Gravity is Heartless by Sarah Lahey ★★★
“But AI irks Quinn – she finds them tedious, especially when affecting a persona of caring. (If they ask her, “How are you feeling?” or worse, “How are you really feeling?” she tells them to “fuck off.”) “
I received this e-book from Netgalley. This does not affect my review or opinion. All thoughts are my own and I’m being 100 percent honest. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me this e-book for reviewing purposes.
Gravity is Heartless is definitely an original novel and you can see Lahey put a lot of work into this book. The amount of research that went into this in unbelievable. The way the author describes certain things and goes into detail is amazing. There were scenes where I couldn’t follow what was happening and the plot the book still is a little unclear after reading it.
Gravity is Heartless is about Quinn Buyers. What will the world look like in thirty years’ time? How will humanity survive the oncoming effects of climate change? Set in the near future and inspired by the world around us, Gravity Is Heartless is a romantic adventure that imagines a world on the cusp of climate catastrophe.
The year is 2050: automated cities, vehicles, and homes are now standard, artificial Intelligence, CRISPR gene editing, and quantum computing have become a reality, and climate change is in full swing―sea levels are rising, clouds have disappeared, and the planet is heating up.
Quinn Buyers is a climate scientist who’d rather be studying the clouds than getting ready for her wedding day. But when an unexpected tragedy causes her to lose everything, including her famous scientist mother, she embarks upon a quest for answers that takes her across the globe―and she uncovers friends, loss, and love in the most unexpected of places along the way.
There are a lot of elements that surprised me, in a good way of course! First of all there is a same-sex couple in Gravity is Heartless. I totally wasn’t expecting this science fiction novel to have anything like this, but I really like it. I myself am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community so it’s nice to see some representation. It was especially nice because the couple exists out of two women. Most same-sex couples that are portrayed in the literature exist out of men.
The other surprising thing was the fact that a character uses the pronouns ze/zir. This was a little bit confusing in the beginning because I’m not used to reading about characters who use these pronouns. But it definitely was a pleasant surprise.
I found the plot quite confusing. I thought the author was going to explore the disappearance of Lise, Quinn’s mother but that wasn’t the case. There were moments where I couldn’t remember what Gravity Is Heartless was really about. I thought the main character was going to embark on a quest and trying to find her mother, but instead she finds herself stuck in a political war. Quinn constantly meets new people and in doing that it feels like another story takes place. I kept waiting for the moment she would actually start looking for her mother because what happened to her is so interesting and we only got a tiny glimpse of that in Gravity is Heartless. Now that being said, the book didn’t have one dull moment. Every chapter you read, something is happening. That’s why I didn’t give up on this book. Is was a fun ride.
This world feels so real and I was quite shocked while reading this. The novel is set in 2050, which is only 30 years away and it felt like I was there in the year 2050 with those characters. Everything Lahey exquisitely describes feels so realistic. If you would tell me that this is how the world will look in 30 years, I would believe you. And that again shows how much thought and research went into this.
Now this cover is stunning. How beautiful is this? The colors are so pretty and I love the way the buildings look!
This is supposed to be a series – a trilogy – so I’m sure we will find out what happened to Lise in the next book.
Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. Lahey creates a beautiful world and puts a lot of work into this novel and it definitely shows. I liked reading it, but I would’ve liked to see more of the quest Quinn embarks on which is finding her mother.
#bookreview #bookreviewer #sarahlahey #gravityisheartless
heavenlybookish 