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

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

"Toum, second guard of the New Mother, sat by a window in the feeding garden, watching the ships of the Commons species."

This section was decent, but felt a little preachy to me. We had some introduction to Ohan and a little bit of character study earlier, but he's always been one of the peripheral members of the ship.

Corbin and Sissix have yet another fight as they pass through Quelin space and the crew debates Ohan's choices.

Dr. Chef gets a chance to bond with Rosemary, and Kizzy gets to seek advice from Pei, and Rosemary gets to know Sissix's homeworld.

A fun little interlude, reminding us that the universe also has things that just want to eat you. Liked that it wasn't just diversionary, but transitioned into dealing with Rosemary's deception.

Laughed at
"Bear in particular made an effort to include her, and attempted to fill her in when the stories started going over her head (most of the stories fell into one of two groups: 'the time we built this amazing thing' or 'the time we smoked too much smash and did something stupid')"

It was an odd name for a moon. Calling it a colony was an exaggeration.

"Sissix peeked around the door frame. The hallway was empty. If she moved fast, she might make it to the med bay before anybody saw her."

Seated safely behind the window in their quarters, Ohan gazed into the black hole. With some effort, they could remember how the galaxy had looked during their Host's childhood, before infection.

Again, another nice way to orient the reader. Having grown up planetside, it was a nice way to make me think about what living in a ship may be like.

So far, I'm really enjoying this writing style. Chambers is getting us through a lot of orienting to the world, the specific setting and the characters of some of the major players. I was a little worried at first that the first chapter's persona would be a secret (no name is given), but at least we go right into getting her fake background along with the captain and Corbin. I was a little reminded of Corey's Leviathan Wakes.

"The Tunnelers" was where I really started to enjoy it a great deal. I loved aspects of the Sector General sci-fi series, particularly the imaginative alien creations. I love Dr. Chef and Sissix. Kitty seems a little outre exaggerated at the moment.

"Living in space was anything but quiet. Grounders never expected that. For anyone who had grown up planetside, it took sometime to get used to the clicks and hums of a ship, the ever-present ambience that came with living inside a piece of machinery."

Agreeing with all of the above...

I really appreciated the way it opened--re-orienting the main character helps to orient the reader.

"I hate this game," Sissix said, frowning over the checkered pixel board. Ashby took a bite of spice bread. "You're the one who wanted to play."

Comments~

Comments~

Glad you joined, Amelia and you made me laugh. :) I made it up, modeled on the idea of flash mobs. Basically a group read without tons of planning. Most of the discussion happens rather quickly.

So glad to hear, Amelia. I used to read the Sector General hospital series and one of the things I miss is fun, explorative ideas of alien culture.

Mmm, I confess, I strongly prefer chocolates over gummy bears. But I'm pretty certain I've heard of someone making an unholy combination of the two...

Mimi! Glad you'll follow.
Beth--here's hoping it'll break the slump.
Nataliya--so glad to hear you enjoyed it, as our tastes and sensibilities often align. Hope it's light on the on-call this week for you :)
Arielle-glad you'll join in. But I am very, very concerned about this situation you are in. No chocolate? Not even chocolate chips? Oh-oh. I think that counts as a medical emergency.
Heidi--glad to see you here--wasn't sure how much sci-fi you read but I enjoy your insights.

Nataliya--
after years of hearing about it, I finally watched it (and own it). Certainly very enjoyable. I loved the movie. Some episodes are downright great. Others a bit predictable but entertaining. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? idk.

I won't boot you. It wasn't available at my library either, when I first heard of it, but luckily it is now!

Emily--Ohh, grad school Good luck!! That explains Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City :)

Saphana--gummy bears! I haven't had those in ages. Fun.
MrsJ--great! I think it may be in our wheelhouse of ultimately uplifting.
Bee--hope you'll add your insights. I always enjoy them when you have time to write.