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A review by picastoste
Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This novel should have been an essay, on account of there not being any plot whatsoever, and all the characters having the same voice. The worldbuilding and scifi aspects are amzing and great and I thoroughly enjoyed them, and that is where the 2.5 stars come from, exclusively.
Nothing happens, the protagonist is not appealing, neither is any character, the dialogues are Very Bad , and the whole book is a constant telling instead of showing. I would have loved to learn anything about the characters by way of them doing something, but instead you can only learn it through other people telling you how much of a something they are.
The writer is a woman, the main character is also a woman, and yet the entire book is a compendium of men doing things and the main character being in awe at them. Literally women cooking while the men drive the spaceship, over and over and over. Whenever a bunch of important people in the history of the planet are named, there are NO women!!!! It was honestly hard to read. The politics of the book are also so LUKEWARM its honestly insulting. I will refrain from making any spoilers, but I will say you can only get so far with a “sometimes things are complex” approach, like, we know, that is literally life.
Very very disappointing in the way that it has a good premise and very interesting concepts for the technology and architecture and territorial organisation, but it fails spectacularly at anything story-related. So yeah, I would read an essay or one of those fake encyclopedias for fictional universes, definitely, but this did not need to be a novel and it was honestly a hard read.
Nothing happens, the protagonist is not appealing, neither is any character, the dialogues are Very Bad , and the whole book is a constant telling instead of showing. I would have loved to learn anything about the characters by way of them doing something, but instead you can only learn it through other people telling you how much of a something they are.
The writer is a woman, the main character is also a woman, and yet the entire book is a compendium of men doing things and the main character being in awe at them. Literally women cooking while the men drive the spaceship, over and over and over. Whenever a bunch of important people in the history of the planet are named, there are NO women!!!! It was honestly hard to read. The politics of the book are also so LUKEWARM its honestly insulting. I will refrain from making any spoilers, but I will say you can only get so far with a “sometimes things are complex” approach, like, we know, that is literally life.
Very very disappointing in the way that it has a good premise and very interesting concepts for the technology and architecture and territorial organisation, but it fails spectacularly at anything story-related. So yeah, I would read an essay or one of those fake encyclopedias for fictional universes, definitely, but this did not need to be a novel and it was honestly a hard read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism