Cyan Waters: A Story From the Poolrooms

Honestly, liminality is to me as a lightbulb to a moth, I want all of it.

I really enjoyed the imagery, for some reason the addition of water just worked for me. That being said, I can't say that the “main character” was particularly memorable, the story really is about the space, the space is the true character Vuk is the excuse for it (there's probably a lot to unpack on that but I doubt that Goodreads is the right venue for the tirade I would go on).

If you enjoy liminal spaces more than thinking about the concept of liminality/being unsettled by liminality and a terrible person getting his “due” you might enjoy this one too.

I received a digital review copy of this story and this is my honest review.

Vuk is a cruel capitalist of a man. His experiences in this book are trippy and surreal, but somehow also tedious. This is short, but there is quite a bit of repetition. There were a few times when I wanted just a bit more background, a bit more of whatever might have made Vuk a real person, instead of the monstrous capitalist he became. Unfortunately for Vuk, he reads very much as a quintessential alpha rich villain he is. There's no sympathy here for him.

The author is clearly intelligent and has some first-hand experience with the subject matter. I honestly wanted to know more about the world from his point of view. There were a few places where grammar and wording needed to be cleaned up, and the story should be tightened up with a bit more editing. I needed just a bit more fleshing out of other characters. It feels like there's more to the tale of Vuk and his nemesis. In the end, I hated Vuk, which is good! Though I still felt a teensy bit bad for he ended unredeemed.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.