spudnugs96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
arnastorm's review against another edition
2.0
The book is cut into sections, the first short ones are amazingly exciting and I like the writing.
The last and by far the longest is terrible. So bad it made me want to take a break from reading entirely.
The last and by far the longest is terrible. So bad it made me want to take a break from reading entirely.
pauljacobson's review against another edition
4.0
This story took me a little time to get into. There are hints of species-level differences throughout the story that just enhance the story itself. It definitely picks up towards the end of the book, and I launched straight into the second book as soon as I finished the first.
poachedeggs's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. I like science fiction, perhaps because even though I am not too familiar with it, all my experiences with it have been positive. Not so much this one.
This is a 400+ page account of a human ambassador living in an alien civilisation, that of the atevi. When I read the synopsis, I thought, bring it on; I love anthropological sf a la LeGuin.
The first twenty pages or so of the unexpected landing the human spaceship had to bring about were quite intriguing, and I enjoyed reading about the first time humans and the atevi made contact with each other.
Then we come to the bulk of the narrative (a couple of generations later), which consists of Bren (the ambassador) worrying about assassination attempts that have been made on him, puzzling over the loyalties of his various servants and bodyguards, and wondering whether he has unwittingly done the wrong thing in front of the grand matriarch of the secluded hideaway he was spirited away to.
The narrative is bloated, and Bren's excessive introspection is irritating. Worst of all, I don't really feel as though I know the atevi - only a few cultural practices are mentioned briefly, and the broad outlines provided make me feel as though I were objectifying them in the way I imagine racists look at 'foreigners'.
If I hadn't been reading this for a challenge, I would probably have abandoned it.
This is a 400+ page account of a human ambassador living in an alien civilisation, that of the atevi. When I read the synopsis, I thought, bring it on; I love anthropological sf a la LeGuin.
The first twenty pages or so of the unexpected landing the human spaceship had to bring about were quite intriguing, and I enjoyed reading about the first time humans and the atevi made contact with each other.
Then we come to the bulk of the narrative (a couple of generations later), which consists of Bren (the ambassador) worrying about assassination attempts that have been made on him, puzzling over the loyalties of his various servants and bodyguards, and wondering whether he has unwittingly done the wrong thing in front of the grand matriarch of the secluded hideaway he was spirited away to.
The narrative is bloated, and Bren's excessive introspection is irritating. Worst of all, I don't really feel as though I know the atevi - only a few cultural practices are mentioned briefly, and the broad outlines provided make me feel as though I were objectifying them in the way I imagine racists look at 'foreigners'.
If I hadn't been reading this for a challenge, I would probably have abandoned it.
kbhenrickson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this book, and it does give you a lot to think about, but I didn’t really enjoy it. I found the main character tedious, and you spend too much time in his thoughts for me.
ielerol's review against another edition
3.0
This one was hard to get through. Bren has no idea what's going on basically at any point in the book, and doesn't understand the motivations of anyone around him. Neither does the reader. Parts of it I enjoyed very much, lots of it was frustrating and unpleasant. I was warned, however, and have heard that Bren gets much more confident and successful in later books, so I pretty much just sped through the last half of this one so I'd have context for the next book. I do like the concept of the atevi, and the challenges of the role of a paidhi, and I even like stories with a slow drawn-out pace. I just would have liked this one more of it had had a lot more of cross-cultural discussions over card games and lot less of Bren cursing himself for being an idiot and getting beaten and pushed around.
scribejack's review against another edition
3.0
An uneven but enjoyable read. Will read the second book.
pine_wulf's review against another edition
3.0
The first part is a bunch of technobabble that amounts to "We're lost." The second part is about the first meeting between the two species. I liked this part a lot and wish it was more in depth. I read somewhere that these two parts weren't initially included and the editor said to put them there. I don't know. Based off how the third part was written, I believe it. The third part is the main story. There are some good scenes, but a lot of it is written like how someone would think. Like if I'm worried about something, my mind keeps going back and chewing over it. Ok, that's fine. I get that's how he feels and thinks, but it's still not terribly fun to read sometimes.
corymojojojo's review
4.0
4.5. This wasn’t really what I expected it to be, and despite the fact that the subject matter wasn’t that exciting, I really grew to love this book. The cover calls this “a novel of first contact” which frankly is pretty misleading since the “first contact” is just in the first chapter and then we skip ahead 200 years. That being said, I’m not upset because the actual story here, which involves intricate politics and foreign relations, is damn well-written. Even more so, the characters are fantastic and somehow their completely alien way of thinking and culture just makes them feel so grounded and real. Something about these characters just felt so well captured that I often felt a great comfort in spending time with them even if the actual plot is somewhat dry. Somehow Cherryh managed to create a species of people who are essentially humanlike in physiology, yet so alien in every aspect of their psychology and expression.
pelicaaan's review against another edition
2.0
Started out great; got very slow in the middle; picked up again at the end. I got very frustrated in that middle part; so did the main character. If the author's goal was to make the reader feel the frustration of the main character, it worked perfectly -- but I almost stopped reading.