Sea of Tranquility

" ⭐️⭐️⭐️3/4"

"I love Mandel’s kaleidoscopic approach to telling a story, which works particularly well for this time-travel novel. As with The Glass Hotel and Station Eleven, the plot is both interesting and almost beside the point - this is a mediation on family, humanity, history, and yes, pandemics. Her writing is spare and elegant without being pretentious. There’s a tender appreciation for the world and for the world that I find so moving. Just lovely. "

"I didn’t expect myself to like this as much as I did. I would definitely recommend reading station eleven and the glass hotel first, as there are characters revisited from both of these stories in this book, and this was really a wonderfully constructed wrap up of these intersections."

"Started to read this, but it appears to be a follow-up to The Glass Hotel. Since I read that awhile ago, and didn't really like it so don't remember much, alas I'm going to have to read it again. Then I'll try this book again. Reread The Glass Hotel, and then read this. Wow.... the only thing these books have in common are some of the characters. But at the same time, this didn't read like a standalone book. The Glass Hotel is a slice of life story, ala Magnolia, that explores people's connections and how our lives influence each other's even total strangers."

"Sea Of Tranquility 3½⭐/5⭐ + Interesting story, engaging narrative shifts, cool twist at the end, and meditative pacing throughout the book without feeling slow or boring. The ending saves it from its flaws. The entire book builds a nice blend of atmosphere with a tone of reflection from beginning to end. - The characters can sometimes feel like portals into a world without having a lot to tell them apart (maybe intentional, but sometimes comes across as lacking dimension). The story feels limited in novel form. It could make a better movie or series with its short length and (potential) visual sweep. Also, the timelines can be difficult to follow. It felt like a lot of the world building was left out of the final book, but seeing as how there are connections to the author's other novels maybe this is intentional. Still, it does this book no favors when considering it as a standalone novel, which wouldn't be bad except it doesn't particularly make me want to go to the previous novel to become more familiar with the characters or the universe where it takes place. Overall: Sea Of Tranquility is on the high-end of a 3½⭐ rating. To be fair this shows how deceptive a rating system can be because it really is a good book, but given the talent of the writer and the quality of the style I can't help but feel that it could have been better. The pacing is slow, yet not boring. It invites the reader to take pauses and absorb information, not settling for a quick paced scifi extravaganza. I admire that. In some ways it reminds me of a high-concept scifi story, but I did thirst for better world building and some colorful characters along the way. There are 3½⭐ books that are ok, but boring, and 3½⭐ books that are interesting and worth a look. This book is the latter. "

"Time travel, pandemic, and future planet jumping — an imaginative story woven across centuries, knock-out ending"

"Loved every minute of this. Very quick read"

"Loved; so creative. "

"sci fi normally isn’t my cup of tea, and admittedly, i picked this book because the cover is beautiful and had such an enticing title! it wasn’t my favorite book ever, but that’s just because of what i prefer. it is a great book and so eloquently written, i would highly recommend for those interested in dystopia, science, futuristic themes, and ESPECIALLY young adults. i think the writing is perfect for most people that age! "

"Thanks for the rec! So well-written and interesting characters. Sometimes the back and forth of the time travels are hard to follow, but it doesn't matter. There are heartfelt relationships among all the characters that transcend time. And maybe that's the point. 🙂"