The Book of Elsewhere

The Book in 1 Sentence

A confusing, interesting story about an 80,000 year old warrior who is being hunted for the 1000th time.

Brief Review

This book started confusing and ended well. The story, once you understand the structure of the book, is interesting and really creates this world that is just adjacent to ours. There are some sections that I am confused about still from the beginning that I don't think made any real difference, but leads to the confusion at the start.

Why I Read this book

Keanu Reeves is a stand up human being and I'm interested in his work

In-Depth Review (Favorite Quotes)

Once I got into the book and understood the pattern of what was going on, the book became very interesting. The idea that someone has gone through time like Highlander, alone but never forgetting anything. There is this depth of knowledge that feels legitimate to the character.

Where you lose me is this constant "There have been people hunting me" including a pig, for generations. Yet somehow, "B" doesn't see the same signs he has seen for years? He is supposed to not forget things, but I have to give him so grace since he has 80,000 years of history in his brain. That is fair. Maybe because of the way it is written where the reader is in the dark, we are supposed to feel that there is a piece missing.

I still am not really sure of the plot. The story basically starts and ends in roughly the same shape. Some event happens, and some people are dead, where others survived. There is also a mystery about who someone is and why they did what they did? I am also unsure of the magic that is going on. Part of the story is the "B" has been looking for someone else like him. Finally finding them, they have a fight and years later, that one is able to have kids, but he isn't. If they are the same, why the difference?

The characters are interestingly told, but they seem to all be missing a piece. There is a director that is doing his thing and something happens to him, but we spend a decent amount of time in his head, but his storyline just dies. "B" is still in a place where he "doesn't care," but at the same time, just pushing forward. I don't know what else to say.

Rating

I know that above it sounds like I didn't enjoy the book. I actually thought it was interesting and had a great narrative and storytelling element. However, it just feels incomplete. I am not sure if there is supposed to be another one, I don't think there is, but I could be wrong. The story is well told and the fighting and detail is great. I wish Keanu read the whole thing on the audiobook, but he only reads the prologue, so don't get your hopes up. After everything, I want to give it an 8, but the longer I have sat on it, the more I feel that it is incomplete. I am giving it a 6.

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