jakej's reviews
93 reviews

challenging slow-paced

3.5

Frustrated with myself for not getting most of the puzzle pieces until I looked it up. I didn’t realize the splinter was not orbiting a neutron star, didn’t realize the splinterites become the aloof, etc etc. Also didn’t notice the difference in origin myth between the splinter and the ark.

There are a bunch of things still unclear to me with the arc of the Aloof, since there are so many phases they go through (how did the Splinter get to be orbiting the supermassive black hole? Did the neutron star interloper come before splinterites started traveling off the splinter, or was that the event that spurred the development of off-Splinter travel?) Again, part of this is my lack of observation, but I do think he could have presented stuff more clearly. It seems like there were at least two distinct phases of the splinterites "waking up" and building arks.

Definitely a solid and scrupulously researched novel: my occasional lack of engagement with it is mostly due to insufficient observation and a general apathy towards physics. I’d like to read more Egan in the future, but I’m going to consciously gravitate towards stories focusing more on computer science, biology, math, etc.

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

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slow-paced

4.0

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

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medium-paced

1.5

There's not a single new idea in here: it's the plot of Seveneves with the social issues and character dynamics of Hidden Figures (notably sacrificing the depth of both of these books in its quest to merge them together).

For an alternate history novel, there's a startlingly small amount of imagination or unknowns being confronted. The story is played completely safe, with little investigation on how the Meteor actually affects the world or anything else that is going on in this alternate timeline, ending up with a timeline that makes no sense at a base level (how is America the leader of the space race when the entire eastern seaboard [including the capital!] was blown clean off the map?).

As for the main plot and character dynamics, you know exactly what will happen as soon as the space program starts (which would've been the case even if this wasn't a prequel to an extant story).

The character interactions themselves feel ripped straight from a sitcom: we have the genius double PhD mathematician/physicist/pilot main character

(don't worry: she has anxiety so she's relatable!)

; the genius, unfailingly supportive, incredibly handsome husband; the gaggle of spunky supportive friends, etc etc.

This 'Big Bang Theory'-esque setup makes it hard to maintain immersion in the writing: I understand the author did a lot of research in the historical and engineering side of things, but the math is either basic, wrong, or both

(at one point Elma starts listing the prime numbers to calm down, and starts with 1)

.

Two other things that baffled me:

the situation with Stetsons wife and Elma attempting suicide. Neither contributed anything to the story and seemed like they were added to contribute to a dark atmosphere, which didn't work.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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2.0

Just not my kind of story at all. Not a fan of “unique teenage protagonist in a near future dystopia”, and

Earthseed is insufferable

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent by James Duane

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informative medium-paced

4.0

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

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adventurous dark medium-paced