Book Review: Under Story
September 25, 2026
I wanted to like this one so much. I cared about the characters, and I flew through this 500-pager to see what happened. But in a no spoilers way, I'll tell you that there is a huge "suspension of disbelief" moment smack in the middle of this one that just never fully suspended mine. I wanted to go there, but something was holding me back. And it kinda messed with me for the rest of the book. Your mileage may vary.
That said, great characters. Emotional, truthfully written connections to friends and partners and life. There is some really good stuff in here. Including some interesting scientific pontification about fungus and physics and apple trees.
I thought I was going in for another Wild Dark Shore, but what I got was closer to Time Traveler's Wife. In a good way. It's cli-fi adjacent, but that's not really what it's about. I had an intense time reading it because of the plot but also because of my internal struggle to buy into the world building. There's a lot to discuss in this one, and I think it would be a fun book club pick to see what more folks think.