The chapters alternate between the POV of two characters, one who is the fourth princess in a somewhat medieval society on a planet that is not Earth,The chapters alternate between the POV of two characters, one who is the fourth princess in a somewhat medieval society on a planet that is not Earth, and the other being an anthropologist coming from the much more technologically advanced Earth to study this planet which was colonised in rough conditions and lost contact with Earth, which explains why it is medieval. The problem of the anthropologist is that contact with Earth has been lost again and he is marooned on this planet, skipping through the years by hibernating and trying to act in his role of anthropologist in case anyone from Earth comes to find him, which seems more and more unlikely each time he wakes up.
The story of these two characters who don't understand each other nor the issues the other is facing is really good. Tchaikovsky made his charcters really believable and endearing, and he brings other aspects to the story that really amazed me. It is hard IMO to make a story so original, after so many years of existence of the field of speculative fiction. The best part was that this originality was not for originality's sake but really allowed him to build interesting characters with interesting relationships.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I felt the main device of the plot resolution was unbelievable and came out of nowhere, but as the main point of this book is the characters, that did not disappoint me _too_ much....more
This is part fantasy and part fairy tale. Mara is a princess, but an inept one. She fails at learning the subtelties of court politics and diplomacy, This is part fantasy and part fairy tale. Mara is a princess, but an inept one. She fails at learning the subtelties of court politics and diplomacy, and ends up in a convent. The story alternates between past and present, and starts when Mara is on some fairy tale quest, the goal of which we will discover little by little, at the same time as we discover what happened to her and most of all what happened to her sisters.
Mara is a very interesting and endearing character, who fights to be an actor in her life story rather than being passive as everybody is urging her, actively or not, to be. This will lead her to engage on this heroic quest and meeting a very interesting cast of characters. The books start somewhat dark but quickly lightens up. Though Mara and her friends face dangers and have to witness the darkness of human soul, the novel is uplifting on the whole.
The cast of characters and Mara's determination and ironic humour make a very pleasant novel. I have other books by T. Kingfisher in my wishlist and will certainly get to them at some point....more
Couldn't get into this one. This consits mainly of dialogues between drunk people, without any description of how the people behave while they're havinCouldn't get into this one. This consits mainly of dialogues between drunk people, without any description of how the people behave while they're having these conversations, which makes for dull reading. The fact that the characters are all horrible to each other doesn't help. Some books are criticised because the author tells rather than shows how things are. With this one i had the feeling that Hemingway neither tells nor shows, but that we have to guess what's on his minde. It was interesting to see how normal people thought antisemitism was at the time, with the characters issuing multiple antisemtic comment (there's one in the first paragraph), including to the jewish character's face....more
I was apprehensive about because I had not liked the only other novel-length book in the series as much as the other. Fortunately this turned out to bI was apprehensive about because I had not liked the only other novel-length book in the series as much as the other. Fortunately this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed watching the Murderbot character continue evolving in new ways.
I think there are at least two more books in the series to come and I'll look forward to them!...more
This is kind of a time travel story, which is a genre I usually adore, but this really didn't work out for me. I felt that the characters were very poThis is kind of a time travel story, which is a genre I usually adore, but this really didn't work out for me. I felt that the characters were very poorly portrayed, that the pacing of the story was terribly slow and at some point I realized I really did not care how the story ended....more
This is a YA book about a teenage boy on a new world in which all men have been infected by germs which make all their thoughts audible to everybody eThis is a YA book about a teenage boy on a new world in which all men have been infected by germs which make all their thoughts audible to everybody else, in a form called Noise. All women have died from these germs and Todd is the last boy born in the settlement. This creates a setting in which all men are deeply affected and many of them are at least half crazy, and the Noise that washes over everybody is very difficult to withstand because of all the negativity it carries. Todd will learn that not is all as he was told (which is my main gripe with the book because how can anybody hide important things from others on a long-term basis when all day-to-day thoughts are heard by everyone?) and embark on quest to try and find a solution to his problem.
This was almost a DNF finish for me because the plot revolved too much about Todd not being told the truth and a turn of events occurring every time somebody is about to explain things to him. This is the first book in a trilogy and hangs on a major cliff hanger but I won't be reading the sequels....more
This is a short and contemplative science-fiction book about a man who has been chosen to work for a transgalactic travel station: people (aliens) areThis is a short and contemplative science-fiction book about a man who has been chosen to work for a transgalactic travel station: people (aliens) are teleported to the station, stay for a while and chat (or not) with him, then catch their next teleport out.
The existence of this staion is a secret to the rest of the Earth and Enoch, the station's keeper, wonders if humankind will one day be able to join this galactic union, but this seems unlikely as the threat of nuclear war is rising. The novel is centered around Enoch who reminisces the interesting alien encounters he has had and worries about the state of the world, while some events happen closer to him that threaten to jeopardise the secret of the station.
This is a quiet, interesting book but that feels a bit bland....more
This third book was not as fun as the other two books, but it was still fun and I was glad to meet with the characters again, especially Kiva. I thougThis third book was not as fun as the other two books, but it was still fun and I was glad to meet with the characters again, especially Kiva. I thought the book took maybe too long to start and was wrapped up too quickly, but it was still an enjoyable read, and the ending even got me steamy eyed (which often happens!)...more
This didn't quite work out for me. This is a fantasy book taking place during the war in Vietnam. Kitty is a young American nurse and the first part, wThis didn't quite work out for me. This is a fantasy book taking place during the war in Vietnam. Kitty is a young American nurse and the first part, which could almost be a non fantasy novel, describes her work in the hospital, the patients, both American soldiers and friendly vietnamese (i.e., not vietcongs) patients, and her relationships with other people. I thought that first part well written and quite engaging. The second part however seemed to me to be going every which way. The fantasy elements, which had been toned down almost to inexistence in the first part, suddenly took a huge part in a way that was hard to belive (if I can say that about fantasy elements), and the plot advanced with a succession of twists that felt artificial to me. I realised I didn't care much what happened to Kitty (though the last 10 pages were again engaging and well written)....more
J'ai beaucoup apprécié la première partie de ce livre. On suit l'enfant, enfermé entre le père et la mère dans un appartement en béton dans un immeublJ'ai beaucoup apprécié la première partie de ce livre. On suit l'enfant, enfermé entre le père et la mère dans un appartement en béton dans un immeuble de plus de 5000 étages, en béton, tous constitués d'appartements identiques. Le style est très particulier et intéressant. Par contre la deuxième partie qui part plus vers uen fable ne m'a pas plu. Je n'ai pas compris où l'autrice voulait en venir. ...more
My god I did not like it _at all_. I felt that the premises (a shape shifting alien that can take any imaginable shape and is as well far more intelligMy god I did not like it _at all_. I felt that the premises (a shape shifting alien that can take any imaginable shape and is as well far more intelligent than a person) completely unbelievable, and the character evolution which is another important aspect of the book was not done well at all. It was written in 2004 but it reminds me of much older SF books, from a time where the genre was new and a cool ideas were enough to make a book stand out, even if the idea needed serious fleshing out and the writing style was suboptimal. I'm surprised it won the Nebula award, especially since it was nominated the same year as Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel which I read recently and is not without flaws but IMO with far lesser flaws than this one....more
The great strength of this book is its worldbuilding, which is very original and immersive. Hurley presents a planet locked in a perpetual war, with cThe great strength of this book is its worldbuilding, which is very original and immersive. Hurley presents a planet locked in a perpetual war, with civilisations taking origins in islma, where all men are sent to the front and the civil population consists almost exclusively of women who fill all roles in society, including boxing fighters and bounty hunters. This world's technology is based on some kind of magic coming from insects, so we have lamps where the glow comes from insects, cars powered by some kind of insect breeding boiler, ...
The weaknesses of the book come first from the fact that we are dropped too abruptly in this world at the beginning and it's hard to understand what's going on. This may be linked to the fact that the story felt a bit awkward to me. For instance the book starts with the memorable sentence "Nyx sold her womb somewhere between Punjai and Faleen, on the edge of the desert", but it never became very clear to me why she sold her womb, though this plays a part in the plot.
Since this is Hurley's first novel I'm ready to overlook the weaknesses and congratulate the author for managing to write such an immersive book....more
This is a collection of interrelated short stories about a character which is 68% autobiographical and 32% made up, according to the author. Gretchen This is a collection of interrelated short stories about a character which is 68% autobiographical and 32% made up, according to the author. Gretchen is a deeply troubled person. Her sister has very serious mental health issues, her dad dies when she is still relatively young and she doesn't know how to mourn, she suffers abuse and develops self harming behaviour. The stories are told out of order, so we learn about her life little by little, touch by touch, while many things are left barely hinted at. The stories do tend to go more forward than backward in time as the book progresses, though, so that we get an idea of how the character evolves through the years. Though the topic is very difficult, the main character does not seek to attract pity and on the countrary the book is told with some sort of detachment that can veer to dark humour.
I thought this was really well written and I felt deeply moved by Gretchen's character and rooted for her to be able to be well in the end....more
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