THE UNITY GAME by Leonora Meriel, Book Review
The Unity Game Synopsis
WHAT IF THE EARTH YOU KNEW WAS JUST THE BEGINNING?
A New York banker is descending into madness.
A being from an advanced civilization is racing to stay alive.
A dead man must unlock the secrets of an unknown dimension to save his loved ones.
From the visions of Socrates in ancient Athens, to the birth of free will aboard a spaceship headed to Earth, The Unity Game tells a story of hope and redemption in a universe more ingenious and surprising than you ever thought possible.
Metaphysical thriller and interstellar mystery, this is a ‘complex, ambitious and thought-provoking novel’ from an exciting and original new voice in fiction.
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BOOK REVIEW
I was drawn to the ambition and narrative complexity signalled by The Unity Game‘s synopsis.
It took me some time to engage with this story, and find some reading momentum. The root cause is a little tricky to pin-point. I am a big fan of multiple narrative writing structures, so it was not that. Nor was the ‘time being fluid’ concept… I normally revel in such literary and philosophical complexities.
I think it stemmed from Meriel’s approach to characterisation… a lack of depth and layering. The human characters (living or dead), their actions and motivations just did not ring true to me. I felt the levels of aggression displayed by one character was at times excessive (and inexplicably without consequence). Many threads were left unresolved. The narrative arc I found most thought-provoking and felt most invested in was that of the advanced civilisation.
From the outset it was clear that this novel’s payoff was intended to be at its conclusion, and since this title had received glowing reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, I continued reading in spite of my reservations. Disappointingly that persistence did not reap sufficient reward for this reader.
Meriel has taken a bold slant on some ingrained constructs in The Unity Game. Unfortunately though, this novel ranks higher on ambition than execution.
BOOK RATING: The Story 2 / 5 ; The Writing 3 / 5
Available from:
Book Depository | Amazon | Kobo | B&N | Indigo | Booktopia(Aus)
Genre: Mystery, Drama, Literature, Sci-Fi-Fantasy
About the Author, Leonora Meriel
Leonora Meriel is the author of The Unity Game (published May 2017, Granite Cloud) called an “ambitious and thought-provoking novel” by Kirkus Reviews. Her debut novel The Woman Behind the Waterfall (October 2016) was hailed as “strange and beautiful” by writer Esther Freud, “a literary work of art” by Richmond Magazine and “an intoxicating world” by Kirkus Reviews. She is one of a select group of independent authors chosen by Waterstones – the leading bookshop chain in the UK – to be stocked nationwide. Leonora grew up in London but has lived in New York, Kyiv and Barcelona. She worked in business and then as an entrepreneur, before turning to writing full-time.
Check out Leonora’s website or connect with her on Twitter.
Other reviews of The Unity Game
* My receiving a copy from the publisher for review purposes did not impact the expression of my honest opinions in the review above.
