Prophet

Plot wise: there's a mysterious substance called Prophet that causes people who come into contact with it to... manifest things. Our hero(?) is Rao, a man with a preternatural ability to tell if a statement is true or not. Both interesting scifi elements, but I found the mix of 'extremely realistic and detailed explainer of how stuff works' and 'oh this part is a little mystical' disappointing.

Noted on November 15, 2023

When I saw Helen McDonald had written a scifi book, it immediately went on the to-read list. I love her nature writing (vesper flights! H is for hawk!). But this collaboration seemed to really dull the sharp edges of her writing; while the plot was interesting and I definitely enjoyed reading it, it certainly doesn't have the beauty and craft that that other stuff does.

Noted on November 15, 2023

Apologies to Sin Blache here; my home-brew system here only accommodates one main author. But this is a co-authored scifi book!

Noted on November 15, 2023