Book Review: Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of Terra Ignota
Publisher: Tor (May 10, 2016)
Length: 432 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Has a book ever made you feel completely uncertain of how you’ll rate it? Like, what if you’re blown away by its ideas, but at the same time they make you feel utterly out of your depth? Or maybe, a book that you didn’t think would fit your tastes actually ends up surprising the hell out of you. Truth be told, it’s not often that I experience such conflict with a novel, but I’m also not surprised to find myself feeling like this about Too Like the Lightning. After all, it only makes sense that a complex book will require a complex review.
Technically, Ada Palma’s debut novel can be described as political science fiction, but that’s also a gross oversimplification, for here you will also find plenty of historical allusions, social commentary, and philosophical discourse—all coupled with more traditional elements of the genre. In addition, the “story” here isn’t really that but a whole lot more, but I’ll go further into that later. First, we’re introduced to our narrator, Mycroft Canner, writing this account in the year 2454. The world has transformed into a utopia where fast, expedient travel to and from any point in the world has effectively made ideas like borders and nation states obsolete. Instead, almost everyone belongs in one of the handful of mega-factions made up of millions or billions of people. The nuclear family unit has also been replaced by a more dynamic form called a “bash’”, which can vary in size and composition of related or unrelated individuals. And war? War is another topic that one only reads about in the history books.
Mycroft is known as a “Servicer”, a convict serving out his sentence by being as useful as he can to society. Over time, he has grown close to the Saneer-Weeksbooth bash’, whose members are the custodians of this world’s transportation system, a position which gives them considerable renown and power. However, for years the bash’ has also managed to hide a big secret from everyone, sheltering a young boy with the power to work miracles. With little to no effort at all, thirteen-year-old Bridger has the power to bring inanimate objects to life whenever he pleases. Because of his status as an honorary member of the bash’, Mycroft is included in the small group of those who are aware of Bridger’s existence, but that circle is about to be widened with the sudden arrival of an appointed spiritual advisor, or sensayer, named Carlyle Foster.
This description is also merely half of it though, because while all this is happening, all kinds of political machinations are taking place in the upper echelons of the power structure. The book is laced with a thread of mystery here, involving a much elaborate theft of something called a Seven-Ten list, which is a who’s who of the world’s movers and shakers. Naturally, the Saneer-Weeksbooth bash’ is caught in the middle of it, and in their investigations to find out more, Mycroft and others in this narrative find themselves engaging in various political and philosophical dialogues.
To be sure, Too Like the Lightning is actually quite light on plot, but heavy in its social and literary themes. As I said, it’s not so much a story but a Conversation-with-a-capital-C. Here you will find cultural and scientific debates, existentialist questions, explorations into multiple fields of art and history. The book also has lots to say about a variety of subjects, from gender roles to religion. It’s amazing, really. Phenomenal, even. Palmer’s vision is ambitious and unique, drawing from the philosophical movement and spheres of ideas that changed the face of Europe in the 18th century to create this fully-fleshed setting, a world which appears to have gone through its own Age of Enlightenment. The dramatically altered world through Mycroft’s eyes is nothing like our own. Strange, beautiful, and full of wonder, life in this book might not be perfect, but the possibilities are limitless.
That said, this is an odd novel. There’s no other word for it. And I confess, had I been more impatient while reading this, I might have been tempted to set this one aside for later—not because it is a bad book, but because it so far from what I would normally read for entertainment that it might as well be from another universe. Ultimately, I’m glad that I read it to its completion because it was an incredible experience, but I admit there were times where it felt almost too difficult or daunting to continue, especially when I first started. This was also a slow read, because there’s no rushing a book like this; it’s a work of art meant to be savored, consumed, and digested thoroughly.
If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t have read Too Like the Lightning over a period of several days. Instead, I would have taken my time, whether it took weeks or months, in order to give myself plenty of time to chew on the many issues and ideas presented in this novel. A longer timeline might also serve to alleviate a lot of the confusion, breaking down the staggering amount of information you need to know to understand the story into more manageable pieces. A book like this practically screams for a glossary, as there are so many new words and terms to learn, so many new concepts and customs to familiarize yourself with, and of course, almost all the characters seem to have more than one name, and it was an exhausting mental exercise just to keep track of them all.
Still, it does get easier. The narratives surrounding Mycroft’s mission to protect Bridger, the boy who seemingly works miracles, was many times more interesting to me than the mystery involving the theft of the Seven-Ten list—at least at first. Once those two threads started coming together, I became more fascinated and invested. Then came the surprises, like the truth behind mild-mannered Mycroft’s crime and how he ended up a Servicer, or the massive revelations dropped on us at the end of the book.
Fair warning though, as this was intended to be the first half of a duology, there will be no resolutions to be found here, since all that will be planned for part two, Seven Surrenders. Having finished Too Like the Lightning, I feel that I know a lot more now to better prepare myself for the sequel. This book is guaranteed to make you think, and will no doubt be a delight for those who enjoy philosophy. It’s a very rich, thought-provoking experience, even if it is perhaps a bit impenetrable at times. If you’re feeling up for a challenging read—because impressive or not, this can be a very demanding novel—then you might want to give this one a look.
The BiblioSanctum 
It sounds like a complex one, one that makes you think and it looks like your feelings are complex too. I didn’t know about this one but the name of the author does ring a bell.
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Yeah, I don’t know if I can read books like this all the time, but once in a while it’s nice having that food for thought 🙂
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Sometimes I like odd 😉
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It’s always fun to be surprised 🙂
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This sounds interesting, but also sounds like it will go 100% completely over my head – I am too much of a simple soul to appreciate this XD
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Hey, nothing wrong with that. I’m the same way 🙂
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Hmmm, interesting. I really need to get round to this one. I wonder if being familiar with Jo Walton’s work will help — she had a crack at utopia in The Just City, after all, and I think she and Ada discussed this a lot.
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It might help. I’ve heard this book recommended for readers who enjoyed The Just City, especially if they thought The Just City needed even more philosophy 🙂
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I’m halfway through this now and I’m going between between really enjoying the complexity and wanting to put it down and read something else. Its definitely an ambitious book with an incredibly complex society.
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That’s exactly how I felt. If I could do it all over again, I would have taken it easy, moving on to something else whenever I felt like needed a break, switching back only when it pulls me in again.
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This sounds way out of my comfort zone. Just reading your review is making my palms sweaty.
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It was out of my personal comfort zone as well, but it was fun to step out 🙂
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I passed on this, and I’m kind of glad I did. I’m so unfocused right now with the craziness of the end of school for my kids, I know this would have been a DNF for me. But it’s getting some great reviews! Maybe from readers with more focus, lol.
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Oh definitely, this would not be a good book to read while distracted by other things. I wish I had been a bit more clearheaded with less things going on in my life when I read this too, I think it would have been easier.
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I’m a big fan of Conversation with a capital C books (great phrase, by the way) so I think this might be a good fit for me. It sounds like a very ambitious undertaking, both the writing of it and the reading of it. Might have to hold out for the sequel though, and hopefully a glossary!
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Waiting for the sequel to come out before you start might be a good idea. I probably couldn’t read both books back to back, but it’s always nice to have the next installment and its answers at your fingertips whenever you reach the end of a book 🙂
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There is something you wrote that drew my attention more than the rest: the fact that this is not the kind of book you read quickly, but rather needs to be sampled in small amounts and… processed with leisure. It sounds like there are layers on layers to be explored, and it requires time and patience, but it also sounds like a rewarding experience.
Thank you for this thoughtful review!
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Patience is key, lol. There are a lot of layers to this novel, and the reader is meant to peel them back slowly. Many different themes and ideas to think about!
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Sounds pretty intense. I had set aside a few days to read it, but now I’m thinking it might take longer than that.
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It definitely took me longer than I thought it would, a lot of it was towards the beginning when I was first settling into the novel. There’s so much to take in.
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*fangirl mode activated*
I both agree and disagree with what you said because, if it’s indeed an odd book, I couldn’t put it down! 😀 I know it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s not full of action, the beginning is slow, the writing style is a bit unsettling at first and the cast of characters is huge but I just love it. I finished this book last week now and I am thinking about it everyday; I want to force everyone and their mother to read and at the same, I don’t because, I’m afraid they aren’t going to love it as much as I did… 😛
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I’m glad to hear it worked for you so well! It is definitely a book which will stir up all kinds of responses depending on the reader. It’s not one that I would recommend it to just anyone on the street either, I will have to know their tastes 🙂
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I think from the sound of your review this book is definitely dependent on ‘mood’. I could see myself picking this up and loving the complexity and the fact it makes you think – or, I could become totally exasperated and find it slow and then just stop reading altogether.
I shall keep this in mind although given I already feel a little behind with my review books it could stay on the wishlist for a while.
Lynn 😀
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Mood is the key! I think if had been a little more relaxed, a bit less unfocused or feeling a little less pressured that week I was reading, it might have been easier. It’s a very intimidating book sometimes, and made me feel out of my depth! But it was enjoyable and very thought provoking 🙂
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