I received a paperback ARC of The All-Consuming World, authored by Cassandra Khaw from Erewhon Books, for review consideration. Cover art: Ashe Samuels, cover design: Samira Iravani, interior design: Cassandra Farrin and Leah Marsh, solar eclipses: Lalan/Shutterstock, bullet holes: vectorwin/Shutterstock. What follows below is my honest review freely given.
I rated this debut novel 4 stars.
You cannot prepare for this book. I was not prepared for this book, and I jumped at the chance to review this early, at anything written by Khaw early really, because anything written by them so far has knocked my cotton/polyester blend socks right the f* off every single time, thank you very much. Nothing But Blackened Teeth will be released October 19th; haunted house, Japanese folklore! I was respectfully declined for that one on NetGalley. You win some, you lose some. I will have to wait for release day like everyone else. Impatiently!
This is a polarizing read, Khaw had a vision for their space opera and did not hold back on anything. There will be words that you have to look up to understand. There is a *lot* of cursing (sorry, but not really, its just cursing, like?). The reader will be a little disheveled trying to keep everything in order, at least I did. And all the horrifying implications weighing on you from the technologies and lore being fed to you throughout the novel! This future makes the Matrix look like a scholastic book fair day and you have twenty dollars, Im not even playing. I would love to read more set in this universe, fingers crossed they may have some novellas brewing that touch on the mission that is mentioned throughout, or maybe on the ageships creation. But polarizing. Either you will put in the effort and get to that ending, man, or you will not, siting whatever reason that made you quit, which will be a valid one. I adored this book and still could only give it 4 stars, because I know it will not be something everyone can just pick up and enjoy, as much as I wish it was. Honestly there were times I didnt know what I feel about it, I didnt mind having to look up so many words, but was I missing too much to get it? Was it over my head too much? Some of it probably, yeah. I think that may take a few re-reads, which I like to do with books that hit me the right way. I re-read a lot of my books. But the emotional kick to this novel, the pain, the bond between people this book has so many parts that made me cry. And that ending. The culmination of it all. Khaw had a vision and whether you make it to the end or not to read it, as someone who did, its spectacular. Im starstruck.
