The Carpet Makers

Title: The Carpet Makers
Author: Andreas Eschbach
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 300
Why I read it: heard it was good
Grade: C+

Synopsis:
Since the time of pre-history, carpetmakers tie intricate knots to form carpets for the court of the Emperor. These carpets are made from the hairs of wives and daughters; they are so detailed and fragile that each carpetmaker finishes only one single carpet in his entire lifetime. This art descends from father to son, since the beginning of time itself.
But one day the empire of the God Emperor vanishes, and strangers begin to arrive from the stars to follow the trace of the hair carpets. What these strangers discover is beyond all belief, more than anything they could have ever imagined...

My review:
I'm having such a hard time rating this book. Andreas Eschbach has created an amazing world to explore in The Carpet Makers. Unfortunately, he fails to really explore it. It reads like a bunch of short stories set in the same world, sometimes connected, and other times I can't really figure out what the point of a certain thread is.

There really is no character development. Not enough time is spent on any character or setting to really get the full story, before we've moved on to other characters, sometimes never to return.

On the other hand, the world was fascinating. I kept reading because I wanted to know how it all tied together, and at the end it did come together somewhat, but for me it was underwhelming, and I was ultimately disappointed. This writer is good, for sure, but I feel like there could have been so much more story told, so many more things to develop and explore, and it just never got there.

I would read more by this author, but I'm not sure if any other of his books are translated into English. This one was not heavy at all on the science, and could be enjoyed by fans of any genre.