Long ago, a rouge AI named Athena Parthenus invaded the American Southeast and transformed the landscape using nanotechnology. Everything from flora to fauna to the ground itself she turned into her own biomechanical weapons.
Marcia, a former captain in the war, remembers the horror of Athena’s creations firsthand, so when one of Athena’s most deadly weapons is believed to be buried near the Commonwealth, federal troops enlist her aid in finding it.
These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe presents an intriguing post-apocalyptic novella with some really cool concepts. There’s an omnipotent AI, rock monkeys, and flying bears.
In fact, the story is so caught up in its own ideas that it buries its plot and character writing with them. The first half of the novella is spent mainly establishing the world's history and worldbuilding. Nothing eventful happens until much later on, and once we do finally get to the climax, I found it underwhelming.
This was a major disappointment because I adore its central premise of an expedition team going into unknown, dangerous territory (i.e. Annihilation or At the Mountains of Madness), and I just wish we got gotten more of that adventuring aspect.
Overall, I think this might boil down to an issue of length. It feels more like we’re getting more of a fragment of a story and it might have worked better if it had been fleshed out into a full novel.
Thank you, NetGalley and Tordotcom, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Details:
Publication Date : May 31, 2022
Publisher :Tordotcom
ISBN : 1250804485
Pages : 144
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