Mesto Accelerando: Disc I (2024)

The book trips a few notable times, but they're what's make this universe...this universe!

Let me start with this: It's very clear from the gate that the author prefers to weave his tales in unusual ways: Black Elves exist, the planet and events come with a soundtrack, the story takes place in the future although the world's technology is mostly inferior to ours, intentionally has two entirely different types of dialogue for region-representation (Both are very well written - but it's like listening to two different realities talk to each other!), and women and men are truly treated equally in every aspect of society.

So yeah, very different mindset.

The attitude in the narration is also a bit different: The author shows very clear signs of meta-intelligence and cynicism. You can't not hear it whenever the dialogue is at its strongest. So it strikes me as odd that he chose to simplify his writing in a way that describes actions as simply as possible. It's as if he wants to pull in casual readers with easy-to-understand narration, but it conflicts immeasurably with how silky smooth and witty the dialogue is. (And I'll not mince words here: The dialogue ranges from good to fantastic, so it's doubly weird.) And it's not like it can be unintentional - there's some 3rd-person tongue-in-cheek storytelling going on suggesting he's meta-aware of the frustration that will come before he's even heard them. Another thing that may turn people off is the way the story hinges on you rereading the material in order to realize that some instances you found out of place or random were in fact foretold too smoothly to take notice. For many, the rereading is a dealbreaker (This is a problem I'll later elaborate on)

But no doubt you're wondering why I gave this a 4-star after saying all of this!

Firstly, it's important to note that the dialogue is really, really infectious and never gets caught up in its own wit. Whenever the dialogue starts up, don't be surprised if you start flying through the pages: reading about a dainty Elf giving a meme-worthy reaction to a horrible pun and seeing arguments taking unexpected turns due to an overwhelmingly savvy cast makes those 200+ pages fly. Without spoiling things, let's just say that even if you don't agree with a character's method of dealing with an important issue, you certainly will understand their side enough not to fault them. Contrivances and miscommunication simply does not exist here.

Another aspect that helped the story was definitely the characters. It's already extremely interesting to see a fantasy setting with a plethora of POC with varying roles and a spectrum of sexuality and proper female representation. (3 queens! 1 King! No sexist jokes!) But I can't name 5 fantasy novels with promiscuous women not only being treated as complete equals, but respected enough to have positions of power detached entirely from their night life. And not one character mocks them for it! This mentality is spread for everything: Race, gender, sexuality, identity - you name it. Welcome to a society smarter than ours! This gives the characters opportunities to discuss plot elements and, dare I say, express their individuality in other ways outside of being a deviant. Pizzicato and Mercy are both sexually-charged characters, but by the end of the first book (or hey, even after 50 pages) you'll remember that Pizzicato is a loyal servant of his queen with admirable, if not frank, traits that endear the readers. You'll remember Mercy for her admiration for creativity and science and how absolutely silly she is in group conversations. And these are just secondary characters!

Last but certainly not least is the mystery element of the series. It's definitely a tricky tale, and the author makes it even trickier by adding mysteries inside mysteries. (In other words: Mysteryception!) This doesn't mean that solving one big mystery opens another - it means three or five mysteries are weaved into the narration so that they'll go off at different times, and if you're not extremely careful, you'll confuse a large hint for character progression or casual conversation. This is another intentional mechanism set by the writer in order to distract you with the primary mystery (Who killed Jasmin's mother.) In a way, it's extremely subtle, and lends itself to some fantastic moments being set up for their inevitably epic reveal, but that's also one of the story's greatest weaknesses.

As I mentioned before, rereading is almost mandatory. People who have read this with me have outright said things that conflict with what the book said. For example, one reviewer criticized he had to have someone explain some lore information that he felt wasn't well explained - if at all. However, as I've read this the final book 3 times now, I can confirm that the book mentions the style-switch directly and evidently several pages before it really starts showing itself. Another criticized that the rules of mana (powers) would allow bikini-armor and could let the author make up rules as he goes. Shoot, even foreshadowing told 10 pages ago is often forgotten as the same reviewer criticized the lack of warning behind Mercy's personality, even if her intro chapter hinted pretty strongly at just that. Although these are very clearly flat out wrong the more the rules are shown during fight sequences (One being that most of the population are strictly following a very clear set of simple rules with their powers, two being that just because the women can wear revealing armor thanks to their powers... doesn't mean they will wear the armor...) it does show a consistent problem: It doesn't matter if it's explained clearly if people are still forgetting important details about the rules and lore. Especially when they're still trying to remember character names and all the other unusual aspects about...everything. In other words, too many things coming at the audience at once that seem insignificant and forgettable - just for it to actually mean something - sometimes something huge.

It's as if the author is punishing those who don't retain every little detail and at least reads a little into character actions. And it could all be solved by introducing characters, lore, and concepts separately. Or at least some wiggle room for readers to breathe.

All in all, I'm a dialogue gal, and the girls in this book are the kind of chill I can deal with. The main mystery does not disappoint, and the promise of even better in the future via cliffhanger had me crazy excited! (It was also heavily, heavily foreshadowed, but I am going to assume many will outright wonder how it's even possible.) Enough so to forgive the rereading requirement and enjoy the script and atmosphere of the world the author created. Speaking of! The secondary author did a bang up job with adding some depth to the environments and scenery. Some of the descriptors are awfully tame and simple at times, but it seems to be complimentary to the primary author's style, so most likely it's less to do with skill and more to do with being held back. (As seen when she has to go into full vivid detail - where it's clear she has more wiggle room.) All in all, I have no regrets reading this story, and I fully expect the second one to be superior in every area.

Small Notes:
-Depending on your preferences, the pace may be too slow for some

-Jasmin, the leading heroine, is in a league of her own. Your liking of her will vary as she's very book/genre saavy - thus far less prone to be comparable to any character I know since she falls into so few tropes.

-Although there's no sexual violence in Disc I, it is very prevalent in the world and occasionally is hinted at or outright talked about. Although the book has a dark-whimsy vibe about it, make no mistake, it doesn't shy away from any mature discussion. Ever.

This book's greatest flaw is that it "goes at its own pace" when it comes to explaining lore and character depth. So if you like having the lore dumped all on you in the first 50 pages, you're going to come out of this fuming as it clearly prefers to give you bits and pieces one at a time. There's also an abundance of characters to learn about, making the experience all the more frustrating. But as everyone has been saying here: The dialogue and mystery elements are consistently fantastic, and the characters all range from solid to brilliant. Even while you're still trying to wrap your head around the odd little world of Accelerando, the story, emotions, and politics are intentionally simple enough for casuals to read through and understand - leaving hardened reading vets to enjoy the little meta and subtle oddities that make for an enjoyable read.

I regretably have to ignore the almost-fascinating mystery elements and the great writing to take off two entire stars due to feminism. For all the intelligent banter and intrigue, it's unfortunate that 99% of the time, it's women that are doing it. Where are the interesting male characters? While female readers get countless of varied and interesting women, I can only remember three men that are worth talking about. And all of them take backseats to the queens - and sometimes even side characters. That sort of "style" really takes me out of what could have been a great story. If you don't mind the contrived nature of that, most will enjoy the read, I guess.