🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
When I started reading God School: Mall of the Heavens, Book One, I had high expectations. It starts with 17 year old Ariadne in a battered, old Land Rover with her mother and a team of scientists; they’re about to shoot out of an aeroplane over mountains covered in jungle in deepest India. A thrilling chapter follows filled with witty banter, as they plummet towards the earth with technologically advanced appendages, trying to find the narrow road which will lead them to their new home.
Ariadne’s parents are scientists, world renowned scientists, and because of that, they rarely stay in one place for much longer than a year. Ariadne is becoming somewhat annoyed by the constant moving, disappointed in not being able to form meaningful relationships with her peers. At the same time, she understands that she must move where her parents work takes them. It doesn’t stop her annoyance, but it means at least it’s tempered with understanding. So far, so good.
The morning after their adrenaline fuelled arrival at their new home, Ariadne wakes up with a blinding headache. Apparently, she gets them every morning at 6:30, local time, regardless of where she is. She and her mother have some more of their charming banter and decide to head out on their mountain bikes to explore the mountainside they now live on. Suddenly, Ariadne hears a strange noise, and shoots off to investigate. She comes across a strange tableau; a young woman wearing a sari, while wielding two shining blades taking on several monstrous beings. Ariadne watches, her heart in her mouth when the young woman is about to be attacked from behind. Recklessly, she peddles her bike to intercept the creature, when everything goes strange. Not just for Ariadne, but for the reader, too.
What follows is a story full of confused narration and confusing explanations. It dives head first into theological and philosophical dilemmas and metaphysical compounds that began to give me a headache as I struggled to understand what was being explained. For a story aimed at Young Adults, this maybe, isn’t the greatest. I know that young brains have more aptitude for understanding and learning; however, I’m not exactly a slouch. The more complex the explanations, the more crosseyed I became.
That was not the only issue with the book. It felt as though the author didn’t know what he wanted the narrative to be. It went from a traditional third person, omnipresent but inactive narrative, to a musical script, to a second person narrative addressing the reader directly. It was distracting, and caused me to constantly flip back to pages before to ensure I hadn’t missed some part of a speech.
For me, it became disappointing incredibly quickly. From an enjoyable read filled with witty and engaging interactions – it became sluggish, confusing and, unfortunately, unenjoyable.
S.A
This book was gifted to me via the Reedsy Discovery Program. The original review is available to read here
You can buy the God School from Amazon, here (or read for free via Kindle Unlimited).