Play Book Tag discussion

It took me too long to get into this, and I would have DNF'd it if I didn't need it for a challenge. I did eventually get into the flow of the story so I didn't mind that I stuck with it, but I also don't think I would have missed out on anything had I skipped it.

I thought the idea of a new concept for governing that spread across the globe would be fascinating and maybe even... optimistic? Silly me! Most governments are depressing, and I guess there's just no way around that fact, even in fiction.

This system is supposed to have been implemented in the late 2040s, I think, with the book taking place sometime in the 2060s, and one of my biggest disappointments with it, and a continual source of frustration, was that it never fully explains how we got from here to there. It's too near-future to buy into otherwise, and my suspension of disbelief was frequently threatened by this lack of explanation.

There were a few minor details about climate change that I really liked, and they actually helped bridge the gap a little even though I don't think the two are actually supposed to be connected. But this is a world where the oceans have risen and we have adapted. You get the impression that it happened slowly and people just managed it as it came with life mostly moving on as normal around it, which somehow felt very realistic and hopeful at the same time.

I also liked the idea of a more global world with open immigration policies in many places due to the change in governing -- a connection that made a lot of sense -- and the small detail of this globe-trotting MC always factoring in "temperate climate" as a requirement for where he wants to live next in this near-future world.

It's a mostly plot-driven novel, so while I felt semi-invested in at least one of the MCs, there wasn't as much character development as I typically need. Although it felt less like a case of flat characters and more a case of the story having different priorities than me.