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A review by teaandtales1
Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
๐๐พ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป: Richard Russo
๐๐ต๐ธ๐ฝ: The ship Argonos has been traveling for as long as anyone can remember (and for even longer before that). There are threats of mutiny, the wish for finding new planets and new peoples, and the everyday challenges of running a generational ship. Their usual routines are thrown into disarray when they discover a massive alien ship.
๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ผ: 370
๐๐ฎ๐ท๐ป๐ฎ: Scifi, scifi-thriller
๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฝ: barely
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ธ๐ญ: far in the future
๐๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ซ๐ธ๐ธ๐ด๐ผ ๐'๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ซ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ช๐พ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป: first time reading this author
๐๐ธ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ช๐ท๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ: contemplative scifi, darker scifi, first contact
๐ก๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐: โญโญโญ3/4
I will admit that this book is very different than I thought it would be, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The main plot point - the discovery of the alien ship - doesn't happen until you're about 40-50% through the book. Instead this is more of a think-piece sci-fi novel with a few scary-ish moments and a lot of discussions of science vs religion.
Russo has a lot of ideas he wants to pack into the book - caste/class systems, political intrigue, first contact, planet exploration - and all of them do have some success. In a book where not a lot happens for long stretches, it still held my interest and was a very fast read.
Overall I think it's mostly successful and I really enjoyed reading it. I do think some editing and/or one or two more action set pieces would have contacted the different parts a bit more, but in general I thought it was pretty good.
๐๐ต๐ธ๐ฝ: The ship Argonos has been traveling for as long as anyone can remember (and for even longer before that). There are threats of mutiny, the wish for finding new planets and new peoples, and the everyday challenges of running a generational ship. Their usual routines are thrown into disarray when they discover a massive alien ship.
๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ผ: 370
๐๐ฎ๐ท๐ป๐ฎ: Scifi, scifi-thriller
๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฝ: barely
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ธ๐ญ: far in the future
๐๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ซ๐ธ๐ธ๐ด๐ผ ๐'๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ซ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ช๐พ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป: first time reading this author
๐๐ธ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ช๐ท๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ: contemplative scifi, darker scifi, first contact
๐ก๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐: โญโญโญ3/4
I will admit that this book is very different than I thought it would be, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The main plot point - the discovery of the alien ship - doesn't happen until you're about 40-50% through the book. Instead this is more of a think-piece sci-fi novel with a few scary-ish moments and a lot of discussions of science vs religion.
Russo has a lot of ideas he wants to pack into the book - caste/class systems, political intrigue, first contact, planet exploration - and all of them do have some success. In a book where not a lot happens for long stretches, it still held my interest and was a very fast read.
Overall I think it's mostly successful and I really enjoyed reading it. I do think some editing and/or one or two more action set pieces would have contacted the different parts a bit more, but in general I thought it was pretty good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide