"The First Sister" by Linden A. Lewis (BR)

[Travis]

Here a threat to discuss The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis.

[Travis]

Just a note: Lewis states she/they as preferred pronouns.

Now to the novel. Through chapter two or so:

(view spoiler)[I went into this expecting a fun queer space opera. I wasn't at all expecting that The Handmaid's Tale would loom so large. I'm finding the way that this world has wrapped up nonconsensual sex work (is "sex work" even the right phrase?) and sex trafficking with religion truly disturbing. So far, though, the author hasn't lost my trust.

I'm definitely finding it hard to put aside. (hide spoiler)]

[Allison]

Found it on audio! Gonna join in as soon as I finish Everfair.

[Gabi]

Hmm ... it's one of my dnf's from end of last year ... perhaps I'll pick it up with this BR ... not sure. I see how my other reads go this month. At least I can lurk here and see if there is something in the second half that makes it worth getting back to.

[Jemppu]

Interested for the opportunity to knock this off my to-read list.

[Travis]

Gabi wrote: "Hmm ... it's one of my dnf's from end of last year ... perhaps I'll pick it up with this BR ... not sure. I see how my other reads go this month. At least I can lurk here and see if there is someth..."

Now I'm really wondering what motivated the dnf.

[Anna]

I'm not Gabi, but I'm guessing that the fact that it's space opera has a lot to do with it :)

[Gabi]

Anna wrote: "I'm not Gabi, but I'm guessing that the fact that it's space opera has a lot to do with it :)"

LOL! I just was so bored by it. I had the feeling I read all of it before and the take on characters didn't make it up for that. ... But I freely admit that end of last year just was an extreme time of me being merciless against books. I think I dnf'ed 6 or 7 in this time.

[Joon]

I'm only a few chapters in and it does seem like it's going to be a bit of a slow burn.

Books with multiple narrators are necessarily slower-paced anyway, especially when there's no obvious link between them at first.

[Jordan]

I'm hoping to get a start on this later today!

[Anna]

I had to dig up what I said about this when I read it:

Worth checking out for those who feel in the mood for a "Queer Handmaid's Tale in Space". It didn't blow me away, but it might be more in someone else's wheelhouse!

I didn't like a single space opera last year, so maybe I would've enjoyed this more at another time? I do plan on continuing the series, and will have to reread this when the sequel comes out. I considered this for the January mod poll, but ended up going with Unconquerable Sun instead. Not sure why, maybe because of average ratings? In any case, I did like some elements of it lots, I just wasn't in a space opera mood for all of 2020!

[Joon]

18% This book is bleeeeeak, and the audiobook is hard to listen to because the narrator for the First Sister is reading the entire thing on the verge of tears lol.

[Travis]

Anna wrote: "I had to dig up what I said about this when I read it:

Worth checking out for those who feel in the mood for a "Queer Handmaid's Tale in Space". "

I hadn't seen this, so I was really taken off guard the the Handmaid's Tale part of it.

[Travis]

Joon wrote: "18% This book is bleeeeeak, and the audiobook is hard to listen to because the narrator for the First Sister is reading the entire thing on the verge of tears lol."

I'm listening and, yeah, really don't like this portrayal of First Sister.

[Travis]

Joon wrote: "Books with multiple narrators are necessarily slower-paced anyway, especially when there's no obvious link b..."

I agree and usually find that I enjoy one of the narrative threads more than the others with this format. But I'm finding myself equally interested in both.

One other aspect: When I saw that the interludes were "plays", I was expecting them to be written out like drama. But I'm guessing the "play" refers instead to hitting the play button on some audio device?

[Travis]

ch. 10

(view spoiler)[The neuro bleeding in this chapter was truly horrifying and so well done. I loved the notion that in another state the stars might appear to be a fairy garden calling out and beckoning. (hide spoiler)]

[Jemppu]

Joon wrote: "18% This book is bleeeeeak, and the audiobook is hard to listen to because the narrator for the First Sister is reading the entire thing on the verge of tears lol."

This! It's an annoyingly prevailing trend for many new SFF audiobooks, I've noticed - the over dramatic whispering of a narration. Mind-numbingly hammy.

I had reservations about this to begin with, and the audio is unfortunately not going to win me over. I keep finding myself unable to listen to what's said whilst rolling eyes at the "boohoo" of it all.

Will probably have to ditch the audio option, if I wish to proceed.

[Travis]

Gabi wrote: "I had the feeling I read all of it before ."

I don't read a ton of sci fi, but even with that, I am finding myself frequently reminded of what I have read (e.g. the Asters being basically Belters from The Expanse). So far, though, finding it derivative isn't really making it less interesting to me.

[Anna]

I don't remember having feelings about the audio, but one of the narrators is EWZ, so I understand :D I love her, but I get why many find her overly dramatic.

[Gabi]

Travis wrote: "Gabi wrote: "I had the feeling I read all of it before ."

I don't read a ton of sci fi, but even with that, I am finding myself frequently reminded of what I have read (e.g. the Asters being basic..."

Yes, I had exactly the Expanse feeling as well. I guess I will start this one again when there is an opening in my monthly reads and then pay better attention and be more lenient with it.

[Joon]

I like EWZ as well, but yeah she is one of the more dramatic readers I've listened to. I think I tend to prefer more subtlety with my audiobook narration.

I'm not saying I don't like her in this, I think it wouldn't have mattered who did it, the constant trembling voice just disagrees with me a bit.

On the other hand, I give them credit for getting three different narrators for the three different POV characters.

[Joon]

32% or so. Another problem with books with multiple POVs is that I inevitably wind up being increasingly more interested in one POV almost at the expense of the others.

In this one, I'm obviously much more interested in the First Sister's story, and am finding it difficult to give a toss about Hiro's or the guy's, whose name I honest to god can't even remember.

[Jordan]

Okay, I'm partway through chapter 2 on this. My initial thoughts:

(view spoiler)[The first chapter definitely had some serious Handmaid's Tale vibes going on, which was kind of what I expected based on the description. Second chapter was reminding me a lot more of The Expanse with the solar system broken up into factions and the whole belters/asters faction. I also somehow didn't realize this was multiple povs when I picked it up, but I typically like that style so that was a pleasant surprise for me (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

61%

I remain much more interested in the First Sister's story than the other two, but the gap is probably narrowing a bit (albeit only with the introduction of another character in the other two stories, lol. I still can't bring myself to care about Hiro or Lito.)

The whole "Handmaid's Tale" comparisons feel like they were somewhat overstated and will give people the wrong impression about what they're in for. (view spoiler)[If only because the book basically glosses over the seedier aspects of the Sister's jobs, though admittedly a lot of that is due to seeing that story told through the eyes of a Sister with a pretty cushy gig. This would be a much different book told through the eyes of a lower ranked Sister, no doubt. (hide spoiler)]

I'm vaguely annoyed about the existence of the Asters. Having just read Leviathan's Wake, I can't get past the obvious similarities to the Belters, which is bad enough, but what's more distracting is that, really, "Belters" would be the only logical name for them to call themselves. But can't use that because it was already used in the Expanse! Gotta call them something else! HOW ABOUT ASTERS BECAUSE LIKE ASTEROID BELT GET IT ASTERS IT'S THE SAME. It's a terrible name. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Mostly I wish the author would have just said "you know what? Anyone who lived in the Belt would call themselves 'Belters' so I'm gonna call them 'Belters' too and you can kick rocks if you don't like it."

[Joon]

81%. I'll be honest, this felt like a much longer book than it is, especially at first. I guess I'm kind of flying through it now.

No specific spoilers:

(view spoiler)[My lasting impression of this book is that it probably should have been much longer. A lot of big things happen with people we barely met, about things we haven't been given a ton of information on. The emotional impact of some events is diminished by this fact. Revelations feel a little hollow. Things that should have been mindblowing are "neat."

That said, unless the ending is completely blown (and it's entirely possible for that to be the case based on my current demands of how I want it to end...i.e. happily), I'll have ended up liking the book, certainly enough to continue the series when the next book comes out later this year. (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

83%.

(view spoiler)[Dammit. (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

Done.

Overall I liked it enough to read the next book.

Spoilers:

(view spoiler)[The reason I had said "Dammit" at 83% was because of two things: 1. I'd had a feeling Hiro was going to show up disguised as another character we'd already met, and 2. I immediately recognized the crumbling ending to the First Sister/Ren romance, which was honestly one of the only things keeping me going in this book. It was the happy ending I demanded, and it was taken for me in a dramatically stupid way.

I am kind of over plot twists like that. But as bad as the Hiro plot twist was, the Ringer one was even worse, because it was straight out of Fight Club. I don't think they ruined the story for anything, but they're gimmicks, and rarely done well anymore. I was annoyed we lost Ringer as a character, and I was REALLY annoyed we lost Ren. I didn't mind the reveal that the Sisters' silence was down to a neural implant.

Ultimately though I liked the book. It definitely sped through a story I maybe would have liked more detail in. We didn't spend nearly enough time with the villains or their motivations, making the characters' "quests" feel a little empty. And in the end, not a ton has changed in the world. One evil Mother we'd barely met is out, and we don't know yet who's in, except that it may end up being another evil Mother.


MISC thoughts:

By the end of the book, I still didn't give a toss about Lito. At all. I actually started to dislike him.

Why was First Sister already certified as First Sister of Ceres when she hadn't even accepted the role yet? That was....convenient.

We didn't see enough of the Mother for her part at the end to be very effective.

Second Sister's redemption was too quick and too complete and felt tacked on. If we're going to be spending more time with her in the next book I would have liked it to be more substantial. (hide spoiler)]

[Travis]

I agree with all your points Joon. (view spoiler)[I liked it and may continue. But the ending felt forced and gimmicky. I wonder if a longer novel would have given the story more room to develop without the all-caps shocking twists. (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

More spoilers:

(view spoiler)[The Hiro plot twist at least telegraphed itself slightly by their absence in the story proper. More than once while reading, I kind of felt like one of the characters was going to end up being Hiro, I just hated that it ended up being Ren; less because of the gimmick of the plot twist and more because it dashed the Ren/Sister romance. Nothing puts me off more than a romance without a happy ending.

And yeah, a longer book would have helped a lot, even with the twists. On the other hand that would just make the romance longer and make it that much crappier when it got ruined.

The other thing is the ending just felt too easy. How the hell were like half a dozen people all standing around in Mother's chambers without entire armies descending on them? She had like what, a dozen remote-controlled and easily dispatched body guards? (hide spoiler)]

[Jordan]

Just finished chapter 11. I'm definitely enjoying this more than I thought I would. I'm finding it hard to put down now.

[Jordan]

Finished Chapter 26.

(view spoiler)[I am not sure how I'm feeling about how things are coming together. It just seems too sudden and coincidental. Like conceptually I think I like it, but it just seems like there wasn't the proper build up to it. I'd like to have seen much more of the background positioning that just kind of got glossed over in Hiro's last section. (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

Agreed, things feel a little too "out of nowhere" at the end, because we didn't get a proper buildup. No clues.

[Jordan]

Okay, finished this. I agree with pretty much everything you said, Joon and Travis.

(view spoiler)[ Hiro being Ren, Ringer being the First Sister, and Second Sister suddenly being good were all just a bit too sudden and not well developed enough for them not to feel gimmicky. Also the romance with First Sister and Ren falling apart was super disappointing since I spent the whole book rooting for them. And by the end I'm definitely not sure what exactly has been gained. I'll pick up the second book though because there was enough that I liked here and I am curious to see where things go. Looks like the synthetics might be in the second book based on the summary? That definitely interests me. (hide spoiler)]

[Joon]

(view spoiler)[Obviously I'm hoping that by the end of the series (trilogy?) we'll look back and the events of the first book will seem more significant. Pieces being moved into play, so to speak.

But until then, you're right. It's hard to see what was really gained. An evil woman was removed from power, but with every chance of being replaced by another evil woman (or at least the puppet of an evil woman.)
(hide spoiler)]

[Kristenelle]

I picked this up and am about 18%. I'm pretty disgusted by the mc being so powerless and basically a sex slave. Handmaids Tale had that, but the point was to speak to and warn about where our society could go. It had a purpose. This book feels like it is using it to just create a titillating situation. Am I wrong? Is it ever used to be deep, redemptive, or challenging?

[Joon]

Kristenelle wrote: "I picked this up and am about 18%. I'm pretty disgusted by the mc being so powerless and basically a sex slave. Handmaids Tale had that, but the point was to speak to and warn about where our socie..."

I'll be honest; it isn't really used at all one way or the other (though this is just the first book of the series). It's introduced as a premise, and serves as the reason for the Sisters' life of effective captivity and control, but story-wise little is done with it.

There is nothing in this book that could even be intended to be titillating. You do not ever see the Sisters "at work" so to speak, or even hear about it after the fact.

[Kristenelle]

@Joon - Thanks for confirming. I don’t think I need to finish this. 😐

[Joon]

To expand on that with light spoilers, the reason it's not really developed is because our main narrator is the First Sister, who is effectively exclusive to the Captain, and this book starts as the previous Captain is leaving, to be replaced with a new Captain who doesn't exploit her that way (though a romance does eventually blossom between them.)

The First Sister talks peripherally about what the other Sisters have to do, but never in detail and always from a distance, and with probably not as much sympathy as you'd expect. She fears losing her First Sister status because it would mean she'd have to go back to being "available" for the rest of the crew.

But on the whole, it doesn't feel like a commentary on anything.

[Kristenelle]

That makes sense. I just don’t appreciate stories about powerless women being sexually assaulted, especially if it isn’t going to be handled as the traumatic thing it is. This book handles it so casually.