Kinning

2 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
A human-infesting fungus that promotes empathy among those that incorporate it has been developed, and some are spreading it. A weaker Russian analogue also exists. Meanwhile, a brother and sister vie to take over their father's kingdom, with their mother plotting behind the scenes.

Review
Kinning starts any number of different times; the whole beginning of the book is a meta-discussion of which beginning would best suit the reader. I liked the concept quite a bit, but in practice ... I found the options murky and fairly dull. Unfortunately, the book didn't improve much for me.

I read the prequel, Everfair, some years back and didn't care for it. However, I had hopes that a more focused book would draw on Shawl's strengths as writer. Instead, after the false beginnings, the book is divided into two plot threads/groups of protagonists. One, the royals, was somewhat clear, but not particularly interesting. The other, the fungus distributors, I never found my footing in; I was never very clear on who those protagonists were, what they were doing, or why I should care.

This is a thoroughly developed alternate universe that does more than just rely on simple extrapolations. That's all to the good. Unfortunately, I also found the book both very unclear and (not unrelated) deadly dull. Even the inclusion of a fair amount of sex didn't spice it up, because I never cared about the people having the sex or why they were doing it.

Having hoped for a more focused and interesting book than Everfair, I found this sequel slightly more focused, just as hard to follow, and a lot less interesting. If you loved Everfair, give it a try. Otherwise, I can't recommend it.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.