Heather’s Bookshelf: Pulstar I: The Swan Barely Remembers
Author: Giancarlo Roversi
Released: 03/10/23
Genre: Adult SciFi
“Her triumph overflowed into the labyrinth, but such excitement wouldn’t last long. That truth had severe implications, and she didn’t have time to process those before the last mosaic also disappeared.”
“Pulstar” introduces three main and connected POVs in a dystopian future Earth: Jeral, Aris and Esther. Each of the main character’s backgrounds and ties to each other are revealed throughout the tale.
Jeral is an astronomer working at a planetarium with opinions that are both unusual and unpopular. When she falls into a coma, her life changes. She must find her previous allies of Aris and Esther if she is to save the world. Meanwhile, her sister Jessi seems to have a strange connection to all of this as well.
Aris is a twice-divorced man floundering in a corporate job and feeling like his life isn’t his and perseverating on dreams that seem more real than his own life.
Esther has lost both of her parents to an incurable disease that leaves the infected in a painful state and robs them of their memory and communication before it kills them. On their death beds, both of Esther’s parents state cryptic messages that reference a nightmare from her childhood. Could there be more to it?
Trigger Warning: violence, illness, adult language, drowning, torture, murder, sexual situations
Overall, I was really torn about this story. I will preface this review by stating that the author assures me some changes have already been made to the writing including reordering the first few chapters and adding a list of characters. However, I will be reviewing the version I have. The beginning of this book was so hard to follow. There’s a lot of characters, different POVs, different voices, and the writing style takes a little getting used to. The first 50 pages were a challenge to get through, but after that, it became more interesting and clear (there were still parts of the book where I sat back and asked, “wait, what?” but for the most part it was better). The worldbuilding is very complex and important in this story, especially setting the stage for how the three main characters are brought together. The backgrounds of many of the characters are shown through flashbacks and their interactions between different storylines. I felt the author did a good job of developing Esther and Jeral, but less so for Aris. I enjoyed Esther’s storyline, background, and evolution as a character the most, though each of the POV characters stood out as independent and strong in their own right. There are also many underlying themes including complex family structures, issues with self realization, and religion vs science. It’s a complex story and probably a little too complex in it’s writing. I could not get into the pacing and style of the writer and unfortunately the two complexities did not equal out. The ending felt complete while also setting up for a sequel.
An interesting addition to this book is that the author has composed a soundtrack for the book - check it out on his website - link can be found as part of author interview.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A complex scifi with three distinct protagonists with overlapping histories and lives. Unfortunately, the complex story is not made more clear by the structure of the writing, leaving more confusion than clarity.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Giancarlo Roversi
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here
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