"Walking to Aldebaran" by Adrian Tchaikovsky (BR)

[Silvana]

Tchaikovsky fans, come here and gather!

Not a fan yet? No worries, we'll take anyone!

(view spoiler)[I actually so far only read two novels of his, and the only one I liked was the Children of Time novel. (hide spoiler)]

Buddy read starts October 17.

[Anna]

Silvana wrote: "Not a fan yet? No worries, we'll take anyone!"

Haha! Maybe this will be the deciding one :D

[Gabi]

LOL Silvana! Wonderful announcement there.

[Mareike]

Ooooh, I'm very tempted. Not sure I'll manage time-wise, but the synopsis for this sounds excellent.

[Sarah]

Silvana wrote: "Tchaikovsky fans, come here and gather!

Not a fan yet? No worries, we'll take anyone!

[spoilers removed]

Buddy read starts October 17."

What was the other book? I feel pretty confident you'll like this one!

[Silvana]

Sarah wrote: "What was the other book? I feel pretty co..."

Guns of the Dawn

I've a good feeling about this one too ;)

[Silvana]

Mareike wrote: "Ooooh, I'm very tempted. Not sure I'll manage time-wise, but the synopsis for this sounds excellent."

It's a novella, I believe, pretty quick read (or so Sarah said, she's the responsible party of this BR) :p

[Sarah]

Mareike wrote: "Ooooh, I'm very tempted. Not sure I'll manage time-wise, but the synopsis for this sounds excellent."

Silvana wrote: "Mareike wrote: "Ooooh, I'm very tempted. Not sure I'll manage time-wise, but the synopsis for this sounds excellent."

It's a novella, I believe, pretty quick read (or so Sarah said, she's the resp..."

What Silvana said :). It's quick. Could be read in one day if you have the time/focus. Wouldn't detract too much from a regular reading schedule, AND it's perfect for October!

[Gabi]

I'm so eager to start, cause so far I have read nothing of Tchaikovsky which I didn't at least like a lot (5 books so far - all SF). But I'll wait cause reading together is so much more fun!

[Anna]

It's only a little over a week!

[Anna]

Start building your blanket forts!

[Marie]

I'm new to buddy reads and I got Walking to Aldebaran from the library. Do we start reading or discussing the book on the 17th?

[Anna]

Both! Since it’s a novella, I think most people will get through it in a day. Just mark chapter number and use spoiler tags if necessary, and start whenever you’re ready :)

[Oleksandr]

I plan to join this BR in a few days I hope

[Silvana]

I might start this tonight since my Dune reread is killing me.

[Gabi]

oh, if you start a day early I will squeeze this in, cause I want to read it simultaneously.

[Silvana]

Up to you, Gabi ;)

I won't finish in one sitting though, since it's still working days and I have a work training tomorrow *sigh

[Oleksandr]

a general note on Tchaikovsky fan club :)

I've read his Children of Time and Children of Ruin both of which are great, maybe in top-10 of my personal SF novels of last decade list. I also read three novellas:
The Expert System's Brother was great
Ironclads was so-so
and Redemption's Blade (fantasy) was quite weak.

So for me some of his work is great, but not all of it

[Leticia]

I have the arc from Netgalley and never really finished reading it. It's about time to do that.

[Anna]

I think I'll aim to start (and finish) tomorrow during the day European time, so I'll be done before Silvana's 17th ends.

[Sarah]

I’m thinking I might skim read along tomorrow with everyone. I’ve got a terrible memory for specifics and I’m really excited to see how everyone likes this!

[Gabi]

So great to hear about your terrible memory, Sarah! I can't even join discussions when it's only some months since I read the book ... so it's nice to know I'm not alone.

[Silvana]

Oleksandr wrote: "a general note on Tchaikovsky fan club :)

I've read his Children of Time and Children of Ruin both of which are great, maybe in top-10 of my personal SF novels of l..."

I have Children of Ruin in my tbr for next year and I am glad people are liking it.

Gabi wrote: "So great to hear about your terrible memory, Sarah! I can't even join discussions when it's only some months since I read the book ... so it's nice to know I'm not alone."

Tell you what, I can't even join discussions when it's only a week since I read the book :D It seems that my memory autocleans itself to give way to others.

[Silvana]

Leticia wrote: "I have the arc from Netgalley and never really finished reading it. It's about time to do that."

Same. I suck at arcs.

[Gabi]

LOL! Love you Silvana and Sarah! It's nice to know that more 'selective' memories are out there.

BTT: I just started it and I'm intrigued how different Tchaikovsky's style often feels. So far the writing here seems a bit unrefined.

[Anna]

The first chapter (view spoiler)[ grossed me out pretty successfully. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

@Anna - mission accomplished ;). (Can't use spoiler tags atm so I have to stay vague)

[Anna]

I'm only through chapter two, (view spoiler)[ I laughed when he talked about the face on the artefact, since I'd just been looking at the picture thinking it looked like a face (hide spoiler)], but I'll continue soonish!

[Silvana]

Anna wrote: "The first chapter [spoilers removed]"

Which part?

I am at chapter 2

This feels like reading a Mary Roach book. I laughed reading about (view spoiler)[Higgs Midshipman. Clever play on words. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "

BTT: I just started it and I'm intrigued how different Tchaikovsky's style often feels. So far the..."

Indeed. He's like a literary chameleon.

[Anna]

You're right Silvana! I've only read Packing for Mars by her, but I can see what you mean.

re: Chapter 1. I'm not good with (view spoiler)[ creepy crawlies and Tchaikovsky is the master of those. I'm not talking about spiders. I also have a lot of food related anxiety, so it wasn't a great combo to start with. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

Iieks, I can see your problems in chapter 1, Anna. Yummy...

^^' oops I didn't realise the picture, but of course it's pretty obvious.

I don't know Mary Roach, have to check her out, cause I find myself liking this tongue-in-cheek style.

[Gabi]

just checking ... this is supposed to be horror? Right now (middle of chapter 3) I'm giggling a lot.

[Anna]

Sarah said it would be horrorish!

I have to continue! I'm just doing all the other things.

[Anna]

Chapter 3

(view spoiler)[ The Crypt reminds me of Cube, but with aliens. The image of those lighted flowers was beautiful amidst all this yuck. And it does seem to be very humorous! Probably the only way to stay sane in there. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Anna wrote: "Sarah said it would be horrorish!

I have to continue! I'm just doing all the other things."

This looks like a horror comedy.

Anna wrote: "Chapter 3

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[the way he addressed the reader as Toto is amusing.

Also I realized that reading this novella would require some knowledge on pop culture....

I enjoyed the back story about the space exploration, the story about his shipmates was quite droll.

I hope this is a BDO story that I could enjoy! (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

I am in chapter 7 and kinda wish (view spoiler)[we have more things going on aside from killing some monsters. Now it feels like watching a video game with the hero trapped in a maze with occasional aliens (hide spoiler)]

Going to sleep now but I'll be able to check your updates tomorrow. Enjoy!

[Demetrius]

The book sounds interesting whats it about also I'm new to Goodreads

[Anna]

Demetrius wrote: "The book sounds interesting whats it about also I'm new to Goodreads"

Click on the cover image in the top left corner of the thread to go to the book page. You can read the blurb and see if it sounds like something you'd enjoy.

[Kaa]

I just finished chapter 3, and I'm loving the combination of creepiness and humor.

@Anna re:Ch 3: Yes! Although (view spoiler)[I was thinking more Hypercube, especially with the weird gravity stuff. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

Kaa, true! But the first one is the original and best one!

[Anna]

Silvana wrote: "I am in chapter 7 and kinda wish [spoilers removed]"

Agreed. I thought the (view spoiler)[ thing with the food bar would kick things up a notch, but apparently not. (hide spoiler)]

[Marie]

I'm on chapter 5. I am enjoying it so far. He is a lonely guy who just wants to make friends! There are two timelines and I am looking forward to finding out how he got in his situation.

[Gabi]

I'm at halftime (chapter 7) now. I don't know the references Anna and Kaa mentioned, so no opinion there.
Like Marie I enjoy the two timelines, that's always my preferred way of telling a story.
Like Silvana I like the Toto idea and wish for some picking up the pace.

[Anna]

I just finished chapter 9 and I think the next chapter in that timeline will be interesting!

[Gabi]

Let's see, I'm about to start it now. Chapter 10 was eerie.

[Anna]

Well it definitely picks up the pace from Chapter 10 on. I just finished the whole thing in one gulp!

[Gabi]

I'm somewhere at 83% now and it is positively eerie. Great build up!

[Anna]

Finished reading, not-so-finished thoughts.

(view spoiler)[ I've tried to rate books lately based on personal enjoyment, so my rating is 2.5, just a tad above OK. I'm probably going to rate it three stars on GR though, because the reasons I didn't like parts are probably things other people can appreciate. Mainly the humor was too much for me, and I automatically take a star off for too many fart jokes. And the yucky bits were so yucky I can't say that 'I liked it'. Hmm, maybe it will be a two star, I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I'd already decided that my horror trial wasn't a success, but at least I ended on a disgusting note :D I'm not sure what I expected, but not this bucket of guts. I enjoyed the parts in the past timeline, with the suspense before all the gore started flying. I'd love to know more about the artefact and all the cool alien races. OK those parts were three stars. This is why it's 2.5 stars! :D (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

Aw, I wished I wouldn't have to wait till I'm back home to write my thoughts, that are so fresh now. This will turn out 4 stars from my side, but the explanation has to wait.