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Generation Ship
In this riveting, stand-alone novel from Michael Mammay, author of Planetside, the beginning of a new human colony must face tyrannical leaders, revolution, crippling instability, and an unknown alien planet that could easily destroy them all. In 2108, Colony Ship Voyager departed Earth for the planet of Promissa with 18,000 of the world’s best and brightest on board. 250 years and 27 light years later, an arrival is imminent. But all is not well. The probes that they’ve sent ahead to gather the data needed to establish any kind of settlement aren’t responding, and the information they have received has presented more questions than answers. It’s a time when the entire crew should be coming together to solve the problem, but science officer Sheila Jackson can’t get people to listen. With the finish line in sight, a group of crewmembers want an end to the draconian rules that their forebearers put in place generations before. However, security force officer Mark Rector and his department have different plans. As alliances form and fall, Governor Jared Pantel sees only one way to bring Voyager ’s citizens together and secure his own a full-scale colonization effort. Yet, he may have underestimated the passion of those working for the other side... Meanwhile, a harsh alien planet awaits that might have its own ideas about being colonized. A battle for control brews, and victory for one group could mean death for them all.
608 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2023
About the author
Michael Mammay
7 books521 followersMichael Mammay is a retired army officer and a graduate of the United States Military Academy. He has a masters degree in military history, and he is a veteran of more wars than he cares to remember. His first novel, PLANETSIDE, was a Library Journal 'Best books of 2018' pick and the sequels, SPACESIDE and COLONYSIDE, received starred reviews. GENERATION SHIP is his first foray out of the military SF sub-genre and comes out in October of 2023. He lives with his family in Georgia.
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May 4, 2023I wrote this, so I'm not going to leave a review. But I just read it, and I'm counting it on my goodreads challenge.
From a personal perspective, this is different than anything else I've written. It's much more ambitious in scope. It has five points of view and is in third person (all my previous books were in first person.) I dreamed this book up 5 years ago, but I wasn't ready to write it. I didn't have the skillset yet. Now...I think I've done it justice. I'm really happy with how it came out.
From a personal perspective, this is different than anything else I've written. It's much more ambitious in scope. It has five points of view and is in third person (all my previous books were in first person.) I dreamed this book up 5 years ago, but I wasn't ready to write it. I didn't have the skillset yet. Now...I think I've done it justice. I'm really happy with how it came out.
July 26, 2023
I really enjoyed this story. There's a lot of political intrigue and societal upheaval on a generation ship on a voyage to find a viable destination for 250 years that has come upon a planet that may sustain human life. It was a pretty exciting read, told through five narrators: a scientist, a politician, a farmer, a technical engineer and a security officer. Each had an influence on how things played out and strong voices. Mammay has a way with character dialogue and that made for a fun and engaging read.
Seeing how life functioned on the ship in the day-to-day was really well done and one of my favourite parts of the story. From agriculture to recycling (even the deceased human kind because that would be important). Conditioning and training for people for the time when they all see sky and stand on a planet for the first time. Just so many details that I enjoyed having been considered and characters working through big and small things. Even small things on a generation ship make a difference. Also, so much of the conflict is the push-pull between community and individual benefit. And each community splintered into different factions with different needs when problem-solving was required. Do you never change the Charter of governance on the ship which has stood for 250 years or throw it out and start again? Amend it? How? There was so much the characters had to decide and it made me think of current real-world conflicts and questions. The characters figure out how to see their way through and that made me glad. In our own way on this planet we're stuck together with no other place to go that is liveable so maybe we'll figure out how to collaborate too.
It wasn't predictable and moved at a good clip (a good thing for a book just beyond 600 pages). I really liked how everything ended and surprisingly could check in on these characters again if there's more the author wants to write.
I'd only read one other book by Mammay before this one but I'd enjoyed that one so much, I was very excited to see this was upcoming and I'm very glad to have read it. Thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an Advance Reader Copy.
Seeing how life functioned on the ship in the day-to-day was really well done and one of my favourite parts of the story. From agriculture to recycling (even the deceased human kind because that would be important). Conditioning and training for people for the time when they all see sky and stand on a planet for the first time. Just so many details that I enjoyed having been considered and characters working through big and small things. Even small things on a generation ship make a difference. Also, so much of the conflict is the push-pull between community and individual benefit. And each community splintered into different factions with different needs when problem-solving was required. Do you never change the Charter of governance on the ship which has stood for 250 years or throw it out and start again? Amend it? How? There was so much the characters had to decide and it made me think of current real-world conflicts and questions. The characters figure out how to see their way through and that made me glad. In our own way on this planet we're stuck together with no other place to go that is liveable so maybe we'll figure out how to collaborate too.
It wasn't predictable and moved at a good clip (a good thing for a book just beyond 600 pages). I really liked how everything ended and surprisingly could check in on these characters again if there's more the author wants to write.
I'd only read one other book by Mammay before this one but I'd enjoyed that one so much, I was very excited to see this was upcoming and I'm very glad to have read it. Thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an Advance Reader Copy.
June 6, 2023
Original review posted on my blog Out of This World SFF:
https://outofthisworldrev.blogspot.co...
This book really makes the most out of its roughly 600 page count. What I mean by that is it feels like so much story packed into only one single volume. And that story is masterfully delivered through a handful of viewpoint characters who all have varying motivations and ideological convictions. This makes for one heck of a political drama set against the backdrop of a galaxy-spanning space opera that I simply couldn't get enough of.
The wonderfully unique thing about this book is that much of it takes place on the actual ship rather than the planet. More than once I found myself asking, "Come on, when are we going to get to the dang planet?" Then I gradually began to realize that this story is far more nuanced than just being solely about the attempted colonization of Promissa. It also has a lot to do with the clashing personalities of the parties involved and their own ideological agendas. That's when it truly hit me that Michael Mammay is a brilliant storyteller who reveals both the strengths and flaws in human nature through deeply fleshed-out characters.
Needless to say I was ALL IN as the chapters quickly flew by, having felt as if I too was living within the confines of the colony ship with these characters. What would we ultimately find on the enigmatic planet of Promissa? Would those 18,000 or so souls be stepping onto a totally benign and isolated planet perfect for terraforming and ultimately able to sustain them for millennia to come? Or would they encounter something they didn't initially foresee that would throw into turmoil centuries of hope and planning? Chewing over these questions and wanting desperately to find out the answers to them is a huge part of why GENERATION SHIP is so unputdownable in my opinion.
As I was reading this book I was reminded so much of one of my all-time favorite SF series, The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. That series also focused a great deal on the political infighting and personal dramas between the main characters, while also deftly balancing the fascinating exploration of Mars element. Similarly, GENERATION SHIP walks that tightrope and gives the reader a marvelous multi-dimensional story that goes well beyond the "adventure on a distant planet" cliché. I really have to give props to Mammay as I have rarely come across a colonization novel that comes even remotely close to the KSR standard, but he has at least equaled it and possibly even surpassed it with this captivating tome.
GENERATION SHIP had me delightfully in its grasp for the better part of two weeks. It was time very well spent as far as I'm concerned. If you enjoy science-fiction that goes way beyond the usual surface layer genre conventions, then you really need to check this one out. It will make you think and also have you hanging on every single sentence of dialogue. GENERATION SHIP is a top-notch SF novel that is only enhanced by some of the best characterization you will ever come across. Michael Mammay is an author who I am really glad to have discovered and I am now hellbent on reading his entire bibliography. Do yourself a favor and just read this book. It's a complete knockout that will have you wanting to devote every minute of your free time to discovering what lies at the end of its enthralling journey. Believe me, it's worth it.
https://outofthisworldrev.blogspot.co...
This book really makes the most out of its roughly 600 page count. What I mean by that is it feels like so much story packed into only one single volume. And that story is masterfully delivered through a handful of viewpoint characters who all have varying motivations and ideological convictions. This makes for one heck of a political drama set against the backdrop of a galaxy-spanning space opera that I simply couldn't get enough of.
The wonderfully unique thing about this book is that much of it takes place on the actual ship rather than the planet. More than once I found myself asking, "Come on, when are we going to get to the dang planet?" Then I gradually began to realize that this story is far more nuanced than just being solely about the attempted colonization of Promissa. It also has a lot to do with the clashing personalities of the parties involved and their own ideological agendas. That's when it truly hit me that Michael Mammay is a brilliant storyteller who reveals both the strengths and flaws in human nature through deeply fleshed-out characters.
Needless to say I was ALL IN as the chapters quickly flew by, having felt as if I too was living within the confines of the colony ship with these characters. What would we ultimately find on the enigmatic planet of Promissa? Would those 18,000 or so souls be stepping onto a totally benign and isolated planet perfect for terraforming and ultimately able to sustain them for millennia to come? Or would they encounter something they didn't initially foresee that would throw into turmoil centuries of hope and planning? Chewing over these questions and wanting desperately to find out the answers to them is a huge part of why GENERATION SHIP is so unputdownable in my opinion.
As I was reading this book I was reminded so much of one of my all-time favorite SF series, The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. That series also focused a great deal on the political infighting and personal dramas between the main characters, while also deftly balancing the fascinating exploration of Mars element. Similarly, GENERATION SHIP walks that tightrope and gives the reader a marvelous multi-dimensional story that goes well beyond the "adventure on a distant planet" cliché. I really have to give props to Mammay as I have rarely come across a colonization novel that comes even remotely close to the KSR standard, but he has at least equaled it and possibly even surpassed it with this captivating tome.
GENERATION SHIP had me delightfully in its grasp for the better part of two weeks. It was time very well spent as far as I'm concerned. If you enjoy science-fiction that goes way beyond the usual surface layer genre conventions, then you really need to check this one out. It will make you think and also have you hanging on every single sentence of dialogue. GENERATION SHIP is a top-notch SF novel that is only enhanced by some of the best characterization you will ever come across. Michael Mammay is an author who I am really glad to have discovered and I am now hellbent on reading his entire bibliography. Do yourself a favor and just read this book. It's a complete knockout that will have you wanting to devote every minute of your free time to discovering what lies at the end of its enthralling journey. Believe me, it's worth it.
January 19, 2024
There were things I liked and things that could've been better, but overall, I thought this made a good bedside table book.
The generation ship Voyager left Earth 250 years ago heading for Promissa, a distant planet with life-sustaining potential. With only 4 months to go all hell breaks loose, one issue at a time. It starts when a small group tries to stop security from enforcing the euthanasia policy on a woman who reached the mandatory age. This practice has been law since the original crew - it's the only way to ensure the availability of limited resources. But now that they're so close to their destination, what's the point?
The whole theme is around status quo: the politicians want to maintain power. Security wants to apply force. The regular people just want to be heard, and the atmosphere is ripe for an explosion. Ha!
The first 75% of the book is all about shipboard politics and machinations between the governor, an ambitious security guy, a science director, and a reluctant leader of the rebellion. The whole thing reminded me SO MUCH of Wool, and it was obviously inspired by Howey's first book. The last 25% was what I had been waiting for: arrival at the planet! A couple of very intriguing things happen, and a couple of those things were frustratingly not resolved
I really liked where things were going with Eddie Dannin I would've liked a lot more of that, along with more of her cybernetically navigating and fixing the ship's systems. About the planet, I liked that
I feel like this should have been a duology, which would have fixed some plotting awkwardness and the weird shift in storytelling between the political story and the planet story. I feel robbed out of more planet story. With a second book the landing crew could have stayed longer, and we could've gotten more answers.
Good effort by Michael Mammay.
The generation ship Voyager left Earth 250 years ago heading for Promissa, a distant planet with life-sustaining potential. With only 4 months to go all hell breaks loose, one issue at a time. It starts when a small group tries to stop security from enforcing the euthanasia policy on a woman who reached the mandatory age. This practice has been law since the original crew - it's the only way to ensure the availability of limited resources. But now that they're so close to their destination, what's the point?
The whole theme is around status quo: the politicians want to maintain power. Security wants to apply force. The regular people just want to be heard, and the atmosphere is ripe for an explosion. Ha!
The first 75% of the book is all about shipboard politics and machinations between the governor, an ambitious security guy, a science director, and a reluctant leader of the rebellion. The whole thing reminded me SO MUCH of Wool, and it was obviously inspired by Howey's first book. The last 25% was what I had been waiting for: arrival at the planet! A couple of very intriguing things happen, and a couple of those things were frustratingly not resolved
I really liked where things were going with Eddie Dannin I would've liked a lot more of that, along with more of her cybernetically navigating and fixing the ship's systems. About the planet, I liked that
I feel like this should have been a duology, which would have fixed some plotting awkwardness and the weird shift in storytelling between the political story and the planet story. I feel robbed out of more planet story. With a second book the landing crew could have stayed longer, and we could've gotten more answers.
Good effort by Michael Mammay.
October 29, 2023
4.0 Stars
This was such an unexpected and engrossing sci fi thriller. Every once in a while I have that wonderful experience of picking up a book with no expectation. This is one of those lovely times when a book comes out of nowhere, grabs my attention and doesn't let go.
I have read this author once before and personally feel this newest novel is a huge step up. The Misfit Soldiers was a fun rompy ride. Generational Ship, however, really raised the bar. The worldbuilding, characters and plot were so well crafted. Loved the diverse representation woven seamlessly into the narrative.
Often sci-fi thrillers can feel so predictable and generic, but this one felt fresh and unexpected. I was honestly surprised by some of the plot twists and never entirely knew what conclusion the story was working towards.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for an engaging page turner with a lot of meat on the bone. This would be the perfect story to bust someone out of a reading slump
This was such an unexpected and engrossing sci fi thriller. Every once in a while I have that wonderful experience of picking up a book with no expectation. This is one of those lovely times when a book comes out of nowhere, grabs my attention and doesn't let go.
I have read this author once before and personally feel this newest novel is a huge step up. The Misfit Soldiers was a fun rompy ride. Generational Ship, however, really raised the bar. The worldbuilding, characters and plot were so well crafted. Loved the diverse representation woven seamlessly into the narrative.
Often sci-fi thrillers can feel so predictable and generic, but this one felt fresh and unexpected. I was honestly surprised by some of the plot twists and never entirely knew what conclusion the story was working towards.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for an engaging page turner with a lot of meat on the bone. This would be the perfect story to bust someone out of a reading slump
June 9, 2023
I love it when I come across books where everyone has their own agenda but nobody feels like an outright villain. The politicking in this book is done extremely well, and there's the added dimension of these characters interacting with one another in an interesting setting. As the ship gets closer to the destination that they've been moving toward for multiple generations, the pressure increases as the impending arrival creates new situations where rules that have governed the ship for hundreds of years are no longer relevant or need to evolve. Obviously this is a nice parallel for today's current political climate and the US Constitution.
In tandem with the politics, there is the mystery surrounding the planet they are headed toward, prompted by the repeated losses of the probes that were sent out ahead of their arrival. I'll say that what awaits them at their destination is how I imagine a realistic encounter might occur if humanity was to ever visit an alien planet suitable for life.
This book appears to make numerous statements, but does so with just the right touch. These statements include how rules can work in an ideal setting but often not in a practical one. Rules that made sense 250 years ago don't make sense now. People who benefit the most from the old rules existing will be resistant to seeing those rules changed. Rules that even allow people to thrive in certain circumstances (like being allowed to switch departments to work a job you're better suited for) won't be followed due to politics. Idealists looking to make a change to the system can often do a fair bit of damage in the pursuit of those changes. Sometimes the damage is necessary. Sometimes it's hard to say.
This is an excellent standalone novel from Mammay that pits characters with their own agendas against each other as the ship they're all confined to hurtles towards a planet with its own mystery, a mystery that really turns the pressure cooker up until everyone is catapulted into open conflict.
In tandem with the politics, there is the mystery surrounding the planet they are headed toward, prompted by the repeated losses of the probes that were sent out ahead of their arrival. I'll say that what awaits them at their destination is how I imagine a realistic encounter might occur if humanity was to ever visit an alien planet suitable for life.
This book appears to make numerous statements, but does so with just the right touch. These statements include how rules can work in an ideal setting but often not in a practical one. Rules that made sense 250 years ago don't make sense now. People who benefit the most from the old rules existing will be resistant to seeing those rules changed. Rules that even allow people to thrive in certain circumstances (like being allowed to switch departments to work a job you're better suited for) won't be followed due to politics. Idealists looking to make a change to the system can often do a fair bit of damage in the pursuit of those changes. Sometimes the damage is necessary. Sometimes it's hard to say.
This is an excellent standalone novel from Mammay that pits characters with their own agendas against each other as the ship they're all confined to hurtles towards a planet with its own mystery, a mystery that really turns the pressure cooker up until everyone is catapulted into open conflict.
March 13, 2024
3.5 stars
Despite the summary, not sure riveting is the word I would use to describe this one, but it certainly was interesting.
Short chapters rotate five POV characters who hold different positions in a generation ship approaching its mission destination planet. Tensions rise between different political and scientific “factions” about how to proceed and chaos pretty much ensues.
One of my giant pet peeves is people acting dumb on space missions; mostly that didn’t happen, although I have to seriously question the entire landing process they decide to go with. But what do I know, I’ve never been in space and probably people would act as dumb out there as they do down here.
Despite the summary, not sure riveting is the word I would use to describe this one, but it certainly was interesting.
Short chapters rotate five POV characters who hold different positions in a generation ship approaching its mission destination planet. Tensions rise between different political and scientific “factions” about how to proceed and chaos pretty much ensues.
One of my giant pet peeves is people acting dumb on space missions; mostly that didn’t happen, although I have to seriously question the entire landing process they decide to go with. But what do I know, I’ve never been in space and probably people would act as dumb out there as they do down here.
October 17, 2023
Generation Ship is another win for Mammay and one that takes a turn into different territory from his well-known Planetside series and other standalone novels. It’s a bigger story (on a bigger ship), with a larger cast and more POVs (deftly handled), and yet holds onto what I enjoy most about his writing and characters – real people dealing with intricate human problems in a way both relatable and complicated by circumstance, furthered by personal and political motivations. This is a great combination of your classic generation ship story, with a contained multi-generational human society mixed with some other subgenres that I don’t want to mention to not give things away. At times it brought forth fond memories of CJ Cherryh but with that no-nonsense approach to characterization that Mammay does so well. I found myself turning pages to get answers, with various plot lines running in tandem only to weave together in the end in a way not expected. Can’t beat that.
Thanks to Harper Voyager and the author for providing an advanced review copy through Netgalley.
Thanks to Harper Voyager and the author for providing an advanced review copy through Netgalley.
October 2, 2023
I rarely leave negative reviews but I have to strong warn readers away from this book. It's poorly written, the characters act without real thought or motivation other than being set in a general direction and marched along in the book, and the final chapters of the book have an actually compelling world and concept but the author is unable to adequately argue his points against 'colonialism". Not to mention that 90% of this book is trade unionist garbage. Two of his main characters are left-wing terrorists, and not actual freedom fighters, that ignore the majority opinion in favor of violence that champion their beliefs. There's even a left-wing January 6th that's successful that the author champions. Heck, one of these characters even correctly notes he doesn't even really have his own beliefs but is a puppet of his daughter's Marxism.
And the 'antagonists'? A police officer and the elected leader of the ship. Oh wow, really tough there.
Oh, and the scientist might be one of the worst written champions of the importance of scientific rigor. For someone who is supposedly smart (though never actually has any real break throughs and is later the only character to talk to the deus ex machina at the end of the book (also a VERY poor way of writing)) she abandons her husband (who she claims to love but we never see this, and the husband is written as very emotional) for SCIENCE.
0/10.
And the 'antagonists'? A police officer and the elected leader of the ship. Oh wow, really tough there.
Oh, and the scientist might be one of the worst written champions of the importance of scientific rigor. For someone who is supposedly smart (though never actually has any real break throughs and is later the only character to talk to the deus ex machina at the end of the book (also a VERY poor way of writing)) she abandons her husband (who she claims to love but we never see this, and the husband is written as very emotional) for SCIENCE.
0/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2024
Generation Ship is a difficult story to summarize. There is a (you guessed it) generation ship that's attempting to find an Earth-like planet and Sheila Jackson's drones had been sending data from a planet that looked promising until, poof, the drones stopped sending back info. The Governor of the ship has his own little tyranny going and orders Sheila not to tell anyone, yet he still plans on landing - which means that her scientist can't investigate if the air of the planet is toxic, if there are any other living beings, etc. A hacker named Eddie gets the info and gets it out, and this causes different factions and underground groups to rise - all while they are still heading to the planet.
I picked it up because it was a standalone yet now I wish it was a series because the planet stuff was so cool. I'm more of a space opera and anything-that-happens-in-ships lover, but this time the planetary romance aspect of this book was fascinating and quite thrilling, it's sort of sad we only got there at the end of the book. Regardless, I do want to mention that Mammay's writing has gotten so much better. It was not bad before, I just didn't like Planetside, but I am not converted.
What I liked:
- The political intrigue and the factions/underground stuff. Also, how characters played each other.
- Eddie. We know about her yet she's really behind the scenes of it all and only a few people know, so it's cool to see what she's up to (and she is funny, we love here).
- The thrill of knowing they're heading to a planet and they aren't getting any answers. Why are the drones dead? Is the environment toxic? Are there living beings over there? What's the climate like?
- Sheila. She. Was. Awesome. I appreciated the whole bit about the husband and how the Governor has blackmailed her. Also, the husband is awesome, what he did at the end was so cute.
- The whole message about genocide. Here is the difference between Planetside (I only read one book) and this - to show how bad genocide is, that people may be against it. 10/10. Loved it.
I picked it up because it was a standalone yet now I wish it was a series because the planet stuff was so cool. I'm more of a space opera and anything-that-happens-in-ships lover, but this time the planetary romance aspect of this book was fascinating and quite thrilling, it's sort of sad we only got there at the end of the book. Regardless, I do want to mention that Mammay's writing has gotten so much better. It was not bad before, I just didn't like Planetside, but I am not converted.
What I liked:
- The political intrigue and the factions/underground stuff. Also, how characters played each other.
- Eddie. We know about her yet she's really behind the scenes of it all and only a few people know, so it's cool to see what she's up to (and she is funny, we love here).
- The thrill of knowing they're heading to a planet and they aren't getting any answers. Why are the drones dead? Is the environment toxic? Are there living beings over there? What's the climate like?
- Sheila. She. Was. Awesome. I appreciated the whole bit about the husband and how the Governor has blackmailed her. Also, the husband is awesome, what he did at the end was so cute.
- The whole message about genocide. Here is the difference between Planetside (I only read one book) and this - to show how bad genocide is, that people may be against it. 10/10. Loved it.
June 6, 2023
Mammay's latest is a page-turning, nail-biting whirlwind of a plot, but what sits with me most after finishing it is the treatment of its characters. I could write an essay on the brilliance of the plot and the pacing, but what I really want to talk about how is jealous I am that Mammay was able to interweave such compelling character arcs to conclusions that were both shocking and inevitable. To do that would be a wall of spoilers, so I'll settle for this:
I simply cannot fathom how Mammay managed to make every POV character a villain and a hero, how I could hate and celebrate where each character ended up. It's incredible.
Everyone needs to read this book.
I simply cannot fathom how Mammay managed to make every POV character a villain and a hero, how I could hate and celebrate where each character ended up. It's incredible.
Everyone needs to read this book.
June 5, 2023
Kim Stanley Robinson meets C J Cherryh in this cutting examination of the fallibilities and frailties of the human spirit.
April 24, 2024
I’d never read or heard of this author before this book. However I’d seen numerous effusive comments of its quality, both here and elsewhere, so put a hold on it at my library. My number finally came up.
I approached this book with some trepidation. About half the books people rave about I find bad to unreadable and DNF. This is NOT one of those. Also I’ve not read many good generation ship stories. Of the last 3 I’ve read, 2 were DNF and 1 was just a below average book.
This is the 6th book by Michael. This is why his name isn’t super well known yet, he’s a comparatively new author. His first book was published in 2018, Planetside, and he’s been averaging a book a year since then. Darkside, the 4th book in his Planetside series is due out in September this year. His previous 5 books are all MilSF, sort of. MilSF isn’t my favourite subgenre, but based on the strength of this book I might give them a go, particularly the Planetside series. From what I’ve read they’ve a blend of mystery and MilSF. The principle character is a war hero Colonel, but the plotlines of the books are investigations involving all sorts a machinations that make them sound somewhat similar to Generation Ship.
But enough background, what about the book? It has an easy to read style. He’s not trying to be poetic, or pretentious, or act like a thesaurus with big obscure words nobody uses. The storyline is complex and tightly plotted, everything is relevant. There are no tedious multi-page descriptions of scenery or endless technical details highlighting his google skills. This book is straight up A-grade storytelling.
It is an ensemble cast rather than protagonist/antagonist setup. Each chapter has a single point of view character, and their name is used as the chapter heading. The cast is a deliberate cross-section of the entire ship community so you get every aspect of the society.
The characters are: Shelia Jackson, scientist. Highly educated and utterly clueless. Eddie Dannin, computer nerd. Starts in maintenance and moves to engineering because, skills. Mark Rector, cop. Jarred Pantel, politician. George Iannou, Joe Average farmer. There are a number of other significant characters, but these are the only POV cast.
At this point I feel it’s also appropriate to quote Obi-wan – You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. All of the characters are only concerned with what’s best for them, rather than the greater good. Altruism is a foreign concept on this ship. Yet each person justifies their actions as in the best interests of everyone. They are right and everything everyone else is doing is wrong. This is what drives drama and storyline, all the diametrically opposed ‘right’ opinion and actions of the cast. It also makes all the characters very credible and believable.
The book starts 140 days before arrival at the generation ships destination, and ends 80 days after their arrival. The ship has been in flight for 250ish years so everyone on board was born on board. This is a very well thought out book. It’s not a crime book or political thriller book with an SF backdrop, as so much of what passes for SF is. The problems encountered in this book are directly related to this being generational colony ship. It wouldn’t make senses if the storyline was translated to contemporary Earth say. The SF is integral to the story. And there is a full range of different SF concepts in the book. I can’t mention them all without giving away significant plot points. But to highlight the level of thought involved the crew undergo agoraphobia testing prior to going down to the planet. This is not a consideration I’ve seen in other generation ship stories, but is an important consideration for people who have never known an outside space.
There are two things I think lacking from the book. The first is clarity on the size of the ship and the number of people on board. Towards the end it mentions thousands of people, but the security force is half a dozen people. All of the directorates mentioned only seem to have a dozen or so people. It only seems to take two minutes to get from any point on the ship to any other point. The other overlooked aspect, which ties in, is genetic diversity. There’s control over how many babies are born and mandatory death at 75 to control population levels, but no control on who a child’s parents are. That is left to the vagaries of romance. Depending on the population size there would need to be a eugenics program to avoid inbreeding. And related to that there was no mention of unauthorised pregnancies. Did the ship have forced abortions? These are complex, and somewhat taboo subjects, but important issues on a generation ship.
I also have some mild difference of opinion on some of the books assumptions and world building. But that isn’t a fault of the book. It is entirely plausible and internally consistent to its framework. As an example it’s stated the ship was funded by a billionaire, yet has democratic governance. Does anyone believe a project funded by Musk or Bezos would have a democratic charter? But as I say, this is where my opinion on how a generation ship would work differs from Michael’s. But the setup he has created isn’t wrong, and the story evolved from that setup is credible.
So in conclusion, this is a first rate novel I highly recommend.
I approached this book with some trepidation. About half the books people rave about I find bad to unreadable and DNF. This is NOT one of those. Also I’ve not read many good generation ship stories. Of the last 3 I’ve read, 2 were DNF and 1 was just a below average book.
This is the 6th book by Michael. This is why his name isn’t super well known yet, he’s a comparatively new author. His first book was published in 2018, Planetside, and he’s been averaging a book a year since then. Darkside, the 4th book in his Planetside series is due out in September this year. His previous 5 books are all MilSF, sort of. MilSF isn’t my favourite subgenre, but based on the strength of this book I might give them a go, particularly the Planetside series. From what I’ve read they’ve a blend of mystery and MilSF. The principle character is a war hero Colonel, but the plotlines of the books are investigations involving all sorts a machinations that make them sound somewhat similar to Generation Ship.
But enough background, what about the book? It has an easy to read style. He’s not trying to be poetic, or pretentious, or act like a thesaurus with big obscure words nobody uses. The storyline is complex and tightly plotted, everything is relevant. There are no tedious multi-page descriptions of scenery or endless technical details highlighting his google skills. This book is straight up A-grade storytelling.
It is an ensemble cast rather than protagonist/antagonist setup. Each chapter has a single point of view character, and their name is used as the chapter heading. The cast is a deliberate cross-section of the entire ship community so you get every aspect of the society.
The characters are: Shelia Jackson, scientist. Highly educated and utterly clueless. Eddie Dannin, computer nerd. Starts in maintenance and moves to engineering because, skills. Mark Rector, cop. Jarred Pantel, politician. George Iannou, Joe Average farmer. There are a number of other significant characters, but these are the only POV cast.
At this point I feel it’s also appropriate to quote Obi-wan – You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. All of the characters are only concerned with what’s best for them, rather than the greater good. Altruism is a foreign concept on this ship. Yet each person justifies their actions as in the best interests of everyone. They are right and everything everyone else is doing is wrong. This is what drives drama and storyline, all the diametrically opposed ‘right’ opinion and actions of the cast. It also makes all the characters very credible and believable.
The book starts 140 days before arrival at the generation ships destination, and ends 80 days after their arrival. The ship has been in flight for 250ish years so everyone on board was born on board. This is a very well thought out book. It’s not a crime book or political thriller book with an SF backdrop, as so much of what passes for SF is. The problems encountered in this book are directly related to this being generational colony ship. It wouldn’t make senses if the storyline was translated to contemporary Earth say. The SF is integral to the story. And there is a full range of different SF concepts in the book. I can’t mention them all without giving away significant plot points. But to highlight the level of thought involved the crew undergo agoraphobia testing prior to going down to the planet. This is not a consideration I’ve seen in other generation ship stories, but is an important consideration for people who have never known an outside space.
There are two things I think lacking from the book. The first is clarity on the size of the ship and the number of people on board. Towards the end it mentions thousands of people, but the security force is half a dozen people. All of the directorates mentioned only seem to have a dozen or so people. It only seems to take two minutes to get from any point on the ship to any other point. The other overlooked aspect, which ties in, is genetic diversity. There’s control over how many babies are born and mandatory death at 75 to control population levels, but no control on who a child’s parents are. That is left to the vagaries of romance. Depending on the population size there would need to be a eugenics program to avoid inbreeding. And related to that there was no mention of unauthorised pregnancies. Did the ship have forced abortions? These are complex, and somewhat taboo subjects, but important issues on a generation ship.
I also have some mild difference of opinion on some of the books assumptions and world building. But that isn’t a fault of the book. It is entirely plausible and internally consistent to its framework. As an example it’s stated the ship was funded by a billionaire, yet has democratic governance. Does anyone believe a project funded by Musk or Bezos would have a democratic charter? But as I say, this is where my opinion on how a generation ship would work differs from Michael’s. But the setup he has created isn’t wrong, and the story evolved from that setup is credible.
So in conclusion, this is a first rate novel I highly recommend.
November 3, 2023
An entertaining book with a great concept that's held back by flat archetypical characters and superficial plot.
The book is told from the POV of 5 characters who have different jobs around the ship. As the ship gets closer to its destination the characters have to deal with the differing views of the crew on whether or not to colonize the planet after it is found to possibly have sentient life. Most of the book is leading up to the arrival to the planet, with about a quarter of it being after they arrive and frankly that's probably the most interesting part of the book because it's where the crew encounters a whole new form of sentient life and learn about a mass extinction even that occurred on the planet eons ago. Unfortunately, the book wraps up fairly quickly at that point so instead of reading a book about interesting science fiction, you're left with a book that's 3/4 grade school politics.
The characters themselves are very basic in their archetypes. And you can see how their story wraps up from a mile away.You have
George Innayou: a farmer and relectant leader who's physically imposing and smarter that you'd think
Sheila Jackson: a scientist who's good at the science and not good with the people
Mark Rector: a cop who loves law and order and being in charge
Eddie Dannin: young savant hacker/engineer
Jared Pantel: Governor of the ship who is a shady politician who wants to keep power at all costs.
There are a few supporting characters, but honestly the book doesn't do a good job in establishing that there are THOUSANDS of people onboard and the characters that are established are forgettable at best.
If you're into sci-fi and just need a book to read, go ahead and give it a shot, but if you want a better version go watch the Battlestar Galactica reboot.
The book is told from the POV of 5 characters who have different jobs around the ship. As the ship gets closer to its destination the characters have to deal with the differing views of the crew on whether or not to colonize the planet after it is found to possibly have sentient life. Most of the book is leading up to the arrival to the planet, with about a quarter of it being after they arrive and frankly that's probably the most interesting part of the book because it's where the crew encounters a whole new form of sentient life and learn about a mass extinction even that occurred on the planet eons ago. Unfortunately, the book wraps up fairly quickly at that point so instead of reading a book about interesting science fiction, you're left with a book that's 3/4 grade school politics.
The characters themselves are very basic in their archetypes. And you can see how their story wraps up from a mile away.You have
George Innayou: a farmer and relectant leader who's physically imposing and smarter that you'd think
Sheila Jackson: a scientist who's good at the science and not good with the people
Mark Rector: a cop who loves law and order and being in charge
Eddie Dannin: young savant hacker/engineer
Jared Pantel: Governor of the ship who is a shady politician who wants to keep power at all costs.
There are a few supporting characters, but honestly the book doesn't do a good job in establishing that there are THOUSANDS of people onboard and the characters that are established are forgettable at best.
If you're into sci-fi and just need a book to read, go ahead and give it a shot, but if you want a better version go watch the Battlestar Galactica reboot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2024
2.75 stars
Good narration but for me the book doesn’t lend itself well as an audiobook due to the many characters (who were about all quite unlikable). Plot was ok, but not very engaging.
Characters 6
Atmosphere 6
Writing Style 6
Premise 6
Execution/Plot 5
Execution/Pace 5
Execution/Setup 6
Enjoyment/Engrossment 5
Narration 7
Good narration but for me the book doesn’t lend itself well as an audiobook due to the many characters (who were about all quite unlikable). Plot was ok, but not very engaging.
Characters 6
Atmosphere 6
Writing Style 6
Premise 6
Execution/Plot 5
Execution/Pace 5
Execution/Setup 6
Enjoyment/Engrossment 5
Narration 7
May 28, 2023
Generation Ship is among the best political drama SF I've ever read. Mammay has also excelled in providing a depiction of the crew members daily lives, how and why their government functions, and the technology required to maintain their society. I believe the limitations inherent to the setting provide for some rather intriguing dynamics.
The Voyager is a first-of-its-kind colony ship with 18,000 people, a number that is strictly adhered to, that is only months away from completing its 250 year journey to Promissa, a planet in Zeta Tucanae, thought to be habitable with 97% confidence. The expectation that everything is soon to change disrupts the routines that have lasted for centuries and many start to question the value of the traditions and laws that have brought them this far. Each chapter opens with how many days remain. It's at least somewhat allegorical about the contemporary United States.
There are five viewpoint characters and each provides a distinct societal perspective. I don't know if they were literally meant to represent these concepts, but I saw them as Science, Outsider, Populism, Enforcement, and Authority. This allowed for a nuanced and panoramic view of how these forces interact and present their side of the story to each other. This is a character drama and each one felt appropriately written. I enjoyed them all.
In other terms of representation there's a lesbian, a gay guy, two nonbinary characters, and an aromantic woman. There's various context clues that at least a few characters are neurodivergent. None of that is a focus, though doesn't it feel like a checklist either. It's simply who they are and it's only relevant when the situation involved something related to it, which isn't often. There may have been more, but that's what I noticed. All of is this is presented as a normal way of being.
The lead up to the ending and the ending itself were the only parts I didn't like as much as it introduced an idea that I'm as biased against as I'm biased for generation ships. I've never liked it in any media that I've come across and this wasn't an exception. It's not so much that it detracts from my enjoyment as it that I have a preference against its inclusion because it bothers me on both a practical and metaphorical level. That and other late introduced ideas that I felt were out of place did lessen my enthusiasm, but the momentum leading up to it and that this is a book much more about the journey than the destination, let me put aside my misgivings.
Although Ursula K. Le Guin's Paradises Lost, a superb novella, focuses on religion while this doesn't at all, I was often reminded of it while reading this, especially about its ecological concerns. I'll definitely be reading Mammay's prior works, as though they are different from this, it's also the sort that I'm able to enjoy.
I received this DRC from Harper Voyager through NetGalley.
Rating: 4.5/5
The Voyager is a first-of-its-kind colony ship with 18,000 people, a number that is strictly adhered to, that is only months away from completing its 250 year journey to Promissa, a planet in Zeta Tucanae, thought to be habitable with 97% confidence. The expectation that everything is soon to change disrupts the routines that have lasted for centuries and many start to question the value of the traditions and laws that have brought them this far. Each chapter opens with how many days remain. It's at least somewhat allegorical about the contemporary United States.
There are five viewpoint characters and each provides a distinct societal perspective. I don't know if they were literally meant to represent these concepts, but I saw them as Science, Outsider, Populism, Enforcement, and Authority. This allowed for a nuanced and panoramic view of how these forces interact and present their side of the story to each other. This is a character drama and each one felt appropriately written. I enjoyed them all.
In other terms of representation there's a lesbian, a gay guy, two nonbinary characters, and an aromantic woman. There's various context clues that at least a few characters are neurodivergent. None of that is a focus, though doesn't it feel like a checklist either. It's simply who they are and it's only relevant when the situation involved something related to it, which isn't often. There may have been more, but that's what I noticed. All of is this is presented as a normal way of being.
The lead up to the ending and the ending itself were the only parts I didn't like as much as it introduced an idea that I'm as biased against as I'm biased for generation ships. I've never liked it in any media that I've come across and this wasn't an exception. It's not so much that it detracts from my enjoyment as it that I have a preference against its inclusion because it bothers me on both a practical and metaphorical level. That and other late introduced ideas that I felt were out of place did lessen my enthusiasm, but the momentum leading up to it and that this is a book much more about the journey than the destination, let me put aside my misgivings.
Although Ursula K. Le Guin's Paradises Lost, a superb novella, focuses on religion while this doesn't at all, I was often reminded of it while reading this, especially about its ecological concerns. I'll definitely be reading Mammay's prior works, as though they are different from this, it's also the sort that I'm able to enjoy.
I received this DRC from Harper Voyager through NetGalley.
Rating: 4.5/5
April 17, 2023
Anyone who’s read a Michael Mammay book will know how well he writes about politics and power. But in this, his sixth book, not only is he at the height of his authorial powers, he’s made the politicking centre stage and made the stage one hell of a tinderbox.
You’ve met all the people in this book. You’ve worked for them and alongside them. Heck, you’ve been them. The jostling for power, the hair-pulling frustration over competing goals and hidden agendas, the miscommunication, non-communication, unseen pressures and egoic motivations. These happen in every workplace (and some relationships). Except this workplace is a spaceship that, after a 250-year journey, is about to arrive at the planet it’s meant to colonize, and the governing document that controls everything about its society is being challenged for the first time since its inception.
Much as I loved the personal and workplace dynamics in Generation Ship, I don’t think they would have hit as hard if Mammay had explored them in isolation, if he wasn’t also exploring the strategic value of information networks and media narratives, the often-incompatible objectives of science and politics, (Generation Ship may be set hundreds of years in the future, but its drama won’t be new to a readership who’ve experienced a global pandemic), and the sometimes-heartbreaking difficulty of balancing our personal relationships with our vocational dreams.
The book has a big cast (there’s five point-of-view characters), but what could have been a weakness, (e.g. diluted emotionality and intimacy), is a strength in Mammay’s hands. He’s obviously put a lot of work into making every one of his characters rounded and real, and the result (aside from a damn good novel) is that when the screws tighten, you’re completely invested in each person’s story. (I found myself shifting allegiances at different times, and not always in the direction of a character I liked!)
I felt the same way about the science. Whether it was artificial gravity, atmospheric conditions, engineering systems or information technology, I got the sense Mammay had done A LOT of research behind the scenes, but unlike some drier science fiction, he used the research judicially, to make his world and my reading of it come alive. And boy, did it come alive.
You’ve met all the people in this book. You’ve worked for them and alongside them. Heck, you’ve been them. The jostling for power, the hair-pulling frustration over competing goals and hidden agendas, the miscommunication, non-communication, unseen pressures and egoic motivations. These happen in every workplace (and some relationships). Except this workplace is a spaceship that, after a 250-year journey, is about to arrive at the planet it’s meant to colonize, and the governing document that controls everything about its society is being challenged for the first time since its inception.
Much as I loved the personal and workplace dynamics in Generation Ship, I don’t think they would have hit as hard if Mammay had explored them in isolation, if he wasn’t also exploring the strategic value of information networks and media narratives, the often-incompatible objectives of science and politics, (Generation Ship may be set hundreds of years in the future, but its drama won’t be new to a readership who’ve experienced a global pandemic), and the sometimes-heartbreaking difficulty of balancing our personal relationships with our vocational dreams.
The book has a big cast (there’s five point-of-view characters), but what could have been a weakness, (e.g. diluted emotionality and intimacy), is a strength in Mammay’s hands. He’s obviously put a lot of work into making every one of his characters rounded and real, and the result (aside from a damn good novel) is that when the screws tighten, you’re completely invested in each person’s story. (I found myself shifting allegiances at different times, and not always in the direction of a character I liked!)
I felt the same way about the science. Whether it was artificial gravity, atmospheric conditions, engineering systems or information technology, I got the sense Mammay had done A LOT of research behind the scenes, but unlike some drier science fiction, he used the research judicially, to make his world and my reading of it come alive. And boy, did it come alive.
January 14, 2024
4/5 stars
Space-sci-fi tends to be hit or miss for me, but Generation Ship is the exact kind of sci-fi that I love. Thought provoking, well thought through, and focusing more so on the people and societal aspects of space-exploration than fancy-aliens and space-guns, this book had me hooked from beginning to end over the course of its 600+ page narrative.
For over 250 years The Colony Voyager has traversed space on its way to the distant planet of Promissa, in an attempt to establish the first human colony on a planet outside our solar system. Aboard, alongside humanities brightest engineers and scientist, is a micro-society of roughly 18000 inhabitants. Generations have passed since their departure from Earth, and the ships strictly regulated way-of-life as dictated by their forebearers who left terra-firma, is all the passengers have ever known. All that is about to change when their ultimate goal becomes close enough to touch. With only months until their arrival on Promissa, tensions on the ship begin to rise. Not just about what they will find on this new frontier, but more so on the implications it will have on their way of life and the structure they’ve lived by for generations now.
What I loved:
What makes this novel unique amongst its fellow alien-planet-novels, is that 75% of its narrative length takes place aboard the ship before touch-down, focusing on the impact of the anticipation of the upcoming changes on society aboard. Had you told me that in advance, I might’ve been hesitant about that idea, but it was that first 75% of the novel that I absolutely loved. Exploring the ship, their systems and laws, and the way of life they’ve had to adopt to survive in these cramped circumstances, and getting to know the various characters within it, exceeded all my expectations. Then, seeing al these paradigms shift in the light of a new situation and over generations (considering neither the “original makers” of these rules, nor the situation that birthed them are present anymore) was só well done!
The different POV’s really helped create a well-rounded view of the situation and its many sides. Each character felt memorable and unique, both in their role on the ship as in their stance on the events at hand. The atmosphere was tense, stakes were high and I was fully invested in the faiths of those aboard. Throughout the first 450 pages or so, this book was bound for a place among my favourites, and a strong 5-star read. Although enjoyment-wise, I’d still happily have given it that, the ending made some choices that dropped that rating back to a 4.
What I didn’t love:
The ending was a bit too ambitious for its own good, and tried to introduce one too many new concept on top of everything it had already established. The arrival at the planet simply came too late in the story to allow enough development-time for such a big new piece of information.
Had Mammay wanted to explore these extra elements properly, it would’ve almost required a 600-page sequel. I would’ve happily read that sequel, mind you, but didn’t like it as an afterthought in an already great society/politically-based sci-fi.
Space-sci-fi tends to be hit or miss for me, but Generation Ship is the exact kind of sci-fi that I love. Thought provoking, well thought through, and focusing more so on the people and societal aspects of space-exploration than fancy-aliens and space-guns, this book had me hooked from beginning to end over the course of its 600+ page narrative.
For over 250 years The Colony Voyager has traversed space on its way to the distant planet of Promissa, in an attempt to establish the first human colony on a planet outside our solar system. Aboard, alongside humanities brightest engineers and scientist, is a micro-society of roughly 18000 inhabitants. Generations have passed since their departure from Earth, and the ships strictly regulated way-of-life as dictated by their forebearers who left terra-firma, is all the passengers have ever known. All that is about to change when their ultimate goal becomes close enough to touch. With only months until their arrival on Promissa, tensions on the ship begin to rise. Not just about what they will find on this new frontier, but more so on the implications it will have on their way of life and the structure they’ve lived by for generations now.
What I loved:
What makes this novel unique amongst its fellow alien-planet-novels, is that 75% of its narrative length takes place aboard the ship before touch-down, focusing on the impact of the anticipation of the upcoming changes on society aboard. Had you told me that in advance, I might’ve been hesitant about that idea, but it was that first 75% of the novel that I absolutely loved. Exploring the ship, their systems and laws, and the way of life they’ve had to adopt to survive in these cramped circumstances, and getting to know the various characters within it, exceeded all my expectations. Then, seeing al these paradigms shift in the light of a new situation and over generations (considering neither the “original makers” of these rules, nor the situation that birthed them are present anymore) was só well done!
The different POV’s really helped create a well-rounded view of the situation and its many sides. Each character felt memorable and unique, both in their role on the ship as in their stance on the events at hand. The atmosphere was tense, stakes were high and I was fully invested in the faiths of those aboard. Throughout the first 450 pages or so, this book was bound for a place among my favourites, and a strong 5-star read. Although enjoyment-wise, I’d still happily have given it that, the ending made some choices that dropped that rating back to a 4.
What I didn’t love:
The ending was a bit too ambitious for its own good, and tried to introduce one too many new concept on top of everything it had already established. The arrival at the planet simply came too late in the story to allow enough development-time for such a big new piece of information.
Had Mammay wanted to explore these extra elements properly, it would’ve almost required a 600-page sequel. I would’ve happily read that sequel, mind you, but didn’t like it as an afterthought in an already great society/politically-based sci-fi.
November 23, 2023
The ship had two types of money: luxury credits, which were legal and on the record, and scrip, which was technically illegal, thought nobody enforced the rule unless it got to be a problem.
How to condense the attitude of our old world into a handful of words. Although we are here in the future, things do not seem to have changed.
This novel was a sensory experience. It was like when I was a kid. I would flip through picture books and get caught up in the emotion. I did not know this author. But I am grateful to him for drawing me into the story. The plot is not complicated, some elements are very classic: the spaceship Voyager on a journey of more than two hundred years to the Zeta Tucanae system, colonization (a kind of galactic imperialism). And then there is the mystery: the crew loses contact with the probe sent ahead. But there is also an inner level (of intrigue and philosophical and even political-strategic issues) that gives a great deal of depth to the story.
Characters seem to jump off pages. You have a sense of their presence next to you as you read. You can feel their voices. There is a sense of being part of the group, part of the journey. And I definitively liked it.
How to condense the attitude of our old world into a handful of words. Although we are here in the future, things do not seem to have changed.
This novel was a sensory experience. It was like when I was a kid. I would flip through picture books and get caught up in the emotion. I did not know this author. But I am grateful to him for drawing me into the story. The plot is not complicated, some elements are very classic: the spaceship Voyager on a journey of more than two hundred years to the Zeta Tucanae system, colonization (a kind of galactic imperialism). And then there is the mystery: the crew loses contact with the probe sent ahead. But there is also an inner level (of intrigue and philosophical and even political-strategic issues) that gives a great deal of depth to the story.
Characters seem to jump off pages. You have a sense of their presence next to you as you read. You can feel their voices. There is a sense of being part of the group, part of the journey. And I definitively liked it.
May 23, 2024
Generation Ship got its hooks into me and dragged me along for a wild ride, read in two sittings. Or is it layings, when you're in bed reading on your Kindle, desperately ignoring how tired you are as you thumb just one more page...
It's a pretty solid premise: a generation ship, hundreds of years after it left Earth, is finally reaching its destination: a planet they can possibly colonize. As the ship approaches, political unrest churns and erupts thanks to the actions of our five main characters. We follow a scientist, a hacker, a police officer, a governor, and a reluctant union leader. Everyone is a mess, acting and reacting and reacting again, decisions pinging off each other until the ship is ready for an entire class revolution. It's great, that way.
Where the book failed for me was in the fact that I did not for one moment believe any of our main characters were real people. They all felt like puppets being moved around by the author to make his story move forward. Like I could see every decision the author was making so it could lead to the next, so it could lead to another, so that this outcome could happen. The constant forward momentum was great and obviously kept me reading, but I felt so dissatisfied with the whole journey by the end, mainly because of the characters.
It also did not need to be nearly 600 pages long.
Issues aside, this was still an incredibly compelling read. It's pure political drama set in space, like John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Stacy Abrams, and Lois McMaster Bujold were all set in a blender and this was the result.
Would I recommend it? Maybe, if you're looking for something easy to read and need to scratch a political drama, space opera itch.
It's a pretty solid premise: a generation ship, hundreds of years after it left Earth, is finally reaching its destination: a planet they can possibly colonize. As the ship approaches, political unrest churns and erupts thanks to the actions of our five main characters. We follow a scientist, a hacker, a police officer, a governor, and a reluctant union leader. Everyone is a mess, acting and reacting and reacting again, decisions pinging off each other until the ship is ready for an entire class revolution. It's great, that way.
Where the book failed for me was in the fact that I did not for one moment believe any of our main characters were real people. They all felt like puppets being moved around by the author to make his story move forward. Like I could see every decision the author was making so it could lead to the next, so it could lead to another, so that this outcome could happen. The constant forward momentum was great and obviously kept me reading, but I felt so dissatisfied with the whole journey by the end, mainly because of the characters.
It also did not need to be nearly 600 pages long.
Issues aside, this was still an incredibly compelling read. It's pure political drama set in space, like John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Stacy Abrams, and Lois McMaster Bujold were all set in a blender and this was the result.
Would I recommend it? Maybe, if you're looking for something easy to read and need to scratch a political drama, space opera itch.
December 3, 2023
Can't recommend this one. Blurb sounded interesting, but there are quite a few issues. The first 400 pages are just "meh" - I actually had to fight to not DNF it (I wanted to, but wouldn't have had anything to read as I'm going away for a bit and wouldn't have had time to start/finish something new). One example of the writing that took me out of the story - this generation ship which has all sorts of advanced tech to keep people alive for 250+ years is still using LED screens? Small things like this pulled me out of the story and I want to be absorbed in it. The last 185 pages had some of the best ideas (sentient planet, sentient ship, AI, etc...), but it never gets unpacked properly. Most of the characters are pretty flat and I didn't really find any reason to care about them. Something setup early on (the decision to have a baby) never plays out even though it's mentioned in the last 25 pages - don't want to spoil anything, but there were chances to develop the story on a deeper level that are never undertaken and this is one example. It's not a horrible book (or it would have got 1 star), but there are so, so many better SF reads, specifically related to generation ships, that deserve a reading instead.
February 25, 2024
I guess this is what is called political sci fi, but to me it read more like workplace sci fi. And when you're on a 250-year journey, workplace sci fi seems pretty much like workplace Earth, except you can't take a lunch break at a picnic table in the sun. As an author, you have to work hard to make that setting of interest to the reader. I found the beginning very lightweight. The characters did not captivate me much at all. So I began to skip pages.... Sorry. I was looking forward to the landing on an alien world. That was pretty good when it happened, but we were soon back arguing on the ship. In the end, we learned very little about the aliens: they might just as well have been surly neighbors with "special powers". The planet itself was special, but we never learned how it was able to operate. A little science would have helped. Twenty-seven light years for that?
December 2, 2023
Michael Mammay set out to do something very different from his previous works with Generation Ship, and totally succeeded. This book is a riveting epic with complex interstellar politics, a deeply fleshed out cast of ensemble characters, and a unique ship-bound culture. Generation Ship strikes a difficult balance between the familiarity of home and the strangeness of space exploration, sitting somewhere comfortably between more action-oriented sci-fi stories like The Expanse and harder sci-fi like David Brinn's Existence. I'm a little sad that it's a standalone and I won't get to spend time with these characters again, but that's a testament to how well-crafted this book is. Loved my time with this book.
Full review:
https://winteriscoming.net/2023/11/01...
Full review:
https://winteriscoming.net/2023/11/01...
June 14, 2023
I was fortunate to read an ARC of Michael Mammay's GENERATION SHIP, and found it to be one of the most nuanced explorations of politics and humanity that I have ever read.
Despite the claustrophobic setting, Mammay's world building is expansive, with so much neatly woven history from the spaceships two-and-a-half-century history. The premise is just so damn believable, and I could really feel the pull between rigidity and restlessness that these characters experienced in their journey to colonise the planet Promissa. There were so many interesting parallels between the political climate of this future world and the politics of current day USA. This made it incredibly topical and grounded me firmly in the narrative. I was riveted throughout.
Perhaps, however, the biggest strength of this book is the deep and complex character work. Mammay is a master of characterisation; someone who really GETS humans in all our flawed glory. He has given these characters very believable (and relatable, if not always noble) motivations. All five POVs leapt off the page as fully realised, three-dimensional beings, and while I was not always in support of their actions, I at least understood them--a testament to Mammay's skill.
This is a masterful contribution to the genre and one that I will be thinking of for quite some time.
Despite the claustrophobic setting, Mammay's world building is expansive, with so much neatly woven history from the spaceships two-and-a-half-century history. The premise is just so damn believable, and I could really feel the pull between rigidity and restlessness that these characters experienced in their journey to colonise the planet Promissa. There were so many interesting parallels between the political climate of this future world and the politics of current day USA. This made it incredibly topical and grounded me firmly in the narrative. I was riveted throughout.
Perhaps, however, the biggest strength of this book is the deep and complex character work. Mammay is a master of characterisation; someone who really GETS humans in all our flawed glory. He has given these characters very believable (and relatable, if not always noble) motivations. All five POVs leapt off the page as fully realised, three-dimensional beings, and while I was not always in support of their actions, I at least understood them--a testament to Mammay's skill.
This is a masterful contribution to the genre and one that I will be thinking of for quite some time.
July 17, 2023
It's a pleasure to read a book where I'm unable to guess the direction of the ending!
Generation Ship felt so realistic. The characters had all the fallacies of real people, meaning the ultimate outcome could have gone in a million different directions. It's full of characters lying to themselves, harboring mixed motivations, and making critical decisions that could mean life or death for an entire ship.
Besides have a very cool science fiction set-up and plenty of technology, it reduces the story to a very human equation.
Generation Ship felt so realistic. The characters had all the fallacies of real people, meaning the ultimate outcome could have gone in a million different directions. It's full of characters lying to themselves, harboring mixed motivations, and making critical decisions that could mean life or death for an entire ship.
Besides have a very cool science fiction set-up and plenty of technology, it reduces the story to a very human equation.
May 28, 2023
[Blurb goes here]
This is my first book by author Michael Mammay. A quick look will tell you that his books have an average of 4.0 stars on Goodreads.
Now on to the story, without giving too much away.
The ship Voyager carrying 18,000 souls on board, is one hundred days from its destination: the planet Promissa. For more than two hundred years, the ship's crew has been born into sectors/directorates: maintenance, engineering, agriculture, and so on. They also follow draconian rules: people making it into their 75th birthday have to go into the recyclers.
When a woman reaches the recycling age, some of the ship's inhabitants refuse to let her die. After all, the ship is nearing Promissa, and colonization will soon follow. What's the point of killing her? When she is to be escorted to her death, Secfor officers are confronted by a mob. In the aftermath, one of the officers accidentally kills her.
This incident awakens discord among the crew. And then, as it always does, humanity happens. Some will try to sabotage missions to the planet. Some will try to change directorates. Some will ignore the science and go for full-scale colonization ahead of schedule.
This space opera has it all. The government trying to divide and conquer, taking scientists' words out of context and bending them to their will. Extremist groups looking for ways to sabotage the ship, so they shoot past their destination.
With beautiful prose, this action adventure will take you into the human psyche and later on into Promissa, a planet that is not what it seems.
This is a highly recommended read. It resonates with much of the stuff that's going on right now.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
This is my first book by author Michael Mammay. A quick look will tell you that his books have an average of 4.0 stars on Goodreads.
Now on to the story, without giving too much away.
The ship Voyager carrying 18,000 souls on board, is one hundred days from its destination: the planet Promissa. For more than two hundred years, the ship's crew has been born into sectors/directorates: maintenance, engineering, agriculture, and so on. They also follow draconian rules: people making it into their 75th birthday have to go into the recyclers.
When a woman reaches the recycling age, some of the ship's inhabitants refuse to let her die. After all, the ship is nearing Promissa, and colonization will soon follow. What's the point of killing her? When she is to be escorted to her death, Secfor officers are confronted by a mob. In the aftermath, one of the officers accidentally kills her.
This incident awakens discord among the crew. And then, as it always does, humanity happens. Some will try to sabotage missions to the planet. Some will try to change directorates. Some will ignore the science and go for full-scale colonization ahead of schedule.
This space opera has it all. The government trying to divide and conquer, taking scientists' words out of context and bending them to their will. Extremist groups looking for ways to sabotage the ship, so they shoot past their destination.
With beautiful prose, this action adventure will take you into the human psyche and later on into Promissa, a planet that is not what it seems.
This is a highly recommended read. It resonates with much of the stuff that's going on right now.
Thank you for the advanced copy!
August 5, 2023
The publisher’s description of Generation Ship with its mention of “tyrannical leaders, revolution, crippling instability, and an unknown alien planet that could easily destroy them all” had me expecting a sci-fi adventure heavy on combat, alien attacks, and planetside skirmishes. Instead, what I got was a story of political intrigue on a city-sized spaceship that was much more character focused than action focused. And that is exactly the kind of science fiction I prefer!
The book is written from the perspective of five different protagonists who are each working in a different section of the colony ship Voyager. (Which, truthfully, is probably not the most original spaceship name out there.) Each chapter focused solely on the viewpoint of one of these characters and their struggle to find purpose in a space-going community dictated by the rules of a charter written long before they were born. The characters are genuine and believable if not overly complex. They become more dynamic as the story moves along, but I sometimes found myself wishing for a little more insight into their motivations.
Mammay does a good job of inserting his futuristic setting into the plot without making it seem too tropey or overused. People onboard Voyager eat food created from crickets, worry about agoraphobia if they leave the ship, and contend with varying levels of gravity defined by their particular deck.
This author’s style is very casual and very quick. He focuses primarily on dialogue and this makes the story easy to read and fast paced. Even considering the book’s length it moved by quickly and easily kept me engaged.
Generation Ship still is a long book, however, and after it was finished I did wonder if the six hundred plus pages were all really necessary. There was a lot of build-up to get to the climax and this was purposefully accentuated at the beginning of every chapter by counting down the number of cycles (days) to the planned planetary arrival. Compared to the lengthened expectation, the climax and resolution felt short and rushed through. The same writing style that made the earlier pages fly by became a drawback once the planet was reached and left me wanting more time and detail from the finale.
I am also left wondering if Mammay was trying to say something more with Generation Ship than what one would first expect. Reading other reviews some seem to see this book as a complex commentary on politics or society while others just enjoyed it as a laid-back sci-fi adventure. Either view would be fine and I find myself falling in the middle of the road.
The theme of the story is clearly the complications that are created by human-made societies. Mammay seems to be pointing out the difficulty (or even ridiculousness) of living within the worlds we create. Humans need and value societal systems and rules but are also constantly constrained and stifled by them.
Each of the protagonists could be seen as a representative of a quality that human society tends to value - brains, drive, popularity, talent, caring - but that society is just as likely to restrain as to reward. These characters have so much to offer their community, but struggled throughout the book to be given the opportunity.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it a worthy addition to the sci-fi genre. It would make a good choice for science fiction readers who prefer their conflict less on the violent side and more character driven.
The book is written from the perspective of five different protagonists who are each working in a different section of the colony ship Voyager. (Which, truthfully, is probably not the most original spaceship name out there.) Each chapter focused solely on the viewpoint of one of these characters and their struggle to find purpose in a space-going community dictated by the rules of a charter written long before they were born. The characters are genuine and believable if not overly complex. They become more dynamic as the story moves along, but I sometimes found myself wishing for a little more insight into their motivations.
Mammay does a good job of inserting his futuristic setting into the plot without making it seem too tropey or overused. People onboard Voyager eat food created from crickets, worry about agoraphobia if they leave the ship, and contend with varying levels of gravity defined by their particular deck.
This author’s style is very casual and very quick. He focuses primarily on dialogue and this makes the story easy to read and fast paced. Even considering the book’s length it moved by quickly and easily kept me engaged.
Generation Ship still is a long book, however, and after it was finished I did wonder if the six hundred plus pages were all really necessary. There was a lot of build-up to get to the climax and this was purposefully accentuated at the beginning of every chapter by counting down the number of cycles (days) to the planned planetary arrival. Compared to the lengthened expectation, the climax and resolution felt short and rushed through. The same writing style that made the earlier pages fly by became a drawback once the planet was reached and left me wanting more time and detail from the finale.
I am also left wondering if Mammay was trying to say something more with Generation Ship than what one would first expect. Reading other reviews some seem to see this book as a complex commentary on politics or society while others just enjoyed it as a laid-back sci-fi adventure. Either view would be fine and I find myself falling in the middle of the road.
The theme of the story is clearly the complications that are created by human-made societies. Mammay seems to be pointing out the difficulty (or even ridiculousness) of living within the worlds we create. Humans need and value societal systems and rules but are also constantly constrained and stifled by them.
Each of the protagonists could be seen as a representative of a quality that human society tends to value - brains, drive, popularity, talent, caring - but that society is just as likely to restrain as to reward. These characters have so much to offer their community, but struggled throughout the book to be given the opportunity.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it a worthy addition to the sci-fi genre. It would make a good choice for science fiction readers who prefer their conflict less on the violent side and more character driven.
December 23, 2023
Generation ship is a stand-alone novel that, while luring one in with exciting premises of failed planetary probes and political upheaval at the end of a long (250 year) journey, fails to deliver one of the most important hooks of any lasting work - good characters.
I did listen to the audiobook of this work, and unfortunately her performance, while not terrible, was limited in range and intonation; characters bled together and would repeat words meant for different affects in an identical way. Every ‘yeah’ or ‘yes’ was an irritating “yeEAh”, but this was much more of an issue with female characters. The lack of humour was palpable throughout. This isn’t always an issue but when there isn’t much else to get your teeth into you really start to notice it.
Science content is LIGHT and occasionally non-sensical, indeed occasionally the vocabulary needed to express the concepts touched upon was lacking and it would often, therefore, remain unexplored. The most interesting characters remain at the periphery or turn up literally in the epilogue.
Oddly, the physical descriptors and world-building is deficient if not fatally flawed. Such a core aspect of a premise such as this is jarring to see. As others have said it’s a real stretch to say there is anything describing in coherent detail the relevant structure or scales of the ship, let alone the population (18’000 apparently?!) or the systems required to keep them all alive.
The characters we do have are simple and either fine, bland, or infuriating - in so far as multiple “crises” throughout would have been solved if a long stream of our cast of character’s decisions weren’t either: 1. Stupid or 2. Really, really stupid.
I didn’t laugh out loud once, nor tear up, nor get angry, nor feel much of anything other than a meta-sense of confusion and disappointment. I’m sorry to leave this review. Honestly it’s only such a disappointment because of the potential seen in the early chapters. In the first dozen or so I felt like I might could end up loving this book, that it might explore some of the dense character issues one might find on a literal generation ship.
Overall it’s a poorly paced space-opera of banal political machinations, un-explored mysteries, and incomprehensible cast decisions/motivations portrayed through some of the blandest characters (in one of the most potent contexts) I have read in the genre.
I did listen to the audiobook of this work, and unfortunately her performance, while not terrible, was limited in range and intonation; characters bled together and would repeat words meant for different affects in an identical way. Every ‘yeah’ or ‘yes’ was an irritating “yeEAh”, but this was much more of an issue with female characters. The lack of humour was palpable throughout. This isn’t always an issue but when there isn’t much else to get your teeth into you really start to notice it.
Science content is LIGHT and occasionally non-sensical, indeed occasionally the vocabulary needed to express the concepts touched upon was lacking and it would often, therefore, remain unexplored. The most interesting characters remain at the periphery or turn up literally in the epilogue.
Oddly, the physical descriptors and world-building is deficient if not fatally flawed. Such a core aspect of a premise such as this is jarring to see. As others have said it’s a real stretch to say there is anything describing in coherent detail the relevant structure or scales of the ship, let alone the population (18’000 apparently?!) or the systems required to keep them all alive.
The characters we do have are simple and either fine, bland, or infuriating - in so far as multiple “crises” throughout would have been solved if a long stream of our cast of character’s decisions weren’t either: 1. Stupid or 2. Really, really stupid.
I didn’t laugh out loud once, nor tear up, nor get angry, nor feel much of anything other than a meta-sense of confusion and disappointment. I’m sorry to leave this review. Honestly it’s only such a disappointment because of the potential seen in the early chapters. In the first dozen or so I felt like I might could end up loving this book, that it might explore some of the dense character issues one might find on a literal generation ship.
Overall it’s a poorly paced space-opera of banal political machinations, un-explored mysteries, and incomprehensible cast decisions/motivations portrayed through some of the blandest characters (in one of the most potent contexts) I have read in the genre.
April 7, 2023
A fascinating political drama about the many players and motivations that drive civilization. Even set on a generation ship millions of miles away, it felt topical and true to so many of the challenges we face in this world. With characters from all walks of life, some loveable, some despicable, and all deeply human, this novel puts you on the edge of your seat waiting to see if humanity will survive itself. With a shocking final act that ups the ante in unexpected ways (no spoilers!) this is my favorite Mammay novel so far!
March 10, 2024
I’ve been rounding up lots of my started-in-February reading, so I think this one is a 3.5. Definitely liked it over all more than a three-star book, and I should probably accuse myself of willful ignorance in completely misinterpreting the plot synopsis. Oy.
Usually, when one goes into a book expecting one thing but getting another their opinion is impacted negatively. But not me, not this time! The theme of this book is very political, and it’s up my alley in what I want from generation ship novels—human sociology. :D
My understanding is that maybe Mammay was influenced by the Silo books that are now being adapted on AppleTV, as well as the Expanse series (or at least he talked a fair bit about The Expanse in an interview I watched.) He’s following five POV characters plus a bunch of secondary characters around the ship in order to give us a maximist feel of the plot. Basically: the generation ship, Voyager, is approaching its destination after 250 years of travel. As colonization seems more and more likely for this group of passengers, lots of socio-economic norms suddenly fall under fire, and many people tend to favor political grandstanding over science. There’s definitely some scenes in here where you know Mammay was forming this idea during the beginning of the COVID epidemic. :P
The characters…weren’t the greatest. I’m not sure I agree with reviewers who say they were fully three dimensional. Maybe I’ll say that half of them (a definitive two and a half characters :P) had interesting arcs. I could toe the Mythcreants line, perhaps, that multiple POVs don’t always work; even in a book this size there’s not enough room to fit everything in. Also, the touted perennial fave character, Eddie Dannen, really rubbed me the wrong way. Returning to Mythcreants, she had too much “candy.” Nothing was difficult for her; she was a savant who excelled at everything she touched. Even the ship went out of its way to protect her, and only her, but I’ll get back to the ship’s sentience later. :P
The other character I found underwhelming was the governor, Jared Pantel, who was really drinking too much of his own koolaid if he believed he cared more about the greater good than his own power. Maybe Mammay was manifesting inherent beliefs about politicians. :P The character I’d say I’m half and half on is the cop, Mark Rector. He didn’t change much, but there was some interesting commentary in here about how an ambitious man tries to get ahead when he’s playing a cutthroat game. I’ve seen some commentary on GoodReads that his personality does a 180 at the end, but I’m more inclined to believe, skirting spoilers, that his “law and order” mindset led to his late-plot actions. Kind of reminds me of the military characters in the Yesterday’s Kin series by Nancy Kress.
Anywho. My second-place fave character was Shiela Jackson. I think Mammay did a nice job in showing how a scientist tried to navigate a world/ship of political propaganda. She also had the potential for the most intriguing personal story, when it came to her husband, Alex, and his desire for a child. But alas, there wasn’t enough space or time for this storyline to carry much water. I don’t know what drew Shiela to Alex at all, so there wasn’t much pathos in her assertion that she might want to compromise her professional dreams for his ambitions. Also, although she worried about how much he wanted a baby, she ended up feeling next to no emotional repercussions when she ultimately chose a different path again and again. Why this relationship didn’t end sooner (or why they even got together in the first place when he wasn’t a scientist and she barely left her workstation) was beyond me.
Voyager in fact has a very stratified hierarchy, overseen by the governor and work directors, where it’s next to impossible for people to, like, switch jobs. I may have to stand with my good friend, Kirkus, here; that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If we were dealing with the first generation on the ship, ok fine, that’s what they signed up for. But subsequent generations of people would surely want to express some semblance of free will long before they reached Promissa.
Which, in a way, brings me to my fave character: George Ianno. George is a farmer who basically keeps his head down, even if he privately believes the ship’s culture should be altered. But plot comes to bear, and he turns into an a reluctant, old-school sort of revolutionary leader. He’s thrown into relief against his daughter, Kayla, a budding radical who, like most young people, is energized by ideas she’s encountering for the first time. :P But George is more of a moderate’s hero; his calm rationality nets the largest group of people together, even as he has to referee between warring factions and corrupt politicians. George deserves a medal for this book. :P
The culture of the generation ship needed changing, but can I just say that I liked the focus, insomuch as it centered on peoples’ day-to-day jobs? :P SFF doesn’t always have to be grandiose (I claim, even as I myself am writing epic fantasy *cough cough*) Sometimes it’s nice to meet people where they are.
Natalie Naudus narrated the audiobook, which didn’t fit for me, either. Maybe it’s because I mostly associate her with fantasy and YA. /bias
As for the ending, we get some answers about Promissa, and there’s sentience for both the planet and the ship. But it felt a little tacked on, imho. Not explored in enough depth. Mammay says his primary focus was the generation ship, after all, not the destination. He was also thrilled the title was still available, though frankly, DIRECT OBJECT TITLE is a bit bland for me.
Though maybe I should chill. :P I love generation ships, after all! And at the end of the day, this one skewed closer to sociology than it did to thriller/horror stuff, so yaaaaaaay.
Usually, when one goes into a book expecting one thing but getting another their opinion is impacted negatively. But not me, not this time! The theme of this book is very political, and it’s up my alley in what I want from generation ship novels—human sociology. :D
My understanding is that maybe Mammay was influenced by the Silo books that are now being adapted on AppleTV, as well as the Expanse series (or at least he talked a fair bit about The Expanse in an interview I watched.) He’s following five POV characters plus a bunch of secondary characters around the ship in order to give us a maximist feel of the plot. Basically: the generation ship, Voyager, is approaching its destination after 250 years of travel. As colonization seems more and more likely for this group of passengers, lots of socio-economic norms suddenly fall under fire, and many people tend to favor political grandstanding over science. There’s definitely some scenes in here where you know Mammay was forming this idea during the beginning of the COVID epidemic. :P
The characters…weren’t the greatest. I’m not sure I agree with reviewers who say they were fully three dimensional. Maybe I’ll say that half of them (a definitive two and a half characters :P) had interesting arcs. I could toe the Mythcreants line, perhaps, that multiple POVs don’t always work; even in a book this size there’s not enough room to fit everything in. Also, the touted perennial fave character, Eddie Dannen, really rubbed me the wrong way. Returning to Mythcreants, she had too much “candy.” Nothing was difficult for her; she was a savant who excelled at everything she touched. Even the ship went out of its way to protect her, and only her, but I’ll get back to the ship’s sentience later. :P
The other character I found underwhelming was the governor, Jared Pantel, who was really drinking too much of his own koolaid if he believed he cared more about the greater good than his own power. Maybe Mammay was manifesting inherent beliefs about politicians. :P The character I’d say I’m half and half on is the cop, Mark Rector. He didn’t change much, but there was some interesting commentary in here about how an ambitious man tries to get ahead when he’s playing a cutthroat game. I’ve seen some commentary on GoodReads that his personality does a 180 at the end, but I’m more inclined to believe, skirting spoilers, that his “law and order” mindset led to his late-plot actions. Kind of reminds me of the military characters in the Yesterday’s Kin series by Nancy Kress.
Anywho. My second-place fave character was Shiela Jackson. I think Mammay did a nice job in showing how a scientist tried to navigate a world/ship of political propaganda. She also had the potential for the most intriguing personal story, when it came to her husband, Alex, and his desire for a child. But alas, there wasn’t enough space or time for this storyline to carry much water. I don’t know what drew Shiela to Alex at all, so there wasn’t much pathos in her assertion that she might want to compromise her professional dreams for his ambitions. Also, although she worried about how much he wanted a baby, she ended up feeling next to no emotional repercussions when she ultimately chose a different path again and again. Why this relationship didn’t end sooner (or why they even got together in the first place when he wasn’t a scientist and she barely left her workstation) was beyond me.
Voyager in fact has a very stratified hierarchy, overseen by the governor and work directors, where it’s next to impossible for people to, like, switch jobs. I may have to stand with my good friend, Kirkus, here; that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If we were dealing with the first generation on the ship, ok fine, that’s what they signed up for. But subsequent generations of people would surely want to express some semblance of free will long before they reached Promissa.
Which, in a way, brings me to my fave character: George Ianno. George is a farmer who basically keeps his head down, even if he privately believes the ship’s culture should be altered. But plot comes to bear, and he turns into an a reluctant, old-school sort of revolutionary leader. He’s thrown into relief against his daughter, Kayla, a budding radical who, like most young people, is energized by ideas she’s encountering for the first time. :P But George is more of a moderate’s hero; his calm rationality nets the largest group of people together, even as he has to referee between warring factions and corrupt politicians. George deserves a medal for this book. :P
The culture of the generation ship needed changing, but can I just say that I liked the focus, insomuch as it centered on peoples’ day-to-day jobs? :P SFF doesn’t always have to be grandiose (I claim, even as I myself am writing epic fantasy *cough cough*) Sometimes it’s nice to meet people where they are.
Natalie Naudus narrated the audiobook, which didn’t fit for me, either. Maybe it’s because I mostly associate her with fantasy and YA. /bias
As for the ending, we get some answers about Promissa, and there’s sentience for both the planet and the ship. But it felt a little tacked on, imho. Not explored in enough depth. Mammay says his primary focus was the generation ship, after all, not the destination. He was also thrilled the title was still available, though frankly, DIRECT OBJECT TITLE is a bit bland for me.
Though maybe I should chill. :P I love generation ships, after all! And at the end of the day, this one skewed closer to sociology than it did to thriller/horror stuff, so yaaaaaaay.
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