What is your opinion?
Let’s set sail!
" Bonsai Letters is a unique story that features a setting revolving around the concept of water replacing the void of space. I think this is the most well thought out science fiction book i’ve read and Ben Benson has the ideas to make it big. I love the direction it takes as a mail courier tasked with traveling the cosmos in order to deliver letters, all while having to avoid a dangerous war that is hot on his tail. I love this premise and introduction as it allowed Benson to create an episodic structure for his chapters in the narrative. However, there are some faults that will be discussed in this review. TLDR: this book is good and anyone who likes sci-fi with adventure should read it. Spoilers ahead: Let’s begin with the cons before we finish off with the pros. I think that the episodic style of writing cuts short of the overarching narrative as we are forced to witness several other events prior to the main one. A lot of these chapters feel like filler despite Quayl having to deliver a letter throughout most of them. I'm honestly shocked that the introduction chapters tell us about how the Aerios, the sub they sail with, is not fully paid for and Benson didn’t write about a quest for them to take in order to do so. Despite that, they spend a good chunk of their time avoiding the military as well as a horrid race of creatures that seem to want to take control of all resources as well as steal the souls of the inhabitants within galaxies. A cool concept that feels sort of lackluster when we don’t have much of a connection to the characters in their perilous tale. On top of that, the cast of characters will start and finish their goals in a single chapter. One issue I had with that is Gem’s relationship with Junne. It felt faster than a reader would’ve expected and by the end they were discussing a family. Another would be Quayls eating of the nummus to gain superhuman abilities. He’s more or less written off quickly as having no negative side effects and Benson doesn’t further detail what is exactly happening other than him gaining crab features that he can control at will. I think that the characters are a bit rushed in their existence. Quayl at the time of writing this feels the most rounded character due to us primarily following him. It is told in third person omniscient, however I feel this story could be better told in Limited instead as Benson should take the time to give us more connections to his characters as he has created pretty interesting outlines. For example Hebu is technically with the antagonists of the book: the Namina. But really, she is a reformed Anguilla that was forced by her people to harvest souls and resources. I really like the tension this could’ve had amongst the crewmates, however it was resolved too quickly and we learn she is more good than bad. Another issue I had was the story's pacing. Crew of the Aerios travels at lightspeed to distant planets to deliver divine letters to the deceased. Benson fails to acknowledge the passing of time so we as the readers can only interpret the idea that they are completing tasks within days. I would’ve liked to see some of these takes take a lot longer with the characters slowly growing older over time. Another thing that was odd was the military being around when they realistically shouldn’t due to them being at very far distances throughout the universe. The concept that the trees also carry an infinite source of air that allows the protagonists to breathe through the water gets slowly removed from the pages. Quayls bonsai unfortunately doesn’t get mentioned that much in the later chapters which is disappointing to see as it was brought up with significance. The prose. It's very telling, not a lot of showing. I don’t know if it's a personal writing style, but there were several moments that I felt as though should’ve been shown to us in regards to the emotional aspect of it. Such as Junne’s father being thought of as dead due to the Namina. Even a few smaller moments could’ve been better written to reflect tension, like the arguments that crew gets into with the military. I would like to see some grammar edits too, particularly with the dialogue. I don’t typically care for grammar in books, cause its grammar like what, but my suggestion for improving would be to read, read, read. The best way to improve on a craft is to learn from others in the same field. I think most of these issues could be fixed with few draft rewrites as Benson has the potential for something great. Now to end off with the positives. Benson has fantastic world building ideas. I love the multiple planets that his characters explore, each filled with interesting fauna such as talking penguins, wolf-people, and even fish pirates with guns. It's even a cool concept to have the entire universe filled with water. The episodic route is also interesting as I’ve never really seen authors take their chapters and create stories within them. I would recommend though that Benson extend this beyond a single chapter in order to fully flesh out his characters and world. It does a good job at expanding his world organically as the crew travels a lot and we can cut out the filler. This also allows him to expand with characters that come from different galaxies without it feeling out of place. I also really enjoy how there is an underlying tone of dread throughout the novel due to the Namina feeling like a continuous threat. It seems that no matter where the crew goes, the Namina have already been, it's really scary. I really like his characters overall. I think each one was crafted and set up to be fully fleshed out characters and I believe by the end of this book, Benson will have achieved that. The crew definitely feels like a family more so than a unit that was just fishing for Eels. Benson has also illustrated his characters making it easier for us to picture, although he still should fully describe all of them to the best of his ability including: their emotional aspects, how they talk, etc. Benson’s use of third person omniscient also allows him to take more personal steps in showing off his characters as we all get to see what everyone's thinking and feeling, not just the protagonist Quayl. He also does a good job of organically introducing the use of jump cuts to show multiple characters’ perspectives throughout chapters. It doesn’t feel out of place in this novel. All in all this was a fantastic read and a perfect one for those who are looking to wade through the waters of Science Fiction. I hope Ben Benson keeps up the entertainment and joy this book brings. "
Definitely addicting and suspenseful.
"Throughout the chapters, I found myself getting scared as if I was going through something similar. 😂 I loved the illustrations of the characters especially the interactions between them. I'm eager to learn more about Quayl's abilities. "
