I received a free copy of the audio book version of The World-Maker Parable with the understanding that an honest review would be appreciated, but not required.
The World-Maker Parable
By: Luke Tarzian
The World-Maker Parable is a book about doing hard and difficult things, because they’re the right thing to do, and then questioning yourself after it’s too late to change anything.
It’s about discovering you’ve done things so terrible you’ve suppressed all memories of who you once were.
It’s rather heavy.
Not heavy in a physical sense. This is a novella, and the audio version comes in at just over three hours. Heavy on your mind. Heavy and dark. Clearly, bad things have happened. People have died – a lot of people – and it’s your fault. You had the best of reasons, the best of intentions, and you only wanted what was best for everyone. Not until far too late did it occur to you that maybe you were completely and utterly wrong about everything, but by then it’s too late and you’ve already doomed the entire world and everyone who lives in it.
At least, that’s how it feels.
Kind of…
It’s my paltry attempt at conveying the weight of the story in a few paragraphs, and of course I won’t do it justice. It’s too heavy. This is not a story for the reader who wants a light-hearted fantasy romp with a dash of romance on the side.
This is fantasy for the reader who’s not afraid to stare into the abyss.
What I’ll whine about
I listened to the audio book, and I think I would have preferred to read it. There’s nothing wrong with the performance or production, but I’m not sure this combination of medium and content is right for me. As an audio book, the narration just keeps going, and as a listener, I just go along with it. Had I read the text myself, I’d have paused to take a breath or to think things over a little. I could have adjusted the pace to let my mind adapt.
With the audio version, that’s not an option. Sure, it’s possible to pause the playback for a bit, but it doesn’t come as naturally. It requires a conscious decision, and by the time that decision has been made, the moment has passed and the story has moved on.
What I’ll gush about
Darkness! This book is heavy with misery. It’s one of those weird books where the plot doesn’t really matter, and it’s all about the emotions and the experience of reading it. It’s been less than a week since I finished listening, and I’m hard pressed to remember what the story was about, but I definitely remember how the book made me feel.
I realise this may sound a bit weird, but I do consider it to be a positive.
Final Words
If you like your coffee, your nights, and your heart black as despair, this is for you.
