‘Into The Quiet Barren’ has an interesting premise but is plagued with clumsy execution and is in serious need of editing down. The work has enough about it to be a good short story, but in attempting to flesh the story out Eddy instead takes us through a confusing plot bloated with unnecessary details. This was particularly evident in the first three chapters which I actually had to force myself to read because the narrative had no clear direction, and it wasn’t until Chapter 4 and onwards that I could see clearly what story was trying to be told.

That being said, whilst the rest of the story was easier to follow, it didn’t really contain anything new or unique. A lot of tropes from other sci-fi and dystopian works were present and I often found myself inadvertently comparing plot points to visual works like Blade Runner, Altered Carbon and Don’t Worry Darling (this one felt particularly heavily borrowed from with respect to the simulation). Whilst all of these works originally stem from written media, this book clearly draws inspiration for the visual forms of these works and, in retrospect, ‘Into The Quiet Barren’ feels like it would have worked better on the screen.

The writing did get stronger and more original in the final third of the book. When Eddy is allowed to focus on the meat of the story rather than set-up and world building, I can see the potential in this story. However, I think a lot of readers will struggle to make it to this point as the book takes too long to live up to the story the blurb promises. Additionally, the final chapter feels at odds with everything else we’ve read, ending on Chapter 19 would have been more fitting and would have better set the stage for the proposed second book.

I don’t like having to write negative reviews but, in the interest of being honest, this is one of the weakest books I’ve read so far this year. The story definitely has promise but in its current form it’s not an easy read and it’s not a world I’d want to return to again.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I've read a lot of science fiction, and most new books in this genre seem like a reshuffling of books I have already read in some form or another before. I suppose technically I have read many of the individual elements in this book before too, but this was one of the more original books I've read in the genre in a while. I really enjoyed this novel, and hopefully we'll get a second book in this same world to find out what happens next.