34. Wakers

Wakers. Orson Scott Card. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Because he was a teenager, and teenagers take pleasure in exploring wacky ideas, Laz Hayerian had wondered since the sixth grade whether we are the same person when we wake up that we were when we went to sleep. Specifically, he wondered if he was the same person, because sometimes his dreams persisted in memory as if they had been real events. Did dream memories change him the way real memories did? 

Premise/plot: Laz, our protagonist, wakes up in a coffin-like box alone in a warehouse of clones or would-be-clones. The other coffins/beds are either empty or with dead clones. He finds his way to an exit only to discover that he is alone. Not just alone, but a long-long-long-long time alone. From what he can deduce, humans haven't been living in this town/city for years--decades. So he has to find clothes, food, water, shelter. And a way to protect himself against wild animals--including pack dogs that have had generations without human ownership, care, or interaction.

Some of this plays out day by day by day by day by day. But some plays out in what would be a montage sequence. After months on his own, he goes back to his beginning...and discovers that out of all the clones (or would-be-clones) there is one--a young teen girl about his own age--that is not dead, whose coffin-bed is still functioning. She is his only chance of a companion...but being the last two people doesn't mean that she's his Eve and he's her Adam. 

Both have different powers that make them "weird." He can side-step into different time-streams (think of them as being alternate realities). She can see other time-streams (sorta; she can see all the options and how they would play out in time-streams). Their weird gifts complement each other. She seems to know all about his gift; he has no clue about hers. 

Long story short--these two carry a heavy burden, if "the world" (aka "the human race") is to be saved, they will have to work together and find a way to use their gifts in a way that they have never ever been used before.

My thoughts: If I had to sum up this book in one word--TEDIOUS. But of course, I am going to let it go at just one word. In all honesty, this four hundred page book felt like it had a thousand pages, each one just as slow and boring as watching grass grow. 

The first third of the book had survival vibes. It was all about Laz using a long-abandoned remnants of modern society to try to survive. He had no answers to his questions. He didn't even know what questions to ask. He spent a LOT of time in his head and we readers were along for the ride. After Laz was joined by Ivy, well, the questions doubled, the answers remained elusive. But the tedium quadrupled. Seriously, you would think the fact that he now has human companionship would make the book more interesting, the plot move faster, but, nope. The dialogue was SO tedious and weighted with science-y science talk. Theoretical. Hypothetical. Speculative. Even when readers discover that the survival of the human race depends on these two, the plot stays as thick and sluggish as can be.

I think if you were looking for a premise-driven novel, you'd be disappointed by the slow pace. The world building is not as substantive as the premise would call for. We learn nothing about how this future world works. The development of the world, the peopling of the world, its strengths and flaws. The premise remains shallow.

I think if you were looking for an action/plot-driven novel, you'd be disappointed. It is very little action, all dialogue. And there is nothing compelling about the pacing. At all. I am not saying that there might not be a few readers who get super excited about the speculative theoretical nature of all this science-y science talk. Maybe there are.

I think you were looking for a character-driven novel, you'd be disappointed. We get to know two characters. And I won't lie and say that these two characters lack development. They are developed. It is just that that development doesn't necessarily make them fascinating, interesting, compelling, relatable, enjoyable. Neither is conventionally likeable. Perhaps that isn't fair. Ivy and Laz relate to each other. Ivy and Laz like each other. Ivy and Laz trust each other.

Quote: "When you invent a story to explain all the known facts, then of course the known facts will fit the story," said Laz, "It's a reciprocal arrangement."

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews