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Holly's Reviews > Sea of Tranquility
Sea of Tranquility
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I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's very much a 'written during the pandemic' book. It also almost requires you to have already read The Glass Hotel, and it even has a passing reference to Station Eleven. But both of those prior books are better than this one in my opinion. The plot of this book felt like a hodge podge of ideas - life in outer space, the future, life as an author, living through a pandemic, and the morality of time travel. But what really threw me off was the almost complete lack of character development. None of these characters felt 'real' to me. I will still gladly pick up future books by this author, but I can't say I would necessarily recommend this one unfortunately.
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Reading Progress
November 5, 2021
– Shelved
November 5, 2021
– Shelved as:
not-yet-released
April 6, 2022
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 11, 2022
–
Started Reading
April 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
audiobook
April 11, 2022
– Shelved as:
fantasy-or-science-fiction
April 14, 2022
– Shelved as:
2022-read
April 14, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-27 of 27 (27 new)
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Brandice
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Apr 14, 2022 06:47AM
Sorry this was a miss, Holly! I read Station Eleven several years ago and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Still need to read The Glass Hotel. Hope you love your next book!
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I was wondering about this. I had heard recently that you should probably read The Glass Hotel first which I had no desire to read even though I liked Station 11. I was looking forward to this one but have decided to pass.
Oh dear! The premise of this book caught my attention, but I wasn't a fan of Station Eleven. Perhaps I should give this a miss too.
uh oh...I didn't like Station Eleven, loved The Glass Hotel, so now I wonder how this one will land. I appreciate your thoughts Holly!
"almost complete lack of character development"--Not good. I'll pass!
Excellent review, Holly. A family member of mine just picked this one up, but I was hesitant to give it a go, due to my mixed feelings regarding Station Eleven. Hope your next read is a bit more enjoyable!
I’m feeling better about dropping this one now. I’m 15% in and so bored.
Almost exactly how I feel about this. I can’t help thinking I’m missing something, and now that I’ve read this, it might be “The Glass Hotel”.I really enjoyed “Station Eleven”, so this doesn’t put me off reading the author’s other books, starting with TGH.
I agree. I found this book a rather lazy time travel story, with no new ideas or twists.
The connection to The Glass Hotel (which was a thoroughly enjoyable book) was the most exciting and intriguing part of the novel. The rest of it was a vague thought experiment at time travel at best. 3/5 stars agreed.
Agree. Total lack of character development and mishmash of time travel, "the anomaly," pandemic, moon colonies and environmental disaster.
Completely agree about the lack of character development. The only character I really felt for was Edwin - he felt the most fleshed out. The rest I didn't care for. I found Olive almost annoying.
What was the reference to Station Eleven? I either missed it, or forgot about it very quickly.
I haven't read either of those other books, and I enjoyed this.
I struggled with Station Eleven due to lack of character development and it sounds like this has the same problem so I will probably pass on it.
I wasn't a fan of Station Eleven although beautifully written, due to its (anti) climax invalidating half the story lines. Sea of Tranquility is much the same but without the excellent character development of Station Eleven. By the end it made me shrug and move on.
Spot on! My feelings exactly!
I just finished it and I’m letting it sit with me until I can make a proper rating but I definitely feel the same.
I have read all of this author's books, and while Station Eleven was my favourite (among my top picks, really) this book was absolutely terrible in comparison, and felt as if she was trying to force the same emotion and reception as Station Eleven. Toe it felt lazy, despite how needlessly complicated it was. I don't know. I actually finished it, maybe a month ago, but I still can't figure out what it even was. I'm so glad I'm not alone.
Same. Disappointing characterization and lackluster plot.
I disagree with the need to read The Glass Hotel. I haven't and had no idea that Vincent and other parts of the story were imported and/or tangential. That said, I'm not if I was richer or poorer due to the experience. My opinion of Sea of Tranquility is probably pretty similar to yours.
Agreed that the character development was poor. I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of these characters! Except maybe Olive.
I’m so glad you wrote this. I haven’t read any of her other books but just finished Sea of Tranquility and I was so confused because it felt like parts of the story were missing. I didn’t know these novels are interconnected and share characters. That was so confusing.
Garrett wrote: "I’m so glad you wrote this. I haven’t read any of her other books but just finished Sea of Tranquility and I was so confused because it felt like parts of the story were missing. I didn’t know thes..."The Glass House definitely has a lot of character development that you just don't get in this book without having read that one first. I really dislike when authors do that without warning you in the blurb or some other way.
"Sea of Tranquility" swept me away on a tide of emotions and left me marooned in its beautifully crafted world. With every turn of the page, I found myself adrift in its poignant depths, utterly captivated by its lyrical prose and unforgettable characters.
