Spoilers warning
Picked it up from the Goodreads science fiction top list. The description did not make much sense to me but I decided to give it a try based on the popularity.
It was a bit hard for me to get into but after a while the narrative made sense. It felt cosy to imagine all these travelers gather around and tell stories to each other. I liked the variety of styles and themes that each character contributes. But I still felt it was not fully stitched together. Yes, there is this shared universe but the transition from one tale to another still was jarring. And the ending was underwhelming. I was hoping for some closure, and the last tale kind of provided it, but then there was a heap of unanswered questions.
What were your thoughts? If you read the sequels, were they worth it?
It helps to think of it very much as Canterbury Tales: a frame story in which a group of pilgrims traveling together have spare time and share their life stories. In this case there’s enough overarching story to make you want to know what happens when they arrive at their destination, but that’s not this novel. It is very much the following ones.