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A review by noragracereads
The Praxis by Walter Jon Williams
2.0
I stopped reading The Praxis after the fifth use of the word "lush" to describe a woman's body. (So I read about 30% of the novel.) Regardless of the discomforting objectification of women, even when they're doing their highly skilled jobs, The Praxis lacks the world building that I think is necessary at the start of any sci-fi novel. I felt thrust into a complex setting without much explanation along the way. The Praxis also lacks something that makes it "The Praxis"/ "Dread Empire's Fall" like the way lightsabers make Star Wars Star Wars or the spice makes Dune Dune. It felt too generically science fiction instead of something truly independent and unique. I think Williams tried to go for something as grand as Dune but missed the target entirely.
One of the reasons why I love and appreciate sci-fi novels like Dune is because of the way it feels like it was simply written from a human's perspective, not specifically a man's (or a woman's). I don't know if I can properly convey what I'm thinking about this into words... It's just that science fiction is a genre that isn't specifically catered to any sex. At least, it shouldn't be. The genre was, after all, invented by a woman, Mary Shelley. I don't think The Praxis is meant to be male gender exclusive, especially since one of the two main characters is a woman, but even when reading her scenes I definitely felt like it was meant to be read from a male perspective. Good novels are the ones that examine human nature as it applies to everyone. This means that authors have to write with what's in their head and not what's between their legs. The Praxis isn't the only sci-fi novel with this problem, it's just unfortunate that I expected to really enjoy it but was unpleasantly surprised by how alienated I felt by the writing.
One of the reasons why I love and appreciate sci-fi novels like Dune is because of the way it feels like it was simply written from a human's perspective, not specifically a man's (or a woman's). I don't know if I can properly convey what I'm thinking about this into words... It's just that science fiction is a genre that isn't specifically catered to any sex. At least, it shouldn't be. The genre was, after all, invented by a woman, Mary Shelley. I don't think The Praxis is meant to be male gender exclusive, especially since one of the two main characters is a woman, but even when reading her scenes I definitely felt like it was meant to be read from a male perspective. Good novels are the ones that examine human nature as it applies to everyone. This means that authors have to write with what's in their head and not what's between their legs. The Praxis isn't the only sci-fi novel with this problem, it's just unfortunate that I expected to really enjoy it but was unpleasantly surprised by how alienated I felt by the writing.