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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my HUGO WINNERS list.
This is the reading list that follows the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I loved reading the Locus Sci-Fi Award winners so I'm going to crack on with the Hugo winners next (but only the post-1980 winners, I'll follow up with pre-1980 another time).
I'm feeling confused...
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Why didn't I like this book more?
People I trust go nuts over this book: Nikki: "I loved the book. I read it with my teddy, Helen, at all times, because it felt somehow wrong to read something that spoke to my teenage self without her -- this book really felt written for me, and I could talk about it for hours, if given the chance." Appatt:"The most important aspect of this book is that it is a love letter to science fiction and fantasy books" "The little comments about the books and the love the author via her characters show for the books make me want to read sf/f until my eyes fall out." Algernon:"Here is probably an explanation of why I love this story so much. It feels written especially for me. I recognize myself as a member of this group that is unable to pass a bookshop without entering and browsing the shelves."
Sadly, this book did not feel written for me.
Among Others is a massive clash of characters (5 stars) vs plot (2 stars).
I love Mori, she's awesome. She's the kind of gal I could talk books with for hours. She knows her sci-fi. She knows the importance of books on a deep, cellular level. She lives more in her books than she does in a body. We would understand each other, even if we didn't agree about particular authors - I totally don't feel her affection for Le Guin - but I'm pretty sure Mori would forgive me that. I'd be delighted to invite her over for pie and after-dinner Scrabble.
But... just because I think the girl is a kindred spirit, doesn't mean I'm going to love reading her diary. There are three strands to Mori's diary - and I was only totally sold on one.
(SPOILERS FOLLOW)
The first strand is the straight-up adolescent girl's life/drama/angst. Mori has run away from her mother because her mother's mad, and her madness lead to the incident which killed Mori's twin sister, and left Mori walking with a stick. Social services have placed Mori with her estranged Father, who she never knew. Her Father lives with his three kooky sisters, who pay to send Mori away to girl's boarding school. Mori does not fit in. She eventually makes friends in the local town, finds a boyfriend, and goes home to confront her mother.
The second strand is the fantasy element. Mori's mother is an evil witch. Mori and her sister grew up communing with fairies. Magic is real, but always plausibly deniable: magic can make a flower appear in your hand, but only because someone dropped it out of a plane above you and it fell into your hand. Magic can change what was to make what's now - it's twisty and dangerous. Fairies are strange. Mori doesn't know much about how it all works, she's never been taught, she's just grown up with it in the Welsh valleys, but it's real and nobody else knows about it. Mori performs rituals for the fairies and sees the spirit of her dead sister. It's wonderful and strange and nothing like Tolkien or Rowling.
The third strand is the books. Mori reads voraciously; many books a week. She ploughs her way through all the great sci-fi of her era and her informed and insightful extrapolations from themes in books to her own situation and scattered throughout the novel. Her love of books tints everything else she sees.
Overall Among Others is a unique, clever and fascinating book, but I never got that "this was written for me" feeling. I always found it enjoyable to read, but all to easy to put down again. It moves very slowly. For all the motion, there's very little progress. As I mentioned earlier, I'm no Le Guin fan, and Walton carries her torch; the power is in the quiet moments when everything changes.
Among Others won the 2012 Hugo award (fending off A Dance With Dragons, Embassytown, Deadline and Leviathan Wakes). It also won the 2012 Nebula award (fending off Embassytown again, as well as Firebird, God's War, The Kingdom of Gods and Mechanique.) Among Others did not win my personal favourite award, the Locus, where it was nominated for the fantasy award but lost out to A Dance With Dragons.
I've not read any of those (yet) except Embassytown - and I rate the Miéville higher.
- Falling Free is the 11th Vorkosigan Saga novel I've read - So far... I've been delighted to give 3 of those 5 stars - Happy to give 6 of them a ve- Falling Free is the 11th Vorkosigan Saga novel I've read - So far... I've been delighted to give 3 of those 5 stars - Happy to give 6 of them a very solid 4 stars - Only Shards of Honour has gotten a 3 stars from me (before now) - Despite being a Nebula award winner, I'd say this is the weakest Bujold I've read.
That's not to say Falling Free is bad - 3 stars is defined as "liked it" and I certainly did that (I read most of it in one sitting in the tub), it's just that I know Bujold can do better than this.
So... about the book.
Falling Free is set in the same universe as the stories about Miles Vorkosigan, but waaaay earlier in the timeline, and nothing to do with the planet of Barrayar - so none of the familiarity of shared characters or locations from the main series (which reminded me of Small Gods within Pratchett's Discworld series).
The hero is a level-headed engineer (which reminded me of Clarke's Fountains of Paradise, which I read a few months ago) called Graf. Graf is assigned to teach space welding on a secret-project space-habitat. When he gets there, Graf discovers the habitat is populated by a genetically engineered 'new breed' of humans calls Quaddies, with extra arms instead of legs - adapted for permanent life in zero-gee.
This is a great, visual concept. Win.
FROM HERE BE SPOILERS!
When news of a scientific breakthrough (artificial gravity) hits the secret-project, the decision is made (by evil senior company execs) to kill the project, sterilise the Quaddies and imprison them on a planet. Graf decides to throw in his lot with the Quaddies and rescue them. Cue space habitat rebellion (which reminded me of parts of Vinge's Deepness in the Sky).
So what's the problem?
What usually makes Bujold's sci-fi sing is her superb characters. Loveable, unpredictable, proactive, dynamic and exciting - but flawed, error-prone, egotistical, etc. If you've never read Bujold and you're just checking out this title, you're in for a treat because she's ace, this just isn't her best. In this book (I can't believe I'm saying this...) all her characters felt flat.
Graf is too 'perfect'. Van Atta is too 'bad'. Claire and Tony are too 'nice'. Silver is the only characters with a bit of complexity/ambiguity, but everything she does is driven by someone else (sleeping with Van Atta because he wants it, helping Claire and Tony escape because they want to, leading the rebellion because Graf suggests it, etc).
The adventure skips along at a good pace, and I was never tempted to put it down, but once the character 'types' had been set-up, I spent the rest of the book waiting for someone (anyone!) to break from their type... to do something unexpected. All the big moments are foreshadowed in multiple ways - this is structured, engineered storytelling - but it makes the whole shebang feel like it's running on rails - there was no suspense regarding if things would work out OK, but plenty of curiosity as to how the obstacles would be overcome.
Falling Free is a good addition to the Vorkosiverse - but it's like a bread roll in the middle of a great meal - nothing wrong with a tasty bread roll, but in context it's a palette cleanser to set you up for the more complex tastes to follow. More Miles please..!
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