Book Log 2018 #10: Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel by Zachary Thomas Dodson

My wife picked this out for me as a Christmas present, and I can see what she was thinking. It's not just set in a dystopian future, but the story is told using a variety of aids, from hand-drawn maps to letters and telegrams to parts of another novel that gives insight as to what's going on in the book's present (hence the "illuminations" in the title). It is the sort of book that's right up my alley.

I just wish it had worked a little better.

It's not a bad book. The story, involving a man living in Texas who is close to power (he has a relative that's a US Senator, which is a much bigger deal in the book's future) but not particularly poweful himself, sees the man come across some of the country's biggest secrets, which he has to deal with while dodging a pervasive surveilance state (though in an odd steampunk kind of way). Moving between the present and the past, the book presents interesting characters and story that I can only really describe as weird. But in a good way.

The problem is that it feels like the book was written as a way to show off the design of the book and story rather than for the story itself. This is not surprising given that the author is a designer, with a particular interest in "narrative design" (as you can see on his website). I think if you go into this book knowing that it's as much about experiencing the book as an object of design as plot or character, you'll like it more than if you go into it expecting a traditional book.