laileanah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This is humorous and fun.
Solid world-building with a very relatable premise.
I only wish the author had included more than physical looks in his handling of ostracism. Class, race and gender are all major players in how physical attraction is viewed and I wish he had included an acknowledgement of that.
Solid world-building with a very relatable premise.
I only wish the author had included more than physical looks in his handling of ostracism. Class, race and gender are all major players in how physical attraction is viewed and I wish he had included an acknowledgement of that.
lyrrael's review against another edition
2.0
I really felt this book was a lot of fun, and was genuinely enjoying the experience...until the scene changes about halfway through the book. I kept slogging, thinking that possibly it'd pick back up, until I realized I was page flipping about eighty pages from the end. Blargh. Not worth continuing with if I'm going to be doing that. :/
metaphorosis's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Festina Ramos is an Explorer - one of humanity's mildly imperfect expendables. And she's been sent to accompany an aged admiral on what promises to be a one way trip that nonetheless somehow sidesteps the League of Peoples' prohibition on murder and other non-sentient acts.
Review
Expendable was my introduction to James Alan Gardner, and the League of Peoples series is still the bulk of his writing that I’ve read (and seems to be the bulk of his long fiction). I was immediately engaged by Festina Ramos, and followed the rest of the series faithfully to the end.
The premise is intriguing – imperfect people deliberately left imperfect in order to create a corps of people no one will miss that much: expendables. The imperfections are mild – science can and does cure more serious problems – but Gardner builds an interesting world and system on top of it, anchored by Festina’s own views and struggle. This is relatively light reading, so there’s not as much focus on an initial trauma as you might expect, and the ending wraps up a bit easily, but it’s fun and engaging nonetheless.
Festina aside, the characterization is a bit on the thin side – we don’t get to know anyone else very well – but it’s offset by an intriguing larger universe and the near-omniscient League of Peoples that stays largely in the background in this book. Not perfect, but fun, easy reading.
Summary
Festina Ramos is an Explorer - one of humanity's mildly imperfect expendables. And she's been sent to accompany an aged admiral on what promises to be a one way trip that nonetheless somehow sidesteps the League of Peoples' prohibition on murder and other non-sentient acts.
Review
Expendable was my introduction to James Alan Gardner, and the League of Peoples series is still the bulk of his writing that I’ve read (and seems to be the bulk of his long fiction). I was immediately engaged by Festina Ramos, and followed the rest of the series faithfully to the end.
The premise is intriguing – imperfect people deliberately left imperfect in order to create a corps of people no one will miss that much: expendables. The imperfections are mild – science can and does cure more serious problems – but Gardner builds an interesting world and system on top of it, anchored by Festina’s own views and struggle. This is relatively light reading, so there’s not as much focus on an initial trauma as you might expect, and the ending wraps up a bit easily, but it’s fun and engaging nonetheless.
Festina aside, the characterization is a bit on the thin side – we don’t get to know anyone else very well – but it’s offset by an intriguing larger universe and the near-omniscient League of Peoples that stays largely in the background in this book. Not perfect, but fun, easy reading.
thestarman's review against another edition
5.0
Review: I don't give out many 5 stars. If you have a sense of humor, read this book.
woolfardis's review against another edition
1.0
I actually debated with myself for a long while as to whether I'd read the rest of this book. I'm not sure what drew me in to read it, because I found the characters to be 2D and conceited and, whilst I quite enjoyed the concept of people who look abnormal to be thought of as "expendable" people whose deaths don't cause low moral and can be sent off to explore unknown and most probably dangerous planets, I found the way the author wrote about it extremely tiresome. I only found detestation and I'm certain I could work out the rest of the plot by myself if I tried. It was also not exactly sci-fi, because rarely did anything sci-fi happen, except floating about in space. The writing was fine but the dialogue was shaky. I was also very disappointed with the "disformity" of the protagonist: a birth mark on her face? If the author had deigned to write about someone with, for example the protag's best friend, half a face, then maybe it could have been something else; something wonderful and not just a remark on how people who look a bit weird and treated a bit weird.
vikbash's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Quotes from book:
“I was a child who never believed in fairies, but still told herself fairy tales.”
“Some atavistic prejudice in my subconscious still believed men were scarier than women.”
“I was a child who never believed in fairies, but still told herself fairy tales.”
“Some atavistic prejudice in my subconscious still believed men were scarier than women.”
vasha's review
2.0
I read this book in a single afternoon, although I had to work at it, since it wasn't really that gripping. Why? Well, to be sure the main character Festina Ramos is sympathetic, and her emotions are believable. But otherwise, the story suffers from workmanlike prose, and a shaky grasp on dialogue, and feeble characterization of everyone except the protagonist. The science-fiction part of the plot is pretty ordinary. Though maybe I just wasn't in the mood when I read it.
gmacken's review against another edition
3.0
A bit of a popcorn read. Enjoyable but forgettable.
Although written 20 years ago, it seems far older in its style. Reads a bit like SciFi from the 1950s or 1960s.
Although written 20 years ago, it seems far older in its style. Reads a bit like SciFi from the 1950s or 1960s.
carolined314's review against another edition
4.0
A fun exploration of social psychology and military norms, with some plot thrown in for fun. I wouldn't read this for the plot--it's kind of nonsensical even within its own confines--but the main character's voice is consistent and interesting. She has a practicality that is very uncommon in fiction, the kind of practicality that limits absurd situations, unless you've created an absurd world. That's what Gardner's done: caricature. The world is very much exaggerated aspects of existing norms, projected into the future. It is fun, and involves some goofy sci-fi notions, and I enjoyed it.