1 out of 4 stars
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Liam Fialkov’s The Broadcast is a sci-fi mystery that deals with the possibility of past, present, and future existing all at once. The plot begins with a true crime show called “The Broadcast,” which boasts the ability to provide birds-eye view of crimes without the use of re-enactments. Their mysterious technology assists in investigations and rakes in money for the show’s producer, the enigmatic Walter Lindsey.
One thing I appreciate about the book is that it’s evident how much care Fialkov put into plotting this novel. With so many characters whose lives intertwine, the amount of time the author spent on the book is evident. The author also seems to be very interested in the sciences that would make something like The Broadcast possible. and This passion is one of the key ingredients to a successful sci-fi novel. Fialkov is also a very ambitious writer, and shows great depth of interest in the themes he handles in the novel. Among these are a great passion for history and the ties of family.
However, the characterization seems not to have had the same effort put into it as the plot or themes of the novel. Each character’s chapters sound the same, despite the different things they are struggling with. Each character’s dialogue is indistinguishable from one another, all of them using awkward, formal phrases without contractions. In fact, the titular television show is constantly called a “program” in dialogue, which I have never heard an American English speaker say aloud. The only character that I thought spoke in a realistic manner, not to mention the only character that I didn’t think sounded exactly like everyone else, was Walter Lindsey’s daughter Carolyn, who has a minimal role in the plot. It begins to feel that these characters are not people. It's as if they’re ciphers or symbols, things to help move the plot along. Some people may not see issue with that, but I find books to be unbearable if I can’t care about the characters. This book. When I'm reviewing books, I tend to take notes anyway to allow myself to remember things I want to say in my review. But for this one, taking notes was essential, because I couldn’t tell who everyone was without it. A book with this varied a cast of characters should have a voice for each of them. Even in third person, each character should have a distinct type of narration that follows them. Such steps help to take the burden of memorization off the reader, and make books more pleasant to read.
Another issue was that plot “twists” felt very telegraphed, chapters and chapters ahead of when these things were supposed to come to light, such as the various ways these characters are connected. I’m loath to give examples in my review, because the book will be more enjoyable if you don’t know things ahead of time. Still, it is disappointing to see things intended to surprise me later hinted with a heavy hand from the opening chapters. It almost gives the sensation that the author doesn’t trust his readers to figure things out for themselves, which is insulting to a reader. With the combination of the above problems, the book began to feel like a chore. I started to feel that I was scrolling through endless words trying to get to the next plot point. This is something that no reader wants to feel: sheer futility.
Though I’m sorry to be giving this rating to two books in a row, I’m assigning The Broadcast 1 out of 4 stars. There is an audience for this book, such as people particularly interested in sci-fi and history. But I found the shallowness of the characters to be at odds with the depth of theme this book wishes to discuss. I don’t wish to sound like a harsh critic, but this story and these themes have so much potential. I was disappointed to find the book doesn’t live up to what it hopes to achieve.
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The Broadcast
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