Moon has never fit in with the people he's lived with. One day, he finds out that not only are there others like him, he's special. It sounds like the premise to a bad YA novel, but Cloud Atlas was a great read. Moon's initial reluctance isn't because of some ridiculousness about just wanting a "normal" life, it's because he doesn't know these people, doesn't know the rules of their society, and being the same species doesn't make them similar to him.
This novel did a really great job exploring the idea of belonging, and Moon's character development over the course of the story was also something I really liked. The author did a great job showing what spending decades as the Outsider will do to someone's personality. In addition to the interesting plotline, it was a relief to read a fantasy novel with a society that wasn't based on medieval England!
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the novels.
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