Hearts of Oak

I picked up this Tor.com novella (though I think it must be a novel by actual word count) because it was by Eddie Robson, one of my favorite Doctor Who writers, one of those whose senses of tone, character, and world are generally strong enough that I could imagine him succeeding at original science fiction, which is not a thing I believe of most tie-in writers.

For its first half this is very strong. It has a weird setting: a city where everything is made of wood, ruled by a king with a talking cat, where the imperative is to just build build build. The parallel narratives follow the king and the chief architect, both of whom are beginning to suspect that their world doesn't entirely make sense. (What is... concrete?) The story is told show more with a dry, factual narrative voice that works well to highlight its absurdities.

About halfway through, though, the novel explains what's going on, and at that point, I was like, "This is just a Doctor Who story!" And indeed, when I flipped to the Acknowledgements page, I found Hearts of Oak was based on something Robson originally pitched to Alan Barnes, former script editor of Big Finish's Doctor Who range. At that point, the story becomes much less interesting; what's really happening is much less striking than what went before, and the disconnected style works against the narrative from then on, too, as to be interesting what comes next, we would need to be invested in the characters as people more.

That said, I like Robson in general and the first half of this novel in particular enough that I would give his original work another chance; I see that this is actually his second novel, so I'll have to seek out his first and see how it is. show less

I picked this up because I liked Robson’s more recent book; this one is substantially less polished, no pun intended. Ianthe teaches architecture and designs buildings, both important tasks in the city, which is constantly growing despite mostly being able to use only wood in construction. Funny thing is, Ianthe can’t remember quite how long she’s been doing this … It’s probably too slight to handle the big questions it gestures at about identity and doing the right thing under conditions of futility.

This is a weird little book that starts off like a fantasy novel. There is a king in a tower, with a talking cat who advises him, and he is overseeing the building of his kingdom. There is an architect named Iona who has been a prominent architect for so long that she has trouble remembering just how many buildings she has built. At the beginning, the story has an almost fairy-tale quality... but then things start to get strange. Iona notices things that are out of place. Some events happen that don't quite fit with how things are supposed to happen. I can't describe the plot any more without spoilers, but it continues to get more strange.

This is an intriguing and quick read. Once it becomes clear what is happening, the world-building show more leaves a lot to be desired. The end felt a little rushed. show less

Clever and satisfying book. Hard to do this without spoilers, but I'll try. The narration is level, almost flat, and that gives you a chance to see the anomalies. You and the characters navigate the new information together. This book is put together with a very sure hand without feeling controlled or forced.

I'm eager to read more by Eddie Robson.

An intriguing plot. The characters are not terribly interesting, but they aren't the focus of the story. At its core, this is a mystery built in layers. Each time a layer is peeled back, you find out something new that deepens the mystery.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I got as an eGalley through NetGalley to review.

Story (4/5): This was a very unique book with lots of twists and turns. It' s pretty fast read and an intriguing one. I enjoyed it because it was so different from other books I have read. It reminded me a bit of a Dr. Who episode and is hard to talk about without spoiling the story. Suffice to say the story is the strong point of this book.

Characters (3/5): The characters are okay. We switch between The King and Iona (a master architect). Neither is very personable but are more devices to move the story forward. The side characters have very little depth. I felt like the characters were the weakest aspect of this story.

Setting (4/5): Set show more in a mysterious walled city that keeps growing and growing as more and more buildings are constructed, I enjoyed this mysterious setting. The twists and turns revealed as the book continues reveal more and more about the setting. Again, this is a great aspect to the story.

Writing Style (4/5): The writing style came across as pretty stark and simplistic to me but it works well for the story. The POV changes also worked well in this story.

Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun little read, that was quirky and different with lots of surprising little twists. It’s a pretty quick read and I enjoyed it for its uniqueness. show less

I'm not sure what to think after this one. Short, odd, a bit disconcerting. I feel like I'd like to talk with someone about this one, basically to compare notes as I'm not sure I picked up on everything.