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A review by branch_c
A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias
3.0
This is the kind of book that would have been a favorite of mine many years ago when I first started reading speculative fiction - it’s hard SF with solid science, carefully considered details, and realistic treatments of issues that humans would likely face when attempting to reason with aliens who are thoroughly foreign in terms of biology, communication, and culture. There are throwaway lines demonstrating that Cambias has the knowledge and/or has done the research to write about this type of thing effectively.
On the other hand, the writing style comes across as a bit flat, something that probably wouldn’t have bothered me in those early days. And yes, I see that the dialog is intentionally stilted to portray the differences among the various characters, both human and alien, and the real difficulties in communication that these differences imply. But the narrative is somewhat matter-of-fact, and the relationships come across as a bit artificial, making the overall reading experience less interesting than it should have been.
The stiffness in tone is less noticeable toward the end, when the story becomes fast-moving enough to be more engaging.
On the other hand, the writing style comes across as a bit flat, something that probably wouldn’t have bothered me in those early days. And yes, I see that the dialog is intentionally stilted to portray the differences among the various characters, both human and alien, and the real difficulties in communication that these differences imply. But the narrative is somewhat matter-of-fact, and the relationships come across as a bit artificial, making the overall reading experience less interesting than it should have been.
The stiffness in tone is less noticeable toward the end, when the story becomes fast-moving enough to be more engaging.