kriswasp's review against another edition
4.0
Hmm…my first short story collection I’m reviewing on Goodreads. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I enjoy all of it? No.
The two stories that bookend this…book are the standouts. In fact, the first 3 are great. Filled with imagination and charm and they really move along at a serious pace with terrific ideas. The next two sort of fell flat. Good ideas in there somewhere, but lost I think at being short stories. Far too much going on in trying to establish the world and then the story was over. Nightflyers and A Song for Lya being the longer ones definitely were the best.
Having a good imagination is great, sometimes less is more, and a short story does not always need a fully realised world fleshed out. Let the story breathe first.
But the 4 stories I did enjoy were excellent. Really, really good.
The two stories that bookend this…book are the standouts. In fact, the first 3 are great. Filled with imagination and charm and they really move along at a serious pace with terrific ideas. The next two sort of fell flat. Good ideas in there somewhere, but lost I think at being short stories. Far too much going on in trying to establish the world and then the story was over. Nightflyers and A Song for Lya being the longer ones definitely were the best.
Having a good imagination is great, sometimes less is more, and a short story does not always need a fully realised world fleshed out. Let the story breathe first.
But the 4 stories I did enjoy were excellent. Really, really good.
flammewar's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pangalactics's review
4.0
I picked this up because the title story is going to be made into a tv show, and sure, I‘d be interested in this kind of creepy, existential space horror. That could be fun. Especially if you keep the vague but intriguing glimpses of the larger universe it’s set in.
Ignoring questionable portayals of women, sex and relationships ( of course ), there’s some interesting short stories in here.
If I could make one of these stories into a tv show I’d definitely pick „Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring“, that story is still messing with my brain. Seriously.
Ignoring questionable portayals of women, sex and relationships ( of course ), there’s some interesting short stories in here.
If I could make one of these stories into a tv show I’d definitely pick „Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring“, that story is still messing with my brain. Seriously.
darkstar_pl's review against another edition
Przeczytałem tylko tytułowe opowiadanie. Słabe, trochę przewidywalne. Poszło w innym kierunku niż oczekiwałem. Generalnie niezbyt mi się podobało i nie mam ochoty czytać reszty opowiadań.
allbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pagevoyager's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of stories with varying levels of interest. Overall, at least interesting enough that I finished the whole book.
parallax_kimchi's review against another edition
4.0
A mixed bag.
Nightflyers - ★★★
An enjoyable and straight-forward narrative, that side-lines its interesting premise into a sub-plot for a much more familiar "space crew is picked off one-by-one" plot. Interesting ideas in a forgettable package (could sum up a lot of these really).
Overide - ★★
Another one that eschews a potentially interesting focus for another lesser one. It feels like and is the opening chapter to a bigger conflict, with an interesting premise, but an ultimately less-interesting narrative.
Weekend in a War Zone - ★★
Nihilistic and rather nasty. The main character is horrid and likeable, though works for the central idea, which is interesting but really very hard to take seriously.
And Seven Times Never Kill a Man - ★★★
An engaging conflict that feels cut-short and unsatisfying because of the short-story limit. The resolution is rather confusing, and really feels like expanding further on.
Nor the Many-Coloured Fires of a Star Ring - ★★★★
It's a shame this one is so short, because it's one of the most thought-provoking and interesting. I would really have liked this to be longer. Really gelled with my interests with sci-fi.
A Song for Lya - ★★★★★
One of the most thought-provoking things I've ever read. Fascinating and doesn't feel constrained at all. A couple annoyances to do with how female characters are depicted do take away but not enough for me to not recommend reading this. Quite devastating and depressing but no worries if you just keep in mind it's fiction.
Nightflyers - ★★★
An enjoyable and straight-forward narrative, that side-lines its interesting premise into a sub-plot for a much more familiar "space crew is picked off one-by-one" plot. Interesting ideas in a forgettable package (could sum up a lot of these really).
Overide - ★★
Another one that eschews a potentially interesting focus for another lesser one. It feels like and is the opening chapter to a bigger conflict, with an interesting premise, but an ultimately less-interesting narrative.
Weekend in a War Zone - ★★
Nihilistic and rather nasty. The main character is horrid and likeable, though works for the central idea, which is interesting but really very hard to take seriously.
And Seven Times Never Kill a Man - ★★★
An engaging conflict that feels cut-short and unsatisfying because of the short-story limit. The resolution is rather confusing, and really feels like expanding further on.
Nor the Many-Coloured Fires of a Star Ring - ★★★★
It's a shame this one is so short, because it's one of the most thought-provoking and interesting. I would really have liked this to be longer. Really gelled with my interests with sci-fi.
A Song for Lya - ★★★★★
One of the most thought-provoking things I've ever read. Fascinating and doesn't feel constrained at all. A couple annoyances to do with how female characters are depicted do take away but not enough for me to not recommend reading this. Quite devastating and depressing but no worries if you just keep in mind it's fiction.
natycuac's review against another edition
4.0
Me costó mucho más leerlo que el primero, mezcla un poco la cotidianidad con cosas sorprendentes, pero a ratos vuelve a esa narrativa que es extremadamente descriptiva en escenas en que solo quieres saber qué va a pasar.