A review by reasie
Gypsy by Carter Scholz
5.0
We start with a classic hard-sf longshot space exploration narrative, told in chunks by various characters who have one small part in the great undertaking. Very little hand waving, lots of details, lots and lots of death.
Sergei was my favorite. Ah, Sergei. Good example of using dramatic irony as the lunkhead dies without a log entry and all the chapters after are just "The fuck happened to Sergei?" and the reader is left with that knowledge and no way to convey it to the suffering characters.
Paired with a very Borges-feeling short story, also a bit of a downer ending but funny, and a non-fiction essay that'll just make you grit your teeth because it shows how terrible things were before they got worse.
The interview in this one wasn't as enjoyable as others, as the subject clearly takes delight in finding an answer that doesn't invite discussion. Also I found the questions too often to be ... I dunno... shutting the reader out.
Still, this was my first of the Outspoken Authors series where I didn't know anything about the author in question going in and I'm glad I bought it on whim. I am continually delighted with this series.
Sergei was my favorite. Ah, Sergei. Good example of using dramatic irony as the lunkhead dies without a log entry and all the chapters after are just "The fuck happened to Sergei?" and the reader is left with that knowledge and no way to convey it to the suffering characters.
Paired with a very Borges-feeling short story, also a bit of a downer ending but funny, and a non-fiction essay that'll just make you grit your teeth because it shows how terrible things were before they got worse.
The interview in this one wasn't as enjoyable as others, as the subject clearly takes delight in finding an answer that doesn't invite discussion. Also I found the questions too often to be ... I dunno... shutting the reader out.
Still, this was my first of the Outspoken Authors series where I didn't know anything about the author in question going in and I'm glad I bought it on whim. I am continually delighted with this series.