Her lover was a supernova who took worlds with him when he died, and as a new world grows within Ekhi, savage lives rage and love on a small ship i...
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Oct 09, 2009
Andreas
rated it: 
A very original and visually intensive Space Opera! The characters are especially strong. Everyone seems to have a secret and the relationships are full of violence, power and hidden desires. The story is smart and in the second half very creepy, turning the main characters into powerless pawns who don't know what's going on. Unfortunately the end suffers under the deus-ex-machina syndrome and felt a little bit rushed.
Anyway, the novella is an extraordinary experience and I highly r More...
Anyway, the novella is an extraordinary experience and I highly r More...
Mar 10, 2011
Ryan
rated it: 
A short space opera novel about a woman who's been impregnated by a star, and whose living spaceship has become infested with a "linguistic virus eats through the minds of a group of scavengers". I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this one.
On the one hand, it's brilliant. There are some passages here that sing with how sublime and fantastic they are (especially the first page*, which had me hooked into reading the whole thing once I was done it).
At the s More...
On the one hand, it's brilliant. There are some passages here that sing with how sublime and fantastic they are (especially the first page*, which had me hooked into reading the whole thing once I was done it).
At the s More...
Sep 23, 2009
Mike
rated it:
Open Your Eyes is perhaps one of the densest 152 page novellas I have ever read. It’s not that the language is difficult but rather the near constant barrage surrealistic imagery never slackened and so varied from character to character that keeping up was, at times, difficult; though not without rewards. It could be argued that for all its popularity the Space Opera no matter how imaginative or original frequently covers familiar, even comforting, elements from plot devices, to characters, to w
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Oct 03, 2011
MG
rated it:
The cover of Open Your Eyes, written by Paul Jessup, was the first thing to grab me. I was rather intrigued by the title, too. Reading the “back cover” online sold me though. I wanted to know more about Ekhi's experiences. We first meet her as she is having sex with her lover, a dying star. The story is violent and beautiful. It is, at times, simple and naked; but for the most part, it is complex and layered. There are many characters, each with a heavy back story and deep involvement. The way P
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Jun 17, 2011
Paul
rated it:
Here’s the opening lines from Open Your Eyes:
“Her lover was a supernova. She smiled when he came, his bright burning light rocking her body, impregnating her with the essence of stars.”
And that’s not a supernova in the metaphorical sense. No, a woman is actually copulating with an actual supernova, and becoming impregnated by it.
That’s just one example of the wonderful weirdness that is Open Your Eyes, a demented and thrilling ride through o More...
“Her lover was a supernova. She smiled when he came, his bright burning light rocking her body, impregnating her with the essence of stars.”
And that’s not a supernova in the metaphorical sense. No, a woman is actually copulating with an actual supernova, and becoming impregnated by it.
That’s just one example of the wonderful weirdness that is Open Your Eyes, a demented and thrilling ride through o More...
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May 26, 2011
Tj
rated it:
Paul Jessup’s novella Open Your Eyes is a modern space opera with a feel reminiscent of the “New Wave” of science fiction which occurred during the late 60’s and early 70’s as best exemplified by many of the contributors featured in the table of contents of Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions anthology (writers like Delany, Aldiss, Dick, and Ballard come immediately to mind). In Open Your Eyes, we are presented with a world of deep space exploration. Spaceships are organic and very human with con
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Jun 28, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
I'm not quite sure *why* I like this novella. Jessup wastes no time in explaining the world his characters inhabit, jumping right into a scene worthy of Philip K Dick, Ehki's lover going nova as he dies leaving her pregnant. It's a little cyberpunk - AI, nano-whatevers, machines that can rebuild a dead body, souls/minds that "back up" - and a little "2001: A Space Odyssey". It's definitely not vanilla and that's probably why I like it.
Apr 22, 2011
John
rated it:
Very good, very disturbing and disorienting book. A couple of the characters needed a bit more development, and the prose faltered in a few places, but I was greatly impressed with this surreally-tinged SF anti-space opera. I recommend it to folks looking for a different take on SF; it's bold, disheveled, and surprising.
I have a longer review on my blog: http://eruditeogre.blogspot.com/2011/04/...
I have a longer review on my blog: http://eruditeogre.blogspot.com/2011/04/...
Apr 10, 2010
Jodi
rated it: 
There were some really wonderful passages in this book.
Otherwise - WTF?
With nearly no exposition (not as exciting as it sounds) I'm left with a very unsatisfying list of questions, such as: HOW!? WHAT?! WAIT?!
Otherwise - WTF?
With nearly no exposition (not as exciting as it sounds) I'm left with a very unsatisfying list of questions, such as: HOW!? WHAT?! WAIT?!
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Jun 15, 2011
Jonathan
rated it:
The literary weird takes off into space with this intriguing novella from Jessup. The action is tight and the surreal images keep on coming. A fun evening's read.
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Dec 08, 2009
Jennifer
rated it: 
This is one of those books you either love or hate. It is a surreal space opera. It is very surreal. I don't hate it but I am 'meh' about it.
Aug 17, 2011
S.
rated it:
Brilliant, hallucinogenic, the tale of an insane, living spaceship and her inhabitants -- and so much more.
Feb 03, 2010
Jesse
rated it:
A very fun and quick read, with great imagery (bio-technology! Creepy doll-like androids! Ganeshes!)and a lightspeed-fast pace (because it's SF? Great turn of phrase, I know). The only real letdown is that I thought the interior illustrations were by the cover artist--my fault for not noticing, of course. A must-read for fans of lush SF.
Nov 07, 2010
Christy
rated it:
Fantastic novella. I was overtaken with the fleshy-industrial imagery and somewhere along the way I became really invested in the characters which is rare for me, especially in such a limited amount of pages.
The only mark against it is the illustrations. There are four of them, all in the begining and all pretty poorly done. It's distracting. The cover is beautiful, though.
The only mark against it is the illustrations. There are four of them, all in the begining and all pretty poorly done. It's distracting. The cover is beautiful, though.
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Jan 05, 2012
Donald
rated it:
Generally, I like the stuff I read to make sense. This is just out there. Still, I enjoyed some of the ideas that did make sense to me. If I had to put this one in a box, I'd call it a surrealist sci-fi space thing-a-ma-bob with a twist of, oh, I don't know...acid, maybe?
It was interesting, different, a nice diversion from normal.
It was interesting, different, a nice diversion from normal.
Dec 29, 2010
Cindy
rated it:
Really, really wasn't my thing at all. The story had a promising start, but just got unnecessarily weird as it progressed. That would be okay if the author would have refrained from all the sentence fragments. And then passed them off. As whole sentences. Completely annoying.
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