Early Review: The Age of the Conglomerates
As a LibraryThing member, I not only get to catalog my books in a manner that makes my inner OCD feel calm and satiated, but I also get to, through their Early Reviewers program, read books prior to their publication date and offer my own candid views on these works.
I recently finished my first review, for The Age of the Conglomerates: A Novel of the Future, by first-time author Thomas Nevins. For the benefit of those who don't typically look at my LibraryThing profile, I've reprinted the review I've written below, so that it might get a bit more exposure for those interested in the novel.
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The Age of the Conglomerates, Thomas Nevins's premiere novel, has a description that simply drips with promise and potential -- potential that is, almost instantaneously, diluted amongst amateurish writing and poor idea management.
To summarize the plot is, frankly, somewhat worthless, as one of the novel's biggest flaws is that lack of focus and direction in any of the three main storylines. Christine, a doctor; her discarded sister, X; and their grandparents, the "Coots" George and Patsy, all seek to find solace and acceptance in a world that we're repeatedly told is out of their hands to control.
The main problem, here is with the word "told": rather than subtly show us a world gone awry due to economic and political turmoil, Nevins chooses instead to utilize lengthy expository passages that are uninteresting and blandly constructed, the novel's prologue being perhaps the most hackneyed among them. One almost gets the sense that perhaps Nevins is shooting for a clichéd, pulpy style, but the novel noticeably lacks that level of self-awareness, the ironic wink that is the mark of a truly talented writer.
At the risk of implying that Nevins is not a talented writer, I will instead assert that the novel does not reflect his skills at their peak. Short, declarative sentences are the rule of the day, which leads to a book that speeds along at a rapid pace but which doesn't really engross the reader stylistically.
As for the plot, which I've alluded to already but deftly sidestepped, my own evasiveness is a sadly apt metaphor for the story. There appears to be little cohesion between the plots save for a sudden tying-up at the end, a literal and figurative gathering of the threads that had been separate throughout. But that ending is incredibly unsatisfying, mostly because the device of the "Baby Brigade" appears too suddenly and without any justification or explanation. One doesn't get the sense of the stakes of the mission, so the whole mission feels too hack to be believed.
Similarly unbelievable are several of the plot twists, particularly those involving character loyalties, which are telegraphed so obviously that one is inclined to insist for much of the novel that there's no way that guy could possibly be on her side -- oh, but he is! Such turns are executed too matter-of-factly, without any suspense or description, and it makes much of the end of the novel feel too convenient and expected. Even the romantic threads are drastically undertreated, to the point that the emphasis on love and loyalty at the end again feels forced.
Generally speaking, the novel reads as if it feels too rushed for its own good. Nevins's ideas about the nature of power and class in a world driven by economic gain, I fear, are the only portions of the novel that were completely fleshed out during the writing, leaving a novel that wants to be suspenseful and thought-provoking, but is instead a lifeless head-scratcher.
I recently finished my first review, for The Age of the Conglomerates: A Novel of the Future, by first-time author Thomas Nevins. For the benefit of those who don't typically look at my LibraryThing profile, I've reprinted the review I've written below, so that it might get a bit more exposure for those interested in the novel.
------------------------
The Age of the Conglomerates, Thomas Nevins's premiere novel, has a description that simply drips with promise and potential -- potential that is, almost instantaneously, diluted amongst amateurish writing and poor idea management.
To summarize the plot is, frankly, somewhat worthless, as one of the novel's biggest flaws is that lack of focus and direction in any of the three main storylines. Christine, a doctor; her discarded sister, X; and their grandparents, the "Coots" George and Patsy, all seek to find solace and acceptance in a world that we're repeatedly told is out of their hands to control.
The main problem, here is with the word "told": rather than subtly show us a world gone awry due to economic and political turmoil, Nevins chooses instead to utilize lengthy expository passages that are uninteresting and blandly constructed, the novel's prologue being perhaps the most hackneyed among them. One almost gets the sense that perhaps Nevins is shooting for a clichéd, pulpy style, but the novel noticeably lacks that level of self-awareness, the ironic wink that is the mark of a truly talented writer.
At the risk of implying that Nevins is not a talented writer, I will instead assert that the novel does not reflect his skills at their peak. Short, declarative sentences are the rule of the day, which leads to a book that speeds along at a rapid pace but which doesn't really engross the reader stylistically.
As for the plot, which I've alluded to already but deftly sidestepped, my own evasiveness is a sadly apt metaphor for the story. There appears to be little cohesion between the plots save for a sudden tying-up at the end, a literal and figurative gathering of the threads that had been separate throughout. But that ending is incredibly unsatisfying, mostly because the device of the "Baby Brigade" appears too suddenly and without any justification or explanation. One doesn't get the sense of the stakes of the mission, so the whole mission feels too hack to be believed.
Similarly unbelievable are several of the plot twists, particularly those involving character loyalties, which are telegraphed so obviously that one is inclined to insist for much of the novel that there's no way that guy could possibly be on her side -- oh, but he is! Such turns are executed too matter-of-factly, without any suspense or description, and it makes much of the end of the novel feel too convenient and expected. Even the romantic threads are drastically undertreated, to the point that the emphasis on love and loyalty at the end again feels forced.
Generally speaking, the novel reads as if it feels too rushed for its own good. Nevins's ideas about the nature of power and class in a world driven by economic gain, I fear, are the only portions of the novel that were completely fleshed out during the writing, leaving a novel that wants to be suspenseful and thought-provoking, but is instead a lifeless head-scratcher.
posted by Dave at 6/13/2008 04:03:00 PM
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