Book Review
Nov. 13th, 2017 09:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariRadiance
by Catherynne Valente
Radiance is set in an alternate 20th century, one in which space travel began in the last half of the 19th century, all the planets of the solar system are habitable, and the moon is basically Hollywood. The story, spanning about 1900 to 1962, concerns Severin Unck, the daughter of famed director Percival Unck. She grows up on camera and in the film industry, so it's no surprise that she becomes a director in her own right. However, while her father is known for his Gothic pot-boilers, Severin turns to documentaries. During the filming of a movie about a mysteriously destroyed seaside town on Venus, Severin disappears and the rest of the crew returns to the moon rather traumatized.
The story of Severin's life and disappearance, and the mysteries thereof are spun out through diaries, gossip columns, interviews, and excerpts from Severin's and Percival's films.
Radiance is brilliant and I enjoyed every second of reading it. Valente beautifully combines classic pulp sci-fi with noir, fantasy, and mystery novels and smoothly shifts between narrators, styles, time periods, and perspectives without ever leaving the reader confused. It's imaginative and poignant, amazing, and absolute magic.
by Catherynne Valente
Radiance is set in an alternate 20th century, one in which space travel began in the last half of the 19th century, all the planets of the solar system are habitable, and the moon is basically Hollywood. The story, spanning about 1900 to 1962, concerns Severin Unck, the daughter of famed director Percival Unck. She grows up on camera and in the film industry, so it's no surprise that she becomes a director in her own right. However, while her father is known for his Gothic pot-boilers, Severin turns to documentaries. During the filming of a movie about a mysteriously destroyed seaside town on Venus, Severin disappears and the rest of the crew returns to the moon rather traumatized.
The story of Severin's life and disappearance, and the mysteries thereof are spun out through diaries, gossip columns, interviews, and excerpts from Severin's and Percival's films.
Radiance is brilliant and I enjoyed every second of reading it. Valente beautifully combines classic pulp sci-fi with noir, fantasy, and mystery novels and smoothly shifts between narrators, styles, time periods, and perspectives without ever leaving the reader confused. It's imaginative and poignant, amazing, and absolute magic.
