I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher Published by Tordotcom on June 25 2024
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 111
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: A short novella full of big ideas, Exploded Remnants didn’t quite live up to its potential.
Unexploded Remnants had a lot of good ideas, but overall the execution didn’t really work for me. I also struggled with the awkward writing style at times. This is a book full of big ideas in barely over a hundred pages, and it might have worked better as a full fledged novel.
Alice is wandering through a bazaar one day when she spots an interesting relic for sale. It looks like a lava lamp to her, but it’s actually an antique data core. Inside is a swirling mass of blue, and Alice is about to discover that this swirling mass is actually an AI that used to be a soldier. Trapped inside a dangerous weapon, Gunn (as she calls him) is unaware that the war he was made for is over. Alice would like to return him to his home, but an alien species called the Delosi also wants the data core, and now they’re after Alice.
With her agent Bugs and her ex partner Tegral helping her, Alice tries to outrun the Delosi and get Gunn to safety before they can steal him.
So, positives first. I really enjoyed Alice, especially her backstory. She is supposedly the last human alive, having stepped through a wormhole to another world by accident one day in the 1960s. The aliens who found her eventually sent her back to Earth to spy for them, but when war and global warming threaten the planet, they pull her out before Earth is destroyed. Now she’s been “upgraded” and has lived for over a hundred years. I enjoyed these details so much, I’m wondering why the author didn’t write that story instead, I think it would have been much more interesting!
I also love the fact that Alice is a trans woman (she used to be Andrew when she lived on Earth), and the author is trans as well. Bonus points to the publisher for releasing the book during Pride Month!
The author has a not-so-subtle Alice in Wonderland theme going on that could have worked, but it was a little too “in your face” and ended up falling flat. And for some reason, she makes references to Bugs Bunny throughout the story as well (“Bugs” being the name of her agent companion, who talks like Elmer Fudd and says things like “What’s up, Doc?”) I can only guess that because Alice is from mid-twentieth century Earth, she has all these cultural references in her back pocket, but honestly, neither one added much to the story, at least for me.
The author brings up some thoughtful points about free will, for example can Gunn choose not to be an object of destruction, or does his programming override his ability to choose? I thought the ending was resolved a little too easily, with very little drama or conflict, so in the end this story was just OK for me.
With thanks to the publisher for a review copy.
Based on what you’ve said I doubt I’ll pick this up, especially given the size of my TBR. It’s a shame that Alice’s back story wasn’t covered as from what you’ve described that certainly sounds fascinating.
I loved her backstory way more!
“I’m wondering why the author didn’t write that story instead, I think it would have been much more interesting!”
I agree! Bonus points for an original twist on Alice in Wonderland though.
Roberta R. recently posted…Nadi Reed Perez: “The Afterlife of Mal Caldera” (ARC Review)
I think I wanted more with the Alice and Wonderland, but I liked the idea.
I mean, you were waaaay nicer about this than I was, but I guess we mostly agreed. High five!
Ha ha, big high five!
The set-up for this sounds good, it kind of reminds me of The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport in a way, Too bad it didn’t live up to its potential. The details of the last human ‘being upgraded’ do sound super interesting, I would read a book about that alone! It sucks when novellas have too many cool ideas that don’t get fleshed out enough!
Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders recently posted…A Curious Beginning: Butterflies and Murder
Novellas are definitely tricky to write!
I am sorry that this one didn’t work for you! It’s not the first non enthusiastic review I read, and the more I read and the less I think I will read it. It is a bit of a shame because the ideas in there sound pretty intriguing but the development not so much!
I hope your next reading will be more satisfying!!
Thanks Susy!
This one is new to me. Sounds like it starts with an interesting premise so I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out.
I loved her ideas, just not the execution.
It does sound like a lot to fit into a novella. Interesting premise though.
Diana @ Book of Secrets recently posted…Weekend Update: Indie Bookstore Love
It was really interesting!
Sorry to hear you didn’t love it.
Yeah, me too. It had a lot of potential.
This sounds like a good core concept ruined by the inexperience of a fledgling author, which is a pity because there seemed to be a great deal of potential…
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE WONDER ENGINE (Clocktaur War #2), by T. Kingfisher
It is a debut, and it definitely suffered from some typical debut pitfalls.
Sounds like a pretty busy novella. Sorry to hear it didn’t work too well for you.
Oh well, on to the next book:-)
Thank you for such an honest informative review, Tammy:). And yes… it’s a reason I’m careful about choosing novellas as far too many authors don’t know how to write that length successfully. A shame as there were clearly some really good ideas in the story.
The ideas were so good, I kind of wish it had been a full length novel.
Some good ideas, but, as you know, short stories and I don’t generally get on well.
Lynn 😀
Sorry this one didn’t work out so great for you. Good thing it was a novella I guess! You are working your way through some sci-fi this month it seems. Thanks for sharing about this one.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…E-galley Review: The Calculation of You and Me by Serena Kaylor