Review for Cosmic Egg by Morrow Andrews
Artificial intelligence, existential dread, and world-ending consequences combine to support a thrill ride of a sci-fi narrative.
Cosmic Egg reminds me of a Matroyshka doll, one of those stacking dolls where you open the top layer only to find another doll inside. Then another beneath that one, and another beneath that one…except in the case of this novel, I don’t think you can ever truly run out of layers. Heavily borrowing from many other works in the sci-fi genre (though more movies than other literature), expect many of the elements making up the story to feel familiar. Expect some familiar faces as well. Yet, the author does a great job of staying on the right side of being too heavy with the borrowing because the overall narrative still felt like something new.
Main character Peter is already struggling with a bad trip down memory lane before ninjas with crossbows and giant beams of light throw him into a game with the world at stake. Despite his lack of knowledge and being in a state of almost perpetual confusion, his determination and willingness to at least do something help make him relatable. The very real flaws only help in this as well. The supporting cast and descriptive prose elevated the story as a whole.
I wouldn’t call the dialogue weak, but it was weaker by comparison to the rest of the novel. Much technical conversation needs to happen because of the situations Peter finds himself in. Some verbal interactions between characters were either stilted without reason or felt like info dumps beyond what seemed necessary though. A handful of strange character decisions also distracted from an otherwise superb plot.
I fully recommend Cosmic Egg to all readers who enjoy science fiction with one caveat. I understand that including trigger warnings in the front matter of their novels is up to an author’s discretion. However, I fully believe that specific triggers should be identified, especially if nothing in the blurb or excerpt hint at those elements being present in a story. The lack of these warnings didn’t affect my rating, but I do want to caution readers that suicidal ideation and religion (to the point of zealotry in many aspects) factor heavily into the plot.
Cosmic Egg is available to buy on Amazon.