"Firewalkers” by Adrian Tchaikovsky (BR)

[Aga]

Welcome to the Firewalkers Buddy Read thread. We will start on March the 4th, but feel free to check in earlier.

[Cheryl L]

The only place I can get this book quickly is as an audiobook on Spotify. So be it!

[CBRetriever]

I'll be reading it

[Rachel]

I’m going to spring for the Audible version as I have credits to burn

[Aga]

I’m looking forward to reading this book with you guys.

[Cheryl]

ebook for me to try... the author is hit or miss ime

[Aga]

I’m going with an ebook too. I usually prefer eye reading.

[CBRetriever]

halfway through the book. The world building is fantastic, characters are interesting and I' m enjoying it

[Olga]

Checked just in case and found it available on Libby, so I'm in ❤️

[Cheryl L]

CBRetriever wrote: "halfway through the book. The world building is fantastic, characters are interesting and I' m enjoying it"

I'm about 3/4 of the way through and really enjoying it. The characters are each distinct, and Tchaikovsky does a fabulous job plunking us into a world with a complex history.

The Firewalkers are sent out on a mission to fix the incoming power supply, and what they find is not what I expected at all! I should know better than to think I know where one of Tchaikovsky's books is going.

[Aga]

I’m after the first chapter and it was a strong start.

It hits really hard, especially after having experienced an all inclusive vacation in a country listed by a travel agency as "exotic" and discovering there, how crazy privileged we are as a bunch of European tourists. FYI for Polish folk it is usually a shock, because we rarely see ourselves as privileged.

I liked the characters from the beginning and can’t wait to see what they will find in the South.

[CBRetriever]

I finished. I need to sleep on it and come back with my thoughts tomorrow.

[Cheryl L]

I also finished it yesterday. I think this is a solid 4 star novella. I can't say I loved the last chapter (view spoiler)[ because it just wrapped things up with too neat a bow for me. I think I would have preferred a few more chapters so we could see the transition to a more just society, although, I was completely in favor of the more just society. (hide spoiler)]

I loved how distinct the three main characters were and that two women were included in the crew of Firewalkers. I also really enjoyed the surreal feel of their encounters on their mission.

[CBRetriever]

Cheryl L wrote: "I loved how distinct the three main characters were and that two women were included in the crew of Firewalkers. I also really enjoyed the surreal feel of their encounters on their mission."

and there was nary a romance between them. I'm conflicted about the last chapter:

(view spoiler)[
the AI killing everyone up top
I sense that there's a possibility that, like in Animal Farm, there might develop yet another caste system
bringing back Juan as a clone/Ai was a bit squicky
(hide spoiler)]

otherwise, I liked the book, though I did have to restart the last chapter because I turned the page and was in a totally different scenario (too fast a switch)

[Cheryl L]

CBRetriever wrote: "there was nary a romance between them."

I had not even realized that until you said. That is refreshing!

[Aga]

Chapters 2-4:
(view spoiler)[My favorite character is definitely Hotep. I love well written neurodiverse character in both SciFi and Fantasy. And we still need more representation. There are some really spot on details about her behavior and thinking style. It’s nice that Mao and Lupè don’t feel a need to categorize her, they just know how she is and don’t make a fuss about it. It’s refreshing.

The house with sentient holograms (?) was totally unexpected for me. I love the fairytaleish vibe of this part. Like a Baba Yaga’s hut made of gingerbread or a vampire castle on a stormy night. You know it is something wrong about it from the start but what exactly.
(hide spoiler)]

[Cheryl]

Done. Hotep is definitely the most interesting, and the one I'd most want to converse with, until the end, when the others get their agency.

Starts slow, like just another grim dystopia, which I do not like. Then the mysteries got interesting, and then the characters, and then the ray of hope at the end, and boom it was over. Still not my thing, hence the three star rating... but I do recommend it if you're interested.

"... the unit of life is not the organism but the environment." Hm. Something to think about. I think that's right, given how intertwined & interdependent everything is, on a species level.

(view spoiler)["The future was bright, in the same way that the sun was bright, and the Firewalker knew better than anyone how easily the sun could kill you." (hide spoiler)]

[Cheryl]

I also loved the ending. Lots to think about. (view spoiler)[ Is it wrapped up too optimistically? Is it too likely to go all like the pigs in Animal Farm? Is it ok to embody a program? (hide spoiler)] We get to decide. The author didn't write those chapters for us, because that would make this a different story, but he did give us all we need of the world-building to decide for ourselves what kind of 'ever after' these various people are going to have.

[Olga]

Just finished the book and it was a solid 4-star read for me.
Even though there was little space for worldbuilding, it was neatly done.
I'm still on the fence about the ending. (view spoiler)[It felt a bit rushed and not entirely just for me. The way the new society was being organised is described basically in one sentence - that there was a council from different neigbourhoods. But who's to tell how they will use their newly acquired power and whether they not come up with something that's even worse than it was?
(hide spoiler)]
I liked the characters and the way they complimented each other. But I wasn't entirely convinced by (view spoiler)[ how Lupe turned into a leader. I saw it kind of building when Mao fell to pieces a few times and she took control of the mission, but it feels to me that there were some steps missing between taking responsibility for a team and the whole humanity. I can't see her moving from being totally against the massacre to OK-ing sending kids into open space. I'd like to have seen her at least try to limit Aime-Li's revenge to those who actually deserved it. (hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

Olga wrote: "Just finished the book and it was a solid 4-star read for me.
Even though there was little space for worldbuilding, it was neatly done.
I'm still on the fence about the ending. It felt a bit rushe..."

I’ve finished a couple of days ago and need some time to get my thoughts together. And I have similar feelings towards the ending.
(view spoiler)[That last chapter was like watching the rest of the movie on fast forward and stopping just for a scene or two. I’m not the fan of "evil AI"left behind and seeking revenge - so cliche. But the "deal with the devil" idea was interesting. And yet there are huge gaps in character development toward the end. And I have a problem with Mao forgetting about real Juān and her mother still trapped in the capsules inside Estate. He is just happy he’s going to have a holographic girlfriend… (hide spoiler)] But still a 4 star read for me.

[Kaia]

It took forever for my library copy to arrive, so I’m just now reading this one. I’m a little past halfway, and I’m enjoying how well-defined the characters and the world are, even though the book isn’t very long. Hotep is also my favorite character so far, and I love (view spoiler)[ how the other characters accept her for who she is. Actually they do that for each other in general, which is nice to see. I have been fascinated by the two unexpected places they have found in the desert so far, while also cringing and expecting something horrible to happen. So far, though, the places have been more sad and mysterious than terrible, though there is certainly some danger there, too. The place with all of the illusions was especially interesting and not at all what I expected, so that part took me completely by surprise. (hide spoiler)] I’m interested to see where the story goes next.

[Aga]

Kaia wrote: "It took forever for my library copy to arrive, so I’m just now reading this one. I’m a little past halfway, and I’m enjoying how well-defined the characters and the world are, even though the book ..."

I will definitely remember Hotep from this book.

[Cheryl]

I'm glad you're finding it worth the wait.

[Kaia]

I finished today. I agree with others who have expressed uncertainty about the ending. (view spoiler)[I also felt like the last chapter was rushed, and while on the one hand, I'm glad the characters had a happier ending, it seemed in some ways too easy and in others - having to kill everyone on the Celeste, even children, and then remove their bodies - too awful. I really didn't like the part about Juan getting a body, either.

I loved the characters, though, and the ideas, especially around the AI. I thought it was especially interesting when the AI Aime-Li asks them, "Didn't it every occur to you that they were describing themselves?" when they are going over the warnings and dangers they were taught about AI. "They warned you about a system like myself because they already had that control over your lives, and that disregard for you. They warned you about me because something like me was the only possible check to their power over you." Kind of chilling, and it made me feel conflicted about the AI, which I hadn't really liked that much up until then, but it has a point. (hide spoiler)]