could easily fight back against the others, her character wasn’t well developed. My interest in her weakened over the course of the novel and by the end, there was minimal connection felt towards her at all. Although backstory and intrigue were present, Svin’s personality was lacking, and therefore it was difficult to feel sympathy or fear for her character’s plot.

There also seemed to be a numerous amount of side characters and it appeared as if every other chapter introduced a new perspective. While this was initially tiresome and contributed to not understanding our protagonist well, the switch in narratives grew quickly interesting and some were satisfyingly emotional and provided further insight into the world Lilith Saintcrow has brilliantly created. Despite this, there was little development for many of these characters and very few of them would interact with one another which meant very few relationships were created.

Even though the plot started off as a gritty adventure-thriller of sorts with Svin being offered her freedom in exchange for undertaking a dangerous mission, it very quickly turns into a darker and more chaotic journey. Some scenes showed terrifying dangers which will more than likely keep any read on their toes. However, the underdevelopment of some of the characters meant the stakes were not as thrilling or intense as I wanted them to be.

Overall, Cormorant Run reads more as the first instalment to a lengthy series, as opposed to a novel that conclusively ties up every thread introduced. Though the writing style and world-building are very good, they fail to compensate for the lack of a conclusive story and underdevelopment of major characters.

Kindly received in return for an honest review.

Originally posted on: The Nerd Daily.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I managed to get to page 39. I couldn't take it anymore.

When an author has to include a footnote on every page spread to "explain" some gadget, event, machine, whatever, because it can't be explained in the text, that's when you know you need to do a major re-write.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of window into a flawed world - and the rifts that toppled it? Maybe a character study?
There really wasn't a result at the end. All pain & trials of the characters were the stone thrown in the pond never to be seen again & small alterations from the fading ripple.

[Amy A · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Originally posted at Vampire Book Club

No one really knows what precipitated The Event. Aliens? Trans-dimensional rift? All that is clear is one day The Event happened, and it opened up Rifts in various parts of the world. Anyone or anything unlucky enough to get caught in a Rift perished.

Years later, scientists and the government are still trying to figure out what exactly happened. There are certain people, known as Rifters, who are able to enter and navigate the Rifts. They’ve come back with valuable pieces of technology and scientific discoveries not without great personal danger to themselves, of course. When Ashe the Rat—one of the greatest Rifters of her generation—is killed after a run, the government brings in Svin, her protégé, to pick up where Ashe left off.

Newly released from prison on the condition that she help find whatever mysterious object Ashe was sent into the Rift to retrieve, Svin has her own agenda once she gets in the Rift. That is, if she can actually make it to the end.

Cormorant Run reads just like Aliens. There’s the highly underestimated Rifter Svin (aka Ripley), a various group of untrustworthy militant men who would rather shoot first and ask questions later (complete with various colorful uses of the F-word), and the scientists who’s inquisitiveness almost doom them from the beginning.

I actually liked that I could equate this story with something familiar because there’s a lot of twisting and turning that goes on within the pages of this book. I would go so far as to say there’s too much going on within the pages of this book that, as far as I’m aware, is setup as a standalone story.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of very interesting ideas. This post-apocalyptic world is dirty and gritty and has its own slang and terminology. There are no “pretty” people found within the pages of this story, and your survival is based on your own skills, forming relationships and relying on some else should be avoided at all costs. Inside the Rift, places look the same as when The Event occurred (buildings, houses, cars, businesses etc), but overrun by nature. Lilith Saintcrow really capitalizes on the mystery behind The Event and what creatures now lurk within the Rifts. I really loved all the ways she showed us the different dangers to be found.

For all these very interesting aspects of the story, the fact that it’s full of so much, kind of forces you to keep the characters at arm’s length. Almost every chapter has a different point of view, with Svin of course being the main character. I liked seeing her from others’ perspectives and getting their thoughts about the Rifter, but I wanted to know more about Svin from Svin herself, and I felt like we didn’t get enough. Saintcrow teases us with little snippets of informational depth on each character, but I felt like it didn’t really build up to anything that would actually make me care whether or not these people survived. And I wanted to care.

The big mystery of what is worth risking life and limb inside this particular Rift drives the story pretty much right up until the end. But I’m not sure the payoff is equivalent with everything that comes about before we get to the end. Regardless, if you’re in the mood for a heavy sci-fi read with interesting concepts, I think you’d enjoy Cormorant Run.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for what had better be the start of a new series from this author. Otherwise, this rates as 'thrown against the wall'.
I have a up and down relationship with Ms Saintcrow's books. I made it halfway through her Dante Valentine series before I threw in the towel. I loved(!!!) the Jill Kismet series, which was grimdark, to say the least. Somehow I didn't read any of the 'Trailer Park Fae' series. (I may have to remedy that...)
So I was all on board for this book, which is basically a McGuffin quest story, all jazzed up by being set in a post weird-event future. The author's world building is superb (complete with footnotes!); the characters, at least in this book, were types, rather than individuals. I really didn't care what happened to any of them for most of the story. (BTW, this is not a good sign for me.) I spent a lot of time betting on who would be killed next. Yeah, it is that kind of quest. (FYI, the charming lady on the cover looks very little like our heroine.)
If there is a second book I will be right there--I need to know just where this very inventive author is going with this story. For now, I will be staying away from white winged butterflies.

[The Nerd Daily]

Published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Salima Bensalah

Lilith Saintcrow’s explosive novel is a modern sci-fi and post-apocalyptic thriller about a young woman named Svinga who is a prisoner in the near future. After the death of a fellow Rifter, “Svin” is pressured into crossing through a Rift to find answers, or spend the rest of her life in prison. Svin reluctantly complies and journeys into a danger, unknown territory with a small group of other soldiers. What follows is a descent into chaos within an unfamiliar world where stepping forward seems to only put the group ten steps back as the path behind them literally changes as they go.

The strongest element of the novel is the way in which setting is incorporated in the novel with brilliant world-building. From the prison to outside facilities and into the Rift itself, there are some fantastic descriptions and great writing to truly encapsulate the growing confusion and terror at being thrown into a dangerous situation where there appears to be no way out.

Unfortunately what felt flat for me were the characters themselves. While our female protagonist Svin began as an independent young woman who could easily fight back against the others, her character wasn’t well developed. My interest in her weakened over the course of the novel and by the end, there was minimal connection felt towards her at all. Although backstory and intrigue were present, Svin’s personality was lacking, and therefore it was difficult to feel sympathy or fear for her character’s plot.

There also seemed to be a numerous amount of side characters and it appeared as if every other chapter introduced a new perspective. While this was initially tiresome and contributed to not understanding our protagonist well, the switch in narratives grew quickly interesting and some were satisfyingly emotional and provided further insight into the world Lilith Saintcrow has brilliantly created. Despite this, there was little development for many of these characters and very few of them would interact with one another which meant very few relationships were created.

Even though the plot started off as a gritty adventure-thriller of sorts with Svin being offered her freedom in exchange for undertaking a dangerous mission, it very quickly turns into a darker and more chaotic journey. Some scenes showed terrifying dangers which will more than likely keep any read on their toes. However, the underdevelopment of some of the characters meant the stakes were not as thrilling or intense as I wanted them to be.

Overall, Cormorant Run reads more as the first instalment to a lengthy series, as opposed to a novel that conclusively ties up every thread introduced. Though the writing style and world-building are very good, they fail to compensate for the lack of a conclusive story and underdevelopment of major characters.

[Cardyn Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Cormorant Run is brilliant” is the headline. The attention to details makes this strange, melancholy tale shine. First, a recommendation for readers who don’t enjoy footnotes: Hang in there until around page 18, where the frequency and number of glossary words drop off significantly once the narrative pace and framework of this imagined universe are established.

Some Outer Limits, Maltese Falcon, and a sinister spin on Cannonball Run thrown together with themes from Laura Croft, The Dome, Inception, and Little Shop of Horrors mix with L.S.’s beautifully bent storytelling to present an existence made of metamorphosing environments and parallel realities.

Provocative ideas about human beings in an unpredictable environment that strips them to their fundamental essence beyond the trappings of civility, and brings their hind brains to the forefront are woven into a compelling treasure hunt.

The frequent and casual usage of misogynistic terminology by men and women felt jarring and outdated (which may be the author’s deliberate intention). Here’s the thing: At a time when there are more women than men enrolled in medical school and law school in the U.S., it feels so odd that science fiction stories imagine all of these fanciful elements of advanced science and technology in the future, but can’t seem to embrace the idea of parity for women (without having them simply mimic entrenched hyper-aggressive leadership philosophies and sex-in-an-emotional-vacuum behaviors along with disdaining traits that are traditionally viewed as feminine). So many sci-fi/fantasy stories are written under the overwhelming assumption that a patriarchal, colonial imperialistic hierarchy is the default template for human civilization regardless of the millennium or galaxy.

Too much description about bodily functions and fluids along with too much f-word (my favorite profane word for expressing fury, horror or excruciating pain) usage for my reading tastes. And the cynical attitudes toward sex and genitalia were downers for me.

Cormorant Run is an immersive tale that engages on multiple levels of thoughts about what drives humans.

[Hmr28 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't just bad it is awful! Poor worldbuilding, characterizations and writing. It was boring and a good example of all tell no show. I usually love her books but this one is a stinker of royal proportions.

[K.A. Wiggins]

Grimdark fantasy but make it Dystopian SF.

Basically a horror story with future!tech. Sharp-edged and glittering and DARK. But with trademark Saintcrow nuance and intensely damaged and tough heroines.

[iva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story is ok
But the style of Writing is not to my liking

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peters out at end

[Susan Haseltine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable and interesting, but a walk into an inexplicable dangerous landscape in search of the ultimate MacGuffin is not a plot. And the company is a pretty misogynistic lot of losers. When the reader can make no sense of the environment the it is subject to doing whatever the author wants next. Highest percent death toll of any book that isn't last man standing.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this book was entertaining. I enjoyed the ambiguous ending and the world building - the world ends up being the main character of the book, in a way. But I grew incredibly frustrated incredibly quickly with the word choice the author used, and with the characters themselves.

1) This book definitely doesn’t pass any kind of Bechdel test. There are two living women with speaking parts. One of them shows up in Act 5 and decides to hare off after a kindof boyfriend; she only gets a few lines total and has zero impact on the plot. She is entirely irrelevant to the narrative. The other living woman, the main character Svin, is regularly assessed by other narrative points of view by her looks. After a few hundred pages of this, it gets old. We know what she looks like and there’s no story-relevant reason for every single character to describe her in detail.

On a related note: this book feels misogynistic. The author, in trying to convey the worldview, treats the main (and basically only) female character as if she’s a token to the other characters. For example, sometimes a character is written in a way that the reader sees them as a token; it’s an entirely different feeling in this book, where I was left with the impression that there are very few women left in the world itself, just by how much emphasis there is on Svin’s gender and gendered presentation. I don’t think that Saintcrow intended that - there isn’t any mention of a dearth of women in the world. But this book conveys an unfortunate Female Smurf impression. There was a brief note about how people who go into the Rift are surprisingly egalitarian but literally none of the characters points of view reflect that, Rifter or otherwise. The reader is left with a series of men exclusively thinking about and discussing a female body, and then Svin herself who exists to push the plot forward.

2) The writing itself is irritating. The footnotes are extensive and point to a very serious case of telling, not showing. The author uses completely unneccessary jargon for everyday things, more jargon for world-specific things, and slang for things that probably shouldn’t have been slang given the already massive amount of jargon. Also, the decision to constantly have characters refer to sex workers and sexual partners as holes: not a stellar choice for a book that only features two women, one of whom is relegated to a minor and remarkably irrelevant role in only a few chapters toward the end. And, it was completely unnecessary to appropriate genderqueer language around deadnaming and apply it to a character who is written as cis.

3) None of the characters are really fleshed out. Some characters that we spend time with turn out to be narrative dead ends. Other characters end up having a disproportionate impact and then are summarily written out. None of the characters could be described as dynamic. The world itself - the post-apocalyptic Rift-fractured Earth - is the most developed character in the book, and also the most inexplicable.

4) The book is written as if the author doesn’t trust her readers to *get* certain things, so they’re repeated often, sometimes by various different characters. It would be one thing if these characters had different perspectives but (see point 3) none of the characters are well defined enough for that.

I gave this a 2 out of 5. I’m glad I finished it; I truly enjoyed the world building. But I found the word choice irritating and I hated the characters and how static they were. I was left feeling like this would be a great world for a writer to play in, if only there was a writer who was interested in the characters and not just the setting.

[Richard Forbes · Rating 2 out of 5]

What initially presented as a very good and unique concept was in reality a great disappointment.
Saintcrow has a different and somewhat gifted writing style - usually. Her Dante Valentine series was excellent and her Jill Kismet series was very good. She is a clever and often quirky writer with excellent vocabulary and an ability to create pace and tension in her stories.

However, this story was not even close to her usual standard.

Firstly, she has some of her characters use slang that require the reader to look up the meaning in the included dictionary (much like Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange). OK. This unnecessary distraction can be overlooked as it not something that happens in a novel often and can be put down to creating the ambience of the story.

Secondly, she often uses terms that are relevant to the cultural setting of the story that are not quite slang but are not explained so the reader is left guessing as to meaning and/or context.

Thirdly, once the characters are inside the “Rift” the explanations of the environment, beings, entities and other unique elements are maddeningly ambiguous or non-existent. I get this is develop the mysteriousness of the inside of the rift but it is seriously over-done and makes reading more of a chore that entertaining.

Lastly, a seriously ambiguous ending. Many a talented author will end a story without a clear cut ending. But to have an ambiguous journey to the end of the novel and then an ambiguous ending as well only creates a deep sense of dis-satisfaction in the reader.

Ms Saintcrow - As always, your concept was brilliant - why did you betray us with this mediocre narrative???

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most disappointing books I've ever read. I forced myself to finish it because I hate leaving books unread, even if they're awful.

The footnotes are distracting and pulled me out of the story everytime. If the book was written from someone's POV in the future writing a book about what happened, the the footnotes would've worked. However, they were not utilized that way.

The 5th time Svins teeth, mouth, and eyes were described as bulging or horse like was irritating. The 50th time even more so. Also, her description in the book is nothing like what's on the cover, which irritates me immensely, mainly since her appearance was described in DETAIL many times.

Lastly, the ending was beyond unsatisfying to me. I dislike books without a concrete ending of some sort, even if it's a bad ending, but this one...just miserable.

Will definitely be selling this book and will not be reading anything else by Lilith.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when a very good science fiction story gets reimagined (in this case, "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1971). It is like a very good jazz interpretation of a very good composition. I read the original story, and I have watched the Andrei Tarkovsky interpretation of it in the film "Stalker", 1979. It, too, was a sort of musing of the story, not an adaptation per se.
The first impression I had of the main character, Svin, was that she was the essence of a cyberpunk anti-hero: lean, dirty, focused, detached from unnecessary material things, including her own body, and persuing a vision only she and those like her could comprehend.
The footnotes are a little distracting, but the payoff is worth it if you follow it to the end.

[Lilyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I managed to read the entire book. Though with footnites was a bit helpful but kinda annoying since you'd have to stop where your reading to understand what that one word is. Though the plot moved slowly it wasn't that bad though it kept switching from one character to another and I got really confused on it cause I couldn't figure out which was who. The conflict was the hard part to pick out, the character development I didn't really see anything there and the ending of the book didn't sastify me. Left me with far more questions like did the main character make a wish! Is Ashe alive in the rift? Though the detail of what the inside of the rift was good I think it needed something more to it.

[K.A. Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!!! A whole new world from this author and it is scary amazing! You'll find yourself falling in love with Svin - not because she's out of this world beautiful or because she has a great body or because of any other reason you might normally give. She just is who she is and that sucks you in. And the mystery of the Cormorant is revealed in the end, but not in the way you think it will be. When the story finished, I was surprised by who I was relieved to see who survived, who I was happy to see lose, and who I was grateful to see get what they really wanted. The lesson is clear - this Run takes all you have to give. READ IT!!!

[Ros · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed Saintcrow's earlier books, but this left me... blank. Honestly, I didn't manage to start caring about ANY of the characters or plot lines, and only finished it because I was stuck on a bus and it was my last book (rookie mistake).

I was expecting Kismet meets Pacific Rim, based on the blurb. I got... some kind of messed-up pseudo-scientific plot with characters so interchangeable I couldn't care about any of them (or, honestly, keep most of them straight - personality? C'est quoi?) There were some interesting notions in the background that I can see having the potential to make an interesting plot, but then it just... didn't.

[L.A.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hm, somewhere between a pick and meh, but leaning more toward pick because I really like Lilith Saintcrow. And not really meh, just more “what?”

This book is fast paced and the world building is incredible. But instead of footnotes, I would’ve preferred an appendix dictionary because the footnotes interrupted the flow. But that was minor in the scheme of things. Probably my biggest complaint is the character development is spotty. There’s clearly more to Svin—an entire backstory we really know little about. The book almost seemed to set up for a sequel. At the end, I was left with more questions than answers.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I did overall enjoy the book.

[Kay Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 3.5* but rounded up as it suited my mood. I only occasionally read SF dydtopias with horror story feel ... Will anyone survive till the end? Do we care? Is it dreadful to say that I finished reading this today because it's even worse than political news from my country and on par with news from overseas war zones?

The writing style is vivid and OK once I adjusted to the overdone use of explanations for slang terms. A bit reminiscent of Alma Katsu's horror stories, although not as good. I liked the lead character Svin and wanted her to make it to the end of this rather weird Hunger Games type quest.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An apocalyptic science fiction novel about trusting your instincts, the drive for knowledge, adapting to a world that is fluid and changeable, and obtaining what you desire. It’s a fantastic, slang-heavy, crude, “Monkey’s Paw” treasure hunt for advanced technology in a world in which areas called Rifts defy the usual laws of physics and nature. There’s a strong environmentalist slant, with the possibility of the Rifts not as anomalies, but as a response to the human “virus” that has infected the planet.

[William Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that happened

I don't know what that was. Surrealist SF? Existentialist, maybe? This was a weird ride. Vicious and impersonal. I don't know how to match it up with anything else.

If you are looking for predictable story, look elsewhere.

If you like world building an amazing, horrifying, post-something, insanity of a world...read this.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the world building, the slang with it's footnotes and even most of the characters. The story itself was kind of odd. I don't want to spoil anything so I will only say that it was a non traditional story arc. It felt more like an exploration of the environment as a character rather than about the people as characters.

[Jeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandon Sanderson gets a lot of credit for being the master of world building, but Lilith Saintcrow sure gives him a run for the money. She has so many different worlds, and I always feel like I could settle right in from the beginning of her books. Cormorant Run is the same, amazing world building, good story, characters that you identify more and more with. Recommended.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book struck me as a mix of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games mixed, loosely, with the concept of "underhill", stepping through a gateway into a dangerous realm where reality is shifted...tossed in with some truly unlikable characters.

[Megan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some interesting concepts in the book and I really wish they had been explored more thoroughly.

I had a hard time with the vernacular and the endless footnotes but it's very clear that a lot of effort was put in the world building.

[Star Yeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great science-fiction fantasy book. Just expect take a little bit reading it because it can’t be hard to follow at times. Reminds me of reading Robert Heinlein’s stranger in a strange land. Overall enjoyable story plot.

[Julija Kelecevic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The description of the book sounded intriguing, the first fifth read as promising; however, it fell flat. I am not sure the genre change suited the author, as I enjoyed her paranormal romance series. I think reading this book wasn’t the best use of my time when there are so many books to read.

[J C Steel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, while I usually enjoy Saintcrow's books, this story didn't really feel cohesive, and the pseudo-scientific footnotes every second page got old by, well, the second page.
In addition, there's a very, let's call it 'artistic' ending that didn't really do much for me.