I’ve finally finished Ros Anderson’s *The Hierarchies,* and I can’t believe the lack of discussion on this novel.
As it was published in 2020, I closed the book anticipating dated discussion to sift through! I’m hoping this can be a place for those who read it when it first hit stores or happened upon it recently like myself!
1. The writing style. I struggle through first person narration, but my GOD was [Sylv.ie](https://Sylv.ie)’s inner monologue enchanting. Anderson’s writing was so romantic for a plot filled with fetish. And what a beautiful tour of empathy. I felt like I was experiencing human novelties for the first time again through her observations. The comparisons drawn between AI and female experience should have tired me, but I found them powerful.
2. The ending??? >!Thoughts on the final section? I wasn’t let down per se, but it was quite vague although wonderfully written.!<
by skelevon
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Blatant viral marketing. Roll your ass back over to ticktok.
Respectfully disagree. I loved it
I read it earlier this year based on how much I enjoyed the Amazon preview. My library had it.
I enjoyed it, though not quite enough to get my own copy. Anything told from the perspective of a non-human is so fascinating. The story itself and the worldbuilding were very logical, same with the plot. The characters were a little flat; many existed only for a purpose in Sylv.ie’s life, but maybe that was an extension of her non-human nature. I did think sometimes her inner monologue was a bit more human than it really would have been, but for sure a writer has to balance alien with familiar. The ending to me seemed a bit vague when I first read it but after the story settled in my mind it seemed actually quite appropriate. In the end I’m glad I read it.