Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson

Hello again!

I have another review for you all. This one is Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson.

This is going to be a tough one to review. This book is unique. I've never read another book like it. My library has it categorized as Science Fiction. It has those elements, but it also has a Historical Fiction aspect to it as well. It includes drawings, a few pull out pages, maps, and an envelope. It is one of the most interesting and beautiful books I've read. I originally was granted access to this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley, but never read it because I could only read it sitting at my computer as I couldn't get it on my Kindle. I decided there was no way I was going to do that, so I promptly forgot about it.

I was browsing around NetGalley not too long ago and came across this on my list. So I decided that I would just check this out from my local library instead so that I could read and review it. This book is, in my humble opinion, a much better experience as a physical book than an e-book. So if you are interested in it, I would get a hold of a physical copy.

This book. My very first reaction to this after finishing was, "What did I just read?" I was confused as to what just happened. I immediately Googled it and found out that I wasn't the only one confused by the ending and there was actually a Reddit thread where some theories are thrown around. Don't go searching for this thread unless you want to be spoiled for the book. This thread helped me to consolidate my thoughts about it a little better, but ultimately there is one thing that I'm still confused about. I can't share that thing because it would be spoiler for the book. Nor will I share my theory because it would also be a spoiler.

Basically this book is about a man from the 1800's named Zaddock Thomas and a man in the future, about 2043-ish I think, who is his descendant. His name is Ezekiel Thomas, but goes by Zeke. Zaddock is sent to Texas from Chicago on a dangerous mission to deliver a letter and Zeke inherits the letter from his grandfather in the future, apparently undelivered.

That's the basics. It's hard to go into any more detail about the story without telling too much. This is told in a series of letters written by Zaddock to Elswyth, the girl he loves back in Chicago, as well as through a book, and other transcripts. I felt like I completely missed something when I finished this book, hence the confusion. Is this book so "meta" (as I saw it called by someone) that I just didn't catch on? I think I understand it now, but can't help but feel that maybe I am missing something.

Despite the struggle with understanding the ending and how it all ties together, the writing was really very good. In the first half of the book, I really struggled with Zeke's parts. I didn't like him much, so when his parts came around, I tried to read through as fast as possible to get back to the other parts. I liked all the other perspectives in the story, just not Zeke's. After the 2nd half, I became more engrossed in the story and began to like his parts more, but they still weren't my favorite. Towards the very end, his sections become much more interesting because of the anticipation you definitely will feel by that time.

I'm still struggling to figure out a rating for this. While I enjoyed the writing for the most part, and really enjoyed the uniqueness of the storytelling method, the ending just messed with me too much and was a little anticlimactic. I don't like to be left wondering what it all means. Tie it up for me in a neat little bow Mr. Author! I'm not saying I don't like to be challenged, but I'm not really fond of endings like this. I have one nagging question (that I can't reveal because, again, spoilers), and no way for me to find out that answer! That all being said, I think I've settled on 3.5 out of 5 stars on this one. Zeke's parts not being very interesting and the way it ended brought it down for me.

Have you read this book? If you have, please tell me what you thought!! If you are going to include spoilers, please say so that way anyone who hasn't read it knows and can skip it.

Thanks for reading. Until next time.

Jenell