Jo Walton
Sooooo, this book is about time traveling greek gods who pick up philosophers across time and send them back to atlantis so they can start Plato's Republic for real.It's a weird book.
That said, it's handled fairly well. Socrates is really well written for the most part, although I have some issues with his final debate. Regardless.
It reads like a weird YA romance cum philosophical dialogue cum dystopic fantasy novel. That's not to say it's bad. It certainly isn't. It's a good book for what it is. It just happens to be exceedingly odd.
I picked this up mostly because it was in the new section of the library, and because I'd read and enjoyed Jo Walton's exceedingly detailed reread/speculation collection on Patrick Rothfuss.
That said, it was intriguing. I enjoyed reading it. I have no idea who to recommend it to. If a philosophy major came up to me and said "What's a good fantasy book that might interest me?", I'd point them this way. But you really do have to be interested in philosophy to enjoy this book.
I will probably pick up another Jo Walton book if I see it and need something to read, based on my experience with this book. That's the best portrayal of my feelings on it that I can give.
If you're into alternate history or procedurals at all, Jo Walton's Small Change trilogy (Farthing, Ha'Penny, Half a Crown) is really good. Basic premise: What if Britain and Germany entered into a ceasefire early in World War II, and the UK government grew increasingly fascist?
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