There was an interesting in-world comment about the protagonist's book ending suddenly/unexpectedly, which was very much my experience with Cloud Atlas - curious to see how that weaves in as well!
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Admin of bookwyrm.cincodenada.com, as you might expect. Endlessly curious engineer; something approaching, say, genderqueer. Third rhyme with dactyl feet: it goes here.
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Ell started reading Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang
Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang
From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort …
Ell started reading Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
After declaring independence from Earth, Mars still faces problems: an impending ice age, a search for religious meaning, and immigration. …
Ell finished reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an …
Ell commented on Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled …
So far this bears much resemblance structurally to Cloud Atlas, but is less than half the length. I ultimately found Cloud Atlas overambitious, so I'm interested to see where this one goes!
Ell started reading Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled …
Went through my to read list at the bookstore and there was a slightly-damaged copy ofnthis for cheap. Enjoying it so far!
Ell finished reading Network Effect by Martha Wells
I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems …
Finally jumped back in and dang this was a delight!
Ell finished reading Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
Wow. My word. What an accomplishment. Not perfect, but on the whole so gratifying and far-reaching. Definitely going on my very short list of books I actually might re-read.
Ell commented on Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
My gods. What a world, what worlds, what universebuilding this is. Truly out there, and I love it so. You have to be bought in, and I can't blame anyone who hates it or is not along for the ride, but my god. It is exquisite. I have long held Hyperion, for all its follies, as one of my favorite works of all time, and this fills a similar cup. Twisty and layered and delicious.
Ell commented on Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
God, you really do have to be bought in, but this book continues to morph and it is good
Ell commented on Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
This book continues to be even more itself. Such a chaotic and unmatched mix of so many things, and I love it.
Ell commented on Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
Tearing through this book, what a ride
For context: one of the (valid!) criticisms of the first three books was the seeming dismissal of vast swaths of the world (notably most of Africa) as backwards "reservations" used only as an outlet for spiritual pilgrimages.
I've been patient, because as I tell folks when introducing these books to people, the narrators are unreliable, morally as well as plotwise: the tale reflects the society whose lessons we are learning.
It's deeply important to me to for authors to be able to tell stories about morally complicated or downright bankrupt characters and societies without having to explicitly spell out the ways in which they are Bad and Wrong, to let us as readers make our own judgments and moral decisions, without assigning those judgments to the author themselves.
It's a risky line to walk, but I think if executed well, it's so valuable.
Ell quoted Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
From the 2017 John W. Campbell Award Winner for Best Writer, Ada Palmer's Perhaps the …
She gazes on Caesar as the head of a hospital gazes on a colleague wooed by giddy innovators to test out a new procedure which might work, might revolutionize treatment, first signs are good, but it takes many years to understand the lifelong effects, and whether the new method works or no, the old-fashioned one still saves lives daily as we wait to learn whether this particular experiment is part of that slim percentage that succeeds.
— Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer (Page 296)
I am cautiously SO excited to finally start peeking behind the curtain of these "reservations". I've had faith in you, Ada, here's hoping it pays off