hawk's Reviews > The Swarm

I like this novel, despite all its faults/flaws 🙂

I can't comment on the science in any depth cos I'm not an existing expert, nor done the research the author did, but it's mostly interesting... tho occasionally abit lengthy!

the story once you get into it is pretty compelling, and kinda picks up speed and carries you along. it uses the 'present a set of unrelated people and places/incidents, and gradually draw them together' approach, which works well for the story... and is probably essential in representing the initially isolated, but ultimately interrelated, global events.

the characters are pretty so-so... but I didn't really mind the humans being abit flat cos I was more interested in the creatures 😉🦀🦞🦑🐟🦈🐬🐋

I think the main flaw wrt the human characters for me is that the author creates a pretty sexist and heteronormative set, and writes from what I can only guess is a white Euro cis male experience and perspective.

but I enjoy it mostly for the creatures taking their revenge, for the imagination of how different species might organise themselves, and it's a pretty 'easy read' - not too emotionally or intellectually demanding 😉

if you want to read a way more imaginative, inclusive and fun novel about things lurking in the depths, I'd recommend Nnedi Okorafor's 'Lagoon'.
the two kinda also demonstrate some of the difference between more traditional/conservative 'science fiction' and more contemporary and progressive 'speculative fiction' for me.