Fate Vs Destiny - A Review of Eric VanderMeers Novel, Fate Vs Destiny

Fate Vs Destiny - A Review of Eric VanderMeer's Novel, Fate Vs DestinyFate vs Destiny is the second of three novels in the trilogy of the same name by Eric VanderMeer. Originally published in 2020, Fate vs Destiny are one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time.This novel is set in the early nineties, after the Vietnam War and the one-party state in China that could have come out of that war. Both of those were heavy issues in the early nineties, and the protagonist is a child of the era who has lived through both.With Fate vs Destiny, VanderMeer continues his exploration of language and its effect on consciousness, experience, and the future. And this time he's exploring three aspects of that exploration. It takes off from there, as one of the characters go on an all-American road trip and meets with a strange yet dangerous stranger.The Book is an enjoyable journey that I enjoyed very much. In fact, it was a lot like the first one I read of the trilogy. Of course, the re were some differences, but mostly it was just that VanderMeer expanded on things I liked. I think the biggest difference was that this time the road trip didn't take me to California, but instead through North Carolina.The story is told in the third person, which can be a bit cumbersome for the reader's mind, but VanderMeer does a great job of keeping it straightforward and focused. It's also a really good way to keep the pace of the book up, but in a different way than some other novels. You don't have to finish every scene you find yourself in, which works well in situations where you're traveling or maybe even just living. You don't have to read it all at once either, which works great for the short novels VanderMeer writes.The truly remarkable trick isin the story. That first big part of the book, the opening and the crazy part where the two men get lost, are both very well written. Both have some suspense and tension built into them that add to the end of the book.I was defi nitely very impressed with the climax of Fate vs Destiny, though it's actually quite predictable. At first, I thought VanderMeer was going to include a surprise, but then he just gives us what we expect.Overall, Fate vs Destiny is an engaging book that does some very interesting things with language and the reader's mind. It's the kind of book that might even be worth reading multiple times, for the different perspectives it offers.