When I started reviewing books here (I can’t remember that far back, and I’m not even one of the OGs!), the reviews had to be at least 250 words. (Is that still true? Well, I try to follow that anyway.) But when it comes to A Seed In the Universe by Elyon Liu (currently available but read via an online reader) to do that, I’d have to use more words in the entire story. And that would be including the title and the author.
I can’t say much about the story other than to borrow the publisher’s description and say it explains how everything in our world is connected, starting with one tiny seed. In the spirit of Zoom and Rezoom (both by Istvan Banyai), things keep building onto themselves. It starts small then ends up beyond the stars. It is the illustrations that really are something to talk about.
The cover does not even begin to cover what is inside. But you can tell how minimalistic things are. There are a few main colors that are neither muted nor pop off the page. Yet, nothing is not rich in colors. The details are simpler, but are expressive as well. Overall, it is a feeling book. You get feelings while seeing things. Maybe, it is not always a happy feeling, a few times I was feeling overwhelmed, but couldn’t figure out why.
What I decided was that it is just a lovely book that is supposed to make you feel things and everyone who reads it can feel and will feel something different. Maybe you will love it, or maybe not so much. Maybe you will think the text was a bit too “fill in the blank” or maybe it was not enough or it was too much. Maybe today you enjoyed reading it, and tomorrow not as much. I feel every time you read and view Liu’s story you might just have a different experience.
