Really, this is a pretty mediocre book. Flashes of points where I was highly interested bump it up to three stars.
Something that made it difficult wasReally, this is a pretty mediocre book. Flashes of points where I was highly interested bump it up to three stars.
Something that made it difficult was the fact that it was trying to do two different kinds of stories at two different points of the book, and the "other story"--depending on which one we were focusing on--frequently felt like it was getting lost and forgotten. We spend half of the book on earth, but by the end that time spent on earth doesn't seem to really, emotionally matter anymore? Which felt odd.
Actually, in general the emotions side of this were a little off. The characters /have/ emotions, but they don't transfer easily to the reader, which makes me think there's either a telling/showing problem or perhaps a state of mind problem (but we were pretty solidly in Tristan's head so I'm not sure about that one). While I was /interested/ in the ideas presented (Mars colonists who fund their trip through product placement and reality TV seems very probable, if weird!--for one example--the conflict with the Chinese for another) and the plot, I was never fully engaged the way I'd like to be.
It also felt like the enemy was very suddenly vanquished, and, honestly, painfully obvious. (view spoiler)[Tristan knows that there's a saboteur on board, but then proceeds to let all of his friends in on it? really? Never once does he seem to suspect them, which feels like an obvious missing emotional queue. The moment Sophie started talking about just war, I knew that either she was going to be the bad guy or I was going to be very annoyed that the author had used her to explain the intentions of a totally unknown character. Being right didn't make it any more satisfying. Sophie is presented throughout as a bit off, if not quite "crazy." (hide spoiler)]
Characters also frequently engage in a bit overly sophisticated language in the defense of mankind and startravel, etc. Some of the conversations felt clearly staged and I found myself skimming.
Overall I enjoyed reading, though. Especially when space stuff went wrong because that's my jam, apparently.
Merged review:
Really, this is a pretty mediocre book. Flashes of points where I was highly interested bump it up to three stars.
Something that made it difficult was the fact that it was trying to do two different kinds of stories at two different points of the book, and the "other story"--depending on which one we were focusing on--frequently felt like it was getting lost and forgotten. We spend half of the book on earth, but by the end that time spent on earth doesn't seem to really, emotionally matter anymore? Which felt odd.
Actually, in general the emotions side of this were a little off. The characters /have/ emotions, but they don't transfer easily to the reader, which makes me think there's either a telling/showing problem or perhaps a state of mind problem (but we were pretty solidly in Tristan's head so I'm not sure about that one). While I was /interested/ in the ideas presented (Mars colonists who fund their trip through product placement and reality TV seems very probable, if weird!--for one example--the conflict with the Chinese for another) and the plot, I was never fully engaged the way I'd like to be.
It also felt like the enemy was very suddenly vanquished, and, honestly, painfully obvious. (view spoiler)[Tristan knows that there's a saboteur on board, but then proceeds to let all of his friends in on it? really? Never once does he seem to suspect them, which feels like an obvious missing emotional queue. The moment Sophie started talking about just war, I knew that either she was going to be the bad guy or I was going to be very annoyed that the author had used her to explain the intentions of a totally unknown character. Being right didn't make it any more satisfying. Sophie is presented throughout as a bit off, if not quite "crazy." (hide spoiler)]
Characters also frequently engage in a bit overly sophisticated language in the defense of mankind and startravel, etc. Some of the conversations felt clearly staged and I found myself skimming.
Overall I enjoyed reading, though. Especially when space stuff went wrong because that's my jam, apparently....more
Stretches its premise a little at times, but a nice introduction to some unusual architecture. I think in this day and age (the copyright is 2001) it Stretches its premise a little at times, but a nice introduction to some unusual architecture. I think in this day and age (the copyright is 2001) it would've been printed with color photographs, and that would help a lot! I ended up googling a lot of the buildings to get a better idea of what they actually looked like. ...more
The stories feel out of order? But they're fun and I liked the illustrations.The stories feel out of order? But they're fun and I liked the illustrations....more
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