‘I am the great scholar, the magician, the adept, who is doing the experiment. Of course I need subjects to do it on.’ The Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis
Aw, thanks for the mention re the genre switching. It amazed me, as I finished the book and wanted to think about it and hear what others thought about it, that none of the reviews I read anywhere discussed that. Did I imagine it? No, I think it's part of the magic of Piranesi's story. Clarke is so sure-footed of these movements as in every detail of the novel. It's a masterclass in creating mystery, suspense and mood.
Piranesi would have been my book of the year for 2021 by far if I hadn't incidentally also met Murderbot for the first time. 2021 was a crap year in so many ways but the reading made up for that - escapism of the best kind. I'll be delving delightedly down the rabbit hole extras above as soon as the day job lets up again.
PS "expert" might be a stretch. I'm not a proper sci fi nerd, just a part-time fan. Like you, I mix up my reading. I read a lot of sci fi in my teens, then mostly whodunnits and thrillers in my 20s, had kids in my 30s and then started writing at 40, when a mentor pushed me to widen my reading. Never too late to start. Despite writing sci fi, I've only started reading any quantity again very recently and there is so much amazing work to love.
Aw, thanks for the mention re the genre switching. It amazed me, as I finished the book and wanted to think about it and hear what others thought about it, that none of the reviews I read anywhere discussed that. Did I imagine it? No, I think it's part of the magic of Piranesi's story. Clarke is so sure-footed of these movements as in every detail of the novel. It's a masterclass in creating mystery, suspense and mood.
Piranesi would have been my book of the year for 2021 by far if I hadn't incidentally also met Murderbot for the first time. 2021 was a crap year in so many ways but the reading made up for that - escapism of the best kind. I'll be delving delightedly down the rabbit hole extras above as soon as the day job lets up again.
PS "expert" might be a stretch. I'm not a proper sci fi nerd, just a part-time fan. Like you, I mix up my reading. I read a lot of sci fi in my teens, then mostly whodunnits and thrillers in my 20s, had kids in my 30s and then started writing at 40, when a mentor pushed me to widen my reading. Never too late to start. Despite writing sci fi, I've only started reading any quantity again very recently and there is so much amazing work to love.