Review: Twin Helix

Twin Helix by P.K. Tyler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Twin Helix is the second Jakkattu short story, and it adds so much to the world P.K. Tyler has created.

I’ll start by saying this isn’t quite a full four stars. It’s close, but it wasn’t quite there. Nevertheless, it was so good that I felt as though rounding down would be an injustice, hence the four star rating. What stopped it from being a full four stars is the little things, but to understand these little things I first need to explain the bigger picture.

Twin Helix tells the story of twins who are not entirely human. In this short story we come to better understand how the world is divided, how the humans and aliens live together – or not – on the earth. We get to see the trouble it causes for people, the way in which it splits views. It really did add so much more to my understanding of the world that is slowly coming to light. In a mere handful of pages, we got to find out about the world and fall in love with the two characters introduced.

However, I was left wanting more, and this is what stopped it from being a full four stars. The story seemed to progress too quickly, with one thing coming after another at such a rapid pace. We didn’t jump in as deep as I’d been hoping to, despite learning so much about the world. It felt more as though we were being told about the world rather than truly experiencing it – and I wanted both the knowledge and the emotional experience.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a great story. I enjoyed it. I found out more about the world. I simply wanted a little bit more. If you’re enjoying the Jakkattu world, however, I would certainly recommend reading this one.

View all my reviews