Sea of Tranquility

I read through the book in a single pace. It covers evolution of society across many centuries. Very nice book

The story is definitely quite gripping and author seems to have taken inspiration from lot of recent events which make the story much more relatable.Some parts seem a bit overdone to build the a sense of suspense.

The imagination of the author is beyond words. Very beautifully crafted, carefully framed, keeps the reader hooked till the end. Amazing novel

Loved that the book kept me hooked and it has been the first book in a long long time that I was able to finish without having to necessarily push myself.

It’s rare to see a time travel book so highly recommended by all the great publications, and so I opened it up with high expectations. And as I kept flipping pages, I kept telling myself, this is going to get better. Except it never did.The time travel paradox, from an emotional and suspense perspective is superficial. The art of forecasting science is so very average, Michael Crichton or Alex Issamov would turn in their graves reading this. Emotionally, it’s as involving as watching grass grow.There were a few moments of interest, where there was some hope that something unique, something new, something truly worth sinking some time into would turn up.But it was not to be.

I had to stop half way, maybe its a good book but I lost interest. I was hoping for a bit more sci-fi I guess.

Are we living in a simulation? Is it realistic to think we will soon be colonizing Mars? This and so much more in this masterly written piece. I highly recommend that you read this book from the paper (and not listen to audio book).

I remember buying Station 11 and then putting off reading it for about a year. It was so highly reviewed, but the storyline just did not interest me. One day after I'd finished another book I picked it up and I couldn't put it down. What a wonderful book. Then I watch the television show and it was pretty good, too, but it's not a surprise it was nowhere near as good as the book. So that brings me to this book. Once again I wasn't too interested in the storyline. I don't much care for time travel books. Frequently they become just a little too convoluted and if there isn't really a good payoff what's the point of jumping around back and forth? But I remembered feeling so rewarded when I read Station 11 that I decided to crack it open and get to reading it. Sea of Tranquility is a fabulous book. The end just ties everything together. So don't drop out. Stick it out. It seems like it might be just a little disjointed and the chapter numbering is really unusual. Your reward is to feel so very good at the end of her novels, because there's just a goodness in them. It's not pollyannish. It's hard to describe. She's such a wonderful author. She asks such profound things about humanity in such a clear and simple straightforward way. Can't wait to see what she does next.

Pacing is great, increasing gradually, and when the story jumps around it’s easy to follow and keep interested. The parallels to our recent moment in history are great. I’m avoiding the story so nothing is spoiled, so just dive in and have fun.

Ähnlich aufgebaut wie David Mitchells Cloud Atlas springt auch dieses Buch einmal vorwärts und einmal rückwärts in der Zeit. Allerdings sind diese Teile deutlicher miteinander verbunden und bilden eine zusammenhängende Geschichte. Dafür sind die Teile deutlich kürzer - Das Buch ist eher eine Novelle als ein Roman. Dadurch fehlt tatsächlich vielleicht etwas die Tiefe an der einen oder anderen Stelle. Das eigentliche Thema ist dabei ein eher klassisches, dass schon vielfach bearbeitet wurde und eine furchtbar neue Seite kann auch die Autorin nicht abgewinnen - aber die alternative Theorie passt schon sehr gut und lässt auch ein bisschen was zum Spekulieren offen,4 oder 5 Sterne? Ich möchte ein Buch nicht abstrafen, weil es kurz ist. Ich hätte zwar gerne sehr viel länger im Meer der Ruhe verbracht, aber das liegt eben auch daran, dass die Autorin sehr gut schreibt und mMn durchaus interessante Charaktere bietet. Daher vergebe ich die höhere Wertung.

Emily St. John Mandel was born in British Columbia in 1979. She studied at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and wrote her first novel in 2002, while living in Montreal. Her fourth, "Station Eleven", won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award for and the Toronto Book Award and was adapted into a limited series on HBO Max. "Sea of Tranquility" is her sixth novel and was first published in 2022.In 1912, Edwin St. John St. Andrew, the second son of an English Earl, lands in Canada. Edwin has no real plan for the future, though - with a regular allowance from his father - he has time to work things out. (There is no future for him back home, that's for sure - his older brother will inherit the title and the estate, and his bridges have been burned with his father following a few ill-judged comments over dinner). Edwin slowly travels west and, in a forest near Caiette, is caught up in a mysterious darkness and a mix of sounds. It's an experience that knocks him sideways.In 2020, Mirella Kessler is trying to find a former friend called Vincent Alkaitis. Her search leads her to Vincent's brother, Paul Smith - a composer who is only well known in certain circles. She basically doorsteps him after a performance in Brooklyn. The performance included a video clip shot by Vincent several years earlier, where she seems to have had the same experience as Edwin.Meanwhile in 2203, Olive Llewellyn is a young and successful writer. She lives on a colony on the moon, but is on Earth, for a book tour. (Marienbad, her big hit, is being made into a movie - the book has been granted a new edition). Uncomfortably, Olive starts wondering if an actual pandemic is starting to break out - there have been reports of a worrying new virus hitting Australia and New Zealand. Olive, as it turns out, also had a similar experience to Edwin and Vincent.But the book's central character is Gaspery-Jacques Roberts - who meets all three characters, without ever having appeared to age. He's very interested in the mysterious darkness and the mixture of sounds the three people have experienced. Mirella, in fact, remembers him from an incident her childhood - though Roberts himself doesn't remember the incident when she describes to him.A hugely enjoyable book, and very easily read. I'd thought I had it all worked out early on, but there were a few things I didn't see coming. Very much recommended.