by Maddie Reeves
I just got a copy of the novel, River of Gods by Ian McDonald, by snail mail yesterday, and I have to say that so far it is very interesting. Diving into the literary culture he is part of, has required some adjustment to a completely new style of writing.I'm only 75 pages in, and so far McDonald is using a lot of made up mumbo jumbo in his created world. The majority of the book--or at least what I gathered from the summary--takes place in India in 2047, however, McDonald jumps from India, to Australia, to the Americas. Tied in with what is basically a whole new 2047 language, it's a lot to keep up with. He's writing small 10 page chapters about characters at the moment, so there isn't a lot of plot for me to describe because of the lack of information on each individual story.
I do think it will get better as time goes on and I adjust to his writing style. I can see elements of how it is Cli-fi at the moment. the most concrete example of one is in McDonald's description of the drying Ganges' River, and how they are trying to move icebergs around the ocean to manipulate tides and flows in order to bring more water to the deltas and control extreme weather. I am keeping my eyes open for more, however, right now there isn't too much mention of climate change, direct or subtle.My hopes for this book as I continue reading are that I might be able to better acclimate [no pun intended] to it and the language challenges it is presenting me with. All of the reviews for it were very positive which is why I chose it. I will keep everyone updated as I go along! Wish me luck in adjusting!
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