carol. ’s Comments (group member since Aug 31, 2016)

carol. ’s comments from the The Long Way... To a Common Orbit flash group group.

Copy your comments from the threads :)

Look forward to your thoughts, Apatt. I'm re-reading now in prep for my review.

So glad you were able to join in, Beth. I enjoyed reading your perspective.

Personally, I've never been much for AI stories, but I think Chambers might do a decent job with it, with her focus on characterization and person-centered stories. I do like the overall crew balance and will look for the next installment--I think solely focusing on Kizzy might be exhausting :)

Somewhere in these threads – maybe the next one – someone relates that the author ended up doing a kick starter to enable her to finish the book.

i liked the emotional response of the crew. Wonder why she choose this way to make him a part of the crew? I really would have liked to understand more about the algae stuff.

True, a lot of the world building is through dialogue. Probably one reason we needed Rosemary -- she acts as the naive reader.

I just read a "Dear Abby" type letter in the paper where the writer just referred to their partner in plural with pronouns, and then used singular tenses and the like. Although I do that conversationally once in awhile, and sometimes in text chat, I found it very confusing to read. Maybe because it wasn't a sci-fi book. :)

I think I had that visual too, Heidi, which is why I couldn't wrap my mind around cereal and berries!

It's very character-driven sci-fi, MrsJ., so hopefully that'll continue to work for you :)

Yay! It's a fast read.

Hmm, good point. Wonder why we didn't spend any time with him. Of course, we hardly spent much time with the captain, either.

Naomi, I agree--I liked the attempts at emotional complexity, so I wouldn't say 'fun' either, but I did enjoy it. I'll catch the next for sure--I 'd like to see what she can do without the pressure of running her own kickstarter and perhaps a number of professional editors.

:)

The tweaking part reminded me of the people who put nuts and bolts through their ears, lots of piercing and even the tattoo fans. I think if there was one thing that I disliked about the narrative, it's that it didn't seem very subtle in it's approach to acceptance and inclusiveness; very Socratic dialogue. I'd rather learn by example.

Beth, agree on the Rosemary-language issue. It was a pretty obvious way to get the crew to see Rosemary's skill set (which we did see earlier), which kind of seemed hokey to me. However, dealing with the issues from the robbery made it a little better plot arc than just "integrate Rosemary into the crew." It is also interesting how Chambers basically tried to make them sympathetic as well--providing for family, the captain insulted them, etc. A little cheap, but congruent with the overall them of likability/humanizing compassion towards others.

The idea that Earth would be irrelevant is interesting... I feel like it would be a cultural touchstone, if perhaps an inaccurate one. Like those commercials for Ancestry, where people say, "I thought I was Italian..." I think they might retain an inaccurate but nostalgic view of the home planet.

I did like the idea that we would be 'unassuming,' but I don't know that that feels very true. Maybe it is in contrast to all the other species??

Naomi wrote: "Haven't read all the comments yes, but the crew is gathering around the dinner table, talking about porn and shoes... I feel like I could live with these people."

:D For an inter-species crew, they do seem to find the common denominators (mostly).

Glad to hear it is working (more or less) for you, Heidi. :) I'm usually not much of a technical sci fi either, unless its the survivalist take on it.

The Ohan storyline was an interesting thing to me. I would have enjoyed more delving into such an alien viewpoint.

Honestly, I didn't notice the gender in the encyclopedia entry. I didn't care for that technique. I thought it already choppy enough. Might have been more interesting if it would have been from Lovey's pov.

Yay! Glad you joined, Emily, and that you are enjoying it.

Heh. I thought of him as the grain of sand who would gradually be transformed (or discovered) to be a pearl, sometimes against his own inclination (ala Jayne in Firefly or the dufus in Kitty Jay).