Michael Shotter reviewed Kenai by Dave Dobson
None
4 stars
My feelings on this book are a little complex. There are lots of things I like about it, and a few that I don't. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to talk about those things in any detail without delving into some fairly significant spoilers. In an amusing (to me) touch of irony, the potential peril of revealing future events is a recurring theme throughout the story, so I feel well prepared to handle the task. Hence, I'm going to stick to a somewhat basic assessment of"Kenai" but don't take that to mean that the book is shallow or unworthy of a more thorough analysis. I just believe potential readers would be better served by me keeping things simple here.
What worked for me: Jess is a fun and interesting character. The initial setup of what she's doing on Kenai and the mystery of it that she becomes more aware of as …
My feelings on this book are a little complex. There are lots of things I like about it, and a few that I don't. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to talk about those things in any detail without delving into some fairly significant spoilers. In an amusing (to me) touch of irony, the potential peril of revealing future events is a recurring theme throughout the story, so I feel well prepared to handle the task. Hence, I'm going to stick to a somewhat basic assessment of"Kenai" but don't take that to mean that the book is shallow or unworthy of a more thorough analysis. I just believe potential readers would be better served by me keeping things simple here.
What worked for me: Jess is a fun and interesting character. The initial setup of what she's doing on Kenai and the mystery of it that she becomes more aware of as the story progresses is a good hook that kept me engaged and eager to continue the read. The action and science elements of the book are generally well done and feel at least plausible for the most part, though a few are a bit of a stretch or rough around the edges. Most importantly, I found the overall experience and its conclusion satisfying, and feel reasonably confident that most speculative-fiction readers will enjoy it as well.
What didn't: For me, the book is a tad long given the scope of the story. It's not excessive and I don't believe anything should have been cut from it outright, but I think the flow suffers a little from some instances of repetition and various elements not being as refined and streamlined as I would have preferred. The writing is generally very proficient and confident but there were times when I felt it to be a little awkward, cumbersome, or vague in ways that occasionally took me out of the experience. Fortunately, these were brief and infrequent but I did find them noteworthy. Finally, a bit of a spoiler: The time travel and manipulation elements, while ultimately interesting and essential to the narrative, just aren't the sorts of things I tend to enjoy as "fiddling with time" is easily one of the most overdone "tropes" of science fiction in my estimation. Still, all of that is done relatively well in "Kenai," so I give the author full credit for doing something worthwhile with the concepts.
Overall, I had a good time with "Kenai" and can absolutely see how it managed to take the top spot in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition in 2024. There's plenty to praise and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any fan of speculative fiction despite it not being a slam dunk in my case.
