storyorc's reviews
644 reviews

The first half is ugly people behaving either boringly or badly but in a way that makes you recoil rather than lean in to see the mess. How much of that is necessary to make the bull-fighting section as gripping as it was, I'm not sure. Hemmingway's short stories and novellas are so tight, you feel he must have been able to make us suffer less to get to the part where suddenly the pages are flying past.

I understand from researching the title and Hemmingway's comments on the book that it's intended to show that the Lost Generation is not so lost but I struggle to see it. Our main character endures but seemingly only to be taken advantage of again and again by worse people of better breeding. Perhaps that willingness to hope and work hard (when not spending so much on holiday it makes you cringe) is a virtue in itself. However, even if you consider it hopeless, as I'm tempted to, it's a fantastic portrayal of that downtrodden acceptance of an imperfect life. Very much about settling and accepting a bad lot;  perhaps that's why it wasn't set in America.

If nothing else, it's academically fascinating to watch Hemmingway pile on the weight of unsaid things atop his sparse and simple prose. Occasionally, a character does admit what they actually think about their grotesque little love polygon but the story is at its most tense when they're sat around talking about anything else. I didn't appreciate how there was an elephant behind the elephant in the room until this passage came after a simple dinner with friends: 

Reading the book with the shadow of the war in mind might yield richer results.

The magic system masquerading as hard science is the most fascinating part of this world. Calendrical rot. Consensus reality. Exotics. Invariable ice. Carrion bombs. Every name and every description of devastation is evocative. If this were a painting, I would call it impressionist rather than realistic since I don't have a clear picture of any of the fortresses or ships, but I am clear on the many varied ways a blast from their weapons might unmake me. Perhaps most original of all is that Yoon Ha Lee, a Stanford mathematician, envisions all this resting on the back of mathematical equations rather than magic.

The two lead characters enjoy nuance in their motivations and ethics, though I was a little disappointed how Cheris becomes more a vessel to explore Jedao once he shows up than the quiet, principled captain we met in the first quarter. Luckily, Jedao is compelling. There is little to bite into in the way of secondary cast, however; the Hexarchate - their government - and the factions eating other within is more vibrant than anyone else beyond Cheris and Jedao. Being drip-fed information about them through their manners, meetings, and machines was as good fun as any murder mystery. I would have swapped about 10% of the military talk for another strong character who stuck around - especially an antagonist, as there were a couple intriguing prospects - but the fans of military SF this book targets might disagree.

I imagine my rating would increase upon a re-read since I would understand more of the lingo and implications now I have the basics down*, but there wasn't quite enough to ground me in the setting and character to make me want to rush back in. The ending is bold and implies book #2 will tackle the permeability of one's identity, however, so I can't say I'm not tempted.

*This is a dirty lie; I needed about 10 more IQ points or 10% less abstract language to grasp Jedao's attack on the shields; as it was, it felt a little like a friend describing their dream. Limited to only a very high-level understanding, I don't think I was quite as wowed by his genius as intended.