Leaps across the circuits that enable large language models and delivers a mind-blowing reflection on what it means to live on a dying planet reconceived by artificial intelligence ... Any disorientation will eventually melt into wonderment ... Compelling ... He writes without a drop of mawkishness about guilt and grief and the sorrow endemic to caring about the natural world ... Even with faith that its parts would at some point cohere, I wasn’t prepared for the astonishing resolution that Powers delivers.
Involves multiple plot threads, expertly and precisely loomed ... Overlaid with some obvious symbolism ... If on the surface Powers’ approach can feel patronizing, at least in the ocean the sparkling feels earned. The finest parts of Playground revel in the surprising, magical life under water.
A transcendentalist deep dive of a novel ... What a lush, opaque world Powers conjures for us here ... Works best as a fabulous exploration ... Rambling, rapturous.
Rhapsodic with wonder, electric with cautionary facts and insights, Powers’ profound and involving novel illuminates the conundrums of human nature and the gravely endangered ocean deep.
A novel of spectacular thematic scope and surreal drama ... The author's genius shows in his formidable descriptive talents and the graceful clarity of his densely woven plot.
Along with its environmental warnings, the book carries an intriguing look at the ways people and animals play, as in the boys’ competitive chess, the antics of manta rays, the allure of computer games, and what a meta-minded author might do with his readers. An engaging, eloquent message for this fragile planet.