too hard to get into this. not interested enough to keep trying. could be my fault or could be the book's

The problem with writing SF when you don't read it is that you rehash clichés that just won't fly anymore. Not to mention that the twenty-first century climate is such that having a literal alien masquerading as a South Asian and getting away with it is...troubling.

The other planet, the one that isn't Earth, to which the two kids are persuaded to travel, is a stock reimagining of Earth-plus-some-stuff. This is not in and of itself a bad thing. After all, is Earthlings are to survive on it, and if the Tonshu natives are going to travel here and survive, they need to be similar. But the 2020s don't really support serious (message-driven, not purely brain candy) SF with mysterious instantaneous transportation between planets.

The writing isn't awful. It isn't good, either. It's unfortunate that reviews of glowing, gasping praise for it lead one to expect a better-than-average reading experience that is not available. That said, I finished it, so clearly it wasn't dreadful. For the Kindle price, not-dreadful isn't all that bad a bargain.

I found the story really difficult to become immersed in, and struggled to find any real connection with the characters. Unfortunately I did not finish this one, and was ultimately not for me.

"Any Other World Will Do" was really new to me. I almost never read sci-fi and the concept of this book seemed interesting, based on my interest in expanding what I read as a personal goal. I do like that a major theme of this book is about finding oneself (much of the fiction I read follows this theme as well), Lubertozzi is actually quite good at writing in tone and is humorous in his writing style as well.

this was a unique take on a scifi novel, the characters were great and I loved the story going on in this book. The author has a great writing style and I look forward to seeing what's next.

The plot of the story seems very interesting, I liked the concept of the Our World and its mission very much. However, in the middle of the story, there was too much of an information dump, it didn't feel like anything was happening and it was mostly just the history of the world and the people. And when the story finally picked up the pace, the ending fell flat. Unfortunately, although the concept was good, the execution could have been better. The writing style was pretty good though, and I liked the character developments as well.

3.5/5

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Any Other World Will Do is a book with a lot of potential. It's got a great setup, and I like that it has sci-fi without being overly rigid and formal like a lot of sci-fi. It's relaxed. Incredibly relaxed, in fact. Sometimes, though, I found that relaxedness to be a drawback. I didn't feel any tension or strung-along interest.

I think this is one I'd really like on a second read, but I just didn't connect with it on this go-round. I'd recommend Any Other World Will Do to sci-fi fans who aren't looking for a high-tension, highly formal sci-fi.

This was a really good book with a strong story and great dialogue. I enjoyed it a lot. I don't normally read this type of 'coming-of-age' story, but this time I was glad I gave it a go.

I really liked the premise and the writing style of this book, but the characters unfortunately fell a little flat for me. They felt more like plot devices than fully-fledged characters, but I did enjoy the subtle mystery surrounding Vikram. All in all, it was an interesting read, but I wish there were a little attention given to the characters.

I really struggled with this one. From the beginning and all the way through it was very hard to connect with the characters and they felt more like plot points rather than fully developed and realised characters. I didn’t feel attached to any of them which meant following their stories was difficult since I wasn’t emotionally invested.
I found the perspective shifts frustrating and don’t think that all the characters perspectives were necessary. Overall it just felt undercooked and underdeveloped.

The concept of the plot and the characters are quite interesting.

Most part of the story will make you wonder about a particular character called Vikram from the beginning till the end and we would come to know about it as the story goes on.
I would say the ending is quite satisfying.

I find the story a bit slow while so many things keep happening in between.

I just couldn't feel that connected to the characters. Maybe because I do not read sci-fi that much. But yes, the writing is quite accessible.

I wish I could have a deeper connection with the characters.

It's a different read nevertheless.

Thank you, author and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

I really liked this book. The setting was imaginative and the characters were memorable. Thank you for the ARC, I will definitely recommend this book and this author to my peers.

*Firstly I would like to thank Natgalley for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.*

I would like to start by saying that Any World Will do had such an interesting concept. It’s about an alien who comes to earth in search of human ambassadors to take back to his home planet. I don’t read that much sci-fi but I was so interested in the synopsis and I thought the book had so much promise.

The world building of the alien planet ‘Our World’ was so fun and I could imagine everything so clearly; the islands, the technology, the alien species. It was explained that the two species-human and Yishi- are very similar but I liked watched Miles and Anna discover their customs, food, the way their family systems work, it was all things I hadn’t seen in sci-fi before.

The issue for me is the alien species (Yishi) were an intersex bird/human species and whilst this concept is really unique it didn’t really go anywhere. This could’ve been an opportunity to discuss gender and I appreciate that the author did try, but it seemed to me that all of this was more for ‘shock factor’ rather than to have any thought-provoking moments for the reader. The thing that really annoyed me was that since the Yishi are not male or female, this could’ve been a chance to make a great point about using gender neutral pronouns but instead there is a long-winded explanation as to why they all use male pronouns and he/him are just used throughout which was actually a little confusing.

In terms of the characters I did really like Vikram’s character. He had little nuances that made him funny, quite relatable (for an alien) and really likeable. Anna on the other hand was clearly intelligent and caring but for most of the book all we really knew about her was that she dated a lot of men. There was a little attempt to show her heritage and background but it just didn’t seem to go anywhere. Then there was Miles... sadly I found him very bland, he just seemed quite grumpy and confused for most of the book and only really makes a contribution in the last couple of chapters.

After saying that, I would still recommend giving this a go. I really did enjoy the set-up in Barcelona, the world building on ‘Our World’, the political war set on the alien planet and the general plot was quite fun and interesting. I’d say that overall, I enjoyed this book and I do see parts of it where it could’ve been really great. I just wish certain parts had been executed differently.

This was honestly a completely enjoyable read. Its not particularly a book I would usually choose and I don’t think that it was really a book for me, but I can appreciate that some people may really love this book!

This is OK. Decent premise. A bit over the top at times. Too much sex for me that also didn't seem to help the plot, I hope the author continues to write.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

This book was not for me, but it has a number of enjoyable aspects. I particularly appreciated the use of fictional science fiction novels for science-fictional purposes.

3 stars - Interesting premise, flawed execution

Vikram is not what he seems to be, an Indian anthropologist living in Barcelona above the Hotel Kashmir and not doing all that much. Actually, Vikram is from another Planet and looking for two humans to take along for a trip back home. His people have managed to destroy their own planet as well as another habitable planet in their solar system and are now struggling along on a few scattered islands on a planet wrecked by natural desasters, political struggles and not much of a plan how to fix all this.
He decides to take along Anna, his flatmate of some years, a young Surinamese who has seen quite a bit of the world already, and Miles, still almost a child, who has come travelling from Chicago to run away from things for a while.
Together they will have quite a few adventures and maybe there will be a ray of hope for Vikram's home in the end.

So, sounds like a great premise, right? And it is and the actual telling of the story is all right, for sure.

There were just a couple of issues that made me enjoy this one less than I could have. I'll just list them in bullet points:

- The sex: seriously, there is so much sex and sex-adjacent stuff mentioned in here that is 100% irrelevant. We hear repeatedly about Anna and Miles having the hots for each other but this info is just kind of there, it doesn't contribute anything to the character development or the plot. Other characters also have lots of sex. Then there is the exhausting descripton of the pornography in Danevesu - which could be social commentary, but it is not done smartly enough for that. Again, it's just there and weird. Oh, and did I mention that wormholes are called "arseholes"?

- The aliens are basically humans who look a little like birds as well. But they have boobs and "shapely" hips and also a penis (they are hermaphrodites). Again, this could have been used for commentary on the social implications of sex and gender (and the author does try to go there), but it doesn't succeed, so mostly there is just lots of talk about boobs and hips and large penises.

- The very high level of anthropomorphism generally was a huge negative for me: the aliens are shaped like humans and they even have DNA and everything. Their mannerisms, communication patterns and social structures also are very much human. This one was a big immersion killer for me.

- Anna: she is a great character - smart, capable and able to stand up for herself and others. She enjoys having sex (as we are reminded repeatedly, see above), but I really don't think that should mean such a character should just hook up with just about any guy coming her way. The way she is described you would think she would have better taste in men than jerks and nothingburgers.

- That brings us to Miles: Miles is just ... not much of anything. He has nothing significant to contribute to the story but one good idea in the end. Other than that I cannot tell whatsover who this guy is. But he's horny a lot, so I guess that's something?

Now, this is not to say that this is a bad book at all. It is perfectly fine, but I feel like the material had so much potential to be more.

In a chance encounter on the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona, Vikram Bhat stumbles across a promising new recruit. Miles Townsend, an 18-year-old kid running away from a past he’d just as soon forget, is drawn to the older Indian man, dazzled by Barcelona, and smitten with the Hotel Kashmir’s bartender, Anna de Wit, a Surinamese grad student with a genius for languages and Vikram’s first recruit.

Miles and Anna have no idea they’re being recruited. They have no idea that Vikram is neither an Indian nor a man, or that he’s a few thousand light-years from home. He has a lot of secrets, it turns out. But he means well. When a series of bad decisions reveals the fact that Vikram isn’t the only one light-years from home—and this other one does not mean well—Miles and Anna become unwitting ambassadors to Vikram’s world, a place where the locals haven’t got their shit together any better than the people of Earth.

A unique coming-of-age story, Any Other World Will Do is inventive, irreverent science fiction, a wry commentary on the primal urge to flee our troubles and the romantic way we remember the journey.
Sheer escapism, beautifully written, I will look for more of this author’s work.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title. I highly recommend it.