Book Review: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doehr
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Author: Anthony Doehr
Published: September 28, 2021
626 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
When everything is lost, it’s our stories that survive.
How do we weather the end of things? Cloud Cuckoo Land brings together an unforgettable cast of dreamers and outsiders from past, present and future to offer a vision of survival against all odds.
Constantinople, 1453:
An orphaned seamstress and a cursed boy with a love for animals risk everything on opposite sides of a city wall to protect the people they love.
Idaho, 2020:
An impoverished, idealistic kid seeks revenge on a world that’s crumbling around him. Can he go through with it when a gentle old man stands between him and his plans?
Unknown, Sometime in the Future:
With her tiny community in peril, Konstance is the last hope for the human race. To find a way forward, she must look to the oldest stories of all for guidance.
Bound together by a single ancient text, these tales interweave to form a tapestry of solace and resilience and a celebration of storytelling itself.
Kim’s Review:
This is definitely an interesting book. You really don’t know what’s going on until the story resolves itself at the end. I was drawn in by the prospect of a lost manuscript but I stayed for the complicated multiple timelines. Unfortunately, not all of them were resolved sufficiently for me, but the big picture was revealed and I was happy overall. The lost story of Cloud Cuckoo Land was an interesting common thread throughout time. My favorite was the spaceship Argos and Konstance’s constant curiosity and search for the truth. This is one of those books that I can’t talk much about because:
A. I don’t want to give anything away.
B. It really is complicated.
This is a great mixture of history, sci-fi, and fantasy! I would recommend this book!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Author: Temi Oh
Published: March 7, 2019
520 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
When an Earth-like planet is discovered, a team of six teens, along with three veteran astronauts, embark on a twenty-year trip to set up a planet for human colonization—but find that space is more deadly than they ever could have imagined.
Have you ever hoped you could leave everything behind?
Have you ever dreamt of a better world?
Can a dream sustain a lifetime?
A century ago, an astronomer discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. She predicted that one day humans would travel there to build a utopia. Today, ten astronauts are leaving everything behind to find it. Four are veterans of the twentieth century’s space-race.
And six are teenagers who’ve trained for this mission most of their lives.
It will take the team twenty-three years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years locked in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong.
And something always goes wrong.
Kim’s Review:
I really liked this book! Once I started and seeing that most of the characters were teens, I rolled my eyes and expected an obnoxious, drama filled snooze fest. I was wrong! These teens were forced into adulthood and maturity in order to win a place on Terra-Two. The best thing about this story was the sense of adventure and wonder. It captured some of the best qualities of humanity. It felt very Lost in Space even though the Damocles was tracked every step of the way. This book definitely scratched the sci-fi itch, without being so ridiculously scientific that I didn’t understand everything. I think this is actually a great book for teens and adults! Even those who don’t gravitate towards sci-fi will enjoy it!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK