To your scattered bodies go by Philip José Farmer

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved the premise. The opening and ending are good, but the middle section dragged. The beginning is full of intriguing science fiction mystery. You can't help but wonder whether these people are on another planet, living in a habitat, trapped in a simulation, or existing in another dimension. The novel builds the expectation that these mysteries will be gradually and satisfyingly revealed. Instead, the story spends most of its time following the characters as they attempt to organise themselves and survive in what feels like a Paleolithic world. I found most of the cast, including the protagonist, Sir Richard Burton, fairly uninteresting. The book doesn't offer meaningful clues about where they are or why they're there until the final quarter, and even then I didn't find the revelations especially science fictional. I didn't dislike the book, but I found it a rather dull reading experience overall. I was hoping for much more science fiction and much less survival.