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A review by goodstrongwords
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
i'm so torn on this one. as a recent becky chambers convert, this seemed like a no brainer five stars at first. meaningful sci fi for the literary crowd who may shy away from 'science fiction' for expectations of aliens and galactic empires.
it's always amazing to me how many of the most human novels i have ever read take several steps back from humanity. in this case, we take off into space and follow a group of astronauts tackling their human emotions - love, loss, joy, anxiety, hope, fear - whilst unimaginably far from home, looking down at the planet below. and for the most part it is beautiful and poetic, with striking language and visual imagery. i felt particularly moved by one of the characters watching as a typhoon rapidly approached a group of islands in the philippines, knowing his friend must prepare to batten down or flee but being unable to do anything about it.
by the end i was finding it quite repetitive and tiresome, less delicate and more like i was being smacked over the head with introspection.
it's always amazing to me how many of the most human novels i have ever read take several steps back from humanity. in this case, we take off into space and follow a group of astronauts tackling their human emotions - love, loss, joy, anxiety, hope, fear - whilst unimaginably far from home, looking down at the planet below. and for the most part it is beautiful and poetic, with striking language and visual imagery. i felt particularly moved by one of the characters watching as a typhoon rapidly approached a group of islands in the philippines, knowing his friend must prepare to batten down or flee but being unable to do anything about it.
by the end i was finding it quite repetitive and tiresome, less delicate and more like i was being smacked over the head with introspection.