What do you think?
Rate this book
Hellspark
Murder, Mystery, and Interstellar Intrigue
Hugo Award winner Janet Kagan's Hellspark is now back in print
Lassti, a newly discovered planet, is the center of political intrigue. Recently, Oloitokitok, the planet survey team's physicist, was found dead. Was he killed? If so, by whom? One of his fellow surveyors? Or by one of the Sprookjes, the birdlike natives of Lassti? Are the Sprookjes intelligent? If so, then parties that want the planet for development will lose it. Why is the survey team having so much trouble finding out?
Into this situation arrives Tocohl, a Hellspark trader who just wanted to have a vacation on Sheveschke at the St. Veschke festival. After being attacked, rescuing a young woman, and going before a judge, Tocohl has learned all she ever wanted to know about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now she is on her way to find Lasti to find answers to the mysteries there.
Hugo Award winner Janet Kagan's Hellspark is now back in print
Lassti, a newly discovered planet, is the center of political intrigue. Recently, Oloitokitok, the planet survey team's physicist, was found dead. Was he killed? If so, by whom? One of his fellow surveyors? Or by one of the Sprookjes, the birdlike natives of Lassti? Are the Sprookjes intelligent? If so, then parties that want the planet for development will lose it. Why is the survey team having so much trouble finding out?
Into this situation arrives Tocohl, a Hellspark trader who just wanted to have a vacation on Sheveschke at the St. Veschke festival. After being attacked, rescuing a young woman, and going before a judge, Tocohl has learned all she ever wanted to know about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now she is on her way to find Lasti to find answers to the mysteries there.
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
June 28, 2018
This was a smart, complex, strongly characterized far-future science fiction in which diverse human cultures spread across numerous planets. It has nothing to do with Hell or fire, that simply happens to be the name of a culture that is famous for being good at learning others' languages and mores. Our protagonist is from Hellspark and is hired to help determine if a recently discovered avian species is sentient. One of the researchers on the planet has died -- accident or murder?
If there is a weakness, it is the actual plot with the mystery, which takes backstage to anthropological and linguistic creativity, but I still found it quite enjoyable to read.
If there is a weakness, it is the actual plot with the mystery, which takes backstage to anthropological and linguistic creativity, but I still found it quite enjoyable to read.
September 3, 2013
This is an old favorite -- what the hell, 25 years old. I am not okay with that. (Not okay with the author's having died in 2008, either.)
Many people have praised _Hellspark_. I will skip the plot squib and say what I love about this book: the joy. All the characters are having *so much fun* learning and understanding and realizing and connecting and figuring it out. The reader is absolutely in on the game, as well; there's a running stream of little details about people's cultures that you can pick up and run with.
(Trivial example: early on, the protagonist introduces her computer (and starship) to a new friend: "Lord Lynn Margaret", meet "Tinling Alfvaen". Elsewhere, the ship is the _Margaret Lord Lynn_ -- therefore, it must be that Alfvaen is a personal name, Tinling is a family name, and the protagonist is politely transforming her ship's name into Alfvaen's native idiom. *And also* that, at some point, "Lord" as an English-idiom title has become gender-neutral... All of this is completely unremarked in the narrative. You just go with it.)
Also: the puns. I don't mean the narrative is a groanfest; you just run into these little bits of translation that work out to be bilingual puns (in two fictional languages). Or bilingual puns between a fictional language and English *body language*. For posture, gesture, distance, and all such nonverbal communications are part of language; thus they can be spoken with an accent, translated poorly... and punned in. Delightfully.
It is not a perfect book. The points of view of the various cultures is never quite smooth, from the inside. The author needs to convey the unconscious assumptions of each character, but does it more by explicit description than by clean implication. The story is presented as a murder mystery, and less formally as a first-contact SF story (which is of course always a mystery plot). But the murderer is unmasked several chapters before the end, and the pacing of revelation of both mysteries is awkward. I never had the moment of "Of course, how could I have missed..." -- in either plot thread. I'm also unhappy with the guilty faction, the "Inheritors of God", who are shallow villains with no sympathy to them -- too easy to dismiss. Conveying *their* interior assumptions and viewpoint would have turned a delightful book into a brilliant one.
We do not complain of these matters, because we're having too much fun hanging around with the characters. I mean, the non-murdering ones.
Obligatory amused complaint: I have the first-edition Tor paperback in which the *title of the book is misspelled on the front cover*. The fact that this is possible -- and yet not noticeable to the reader until chapter 3 -- is one of the charms you will have to discover.
Many people have praised _Hellspark_. I will skip the plot squib and say what I love about this book: the joy. All the characters are having *so much fun* learning and understanding and realizing and connecting and figuring it out. The reader is absolutely in on the game, as well; there's a running stream of little details about people's cultures that you can pick up and run with.
(Trivial example: early on, the protagonist introduces her computer (and starship) to a new friend: "Lord Lynn Margaret", meet "Tinling Alfvaen". Elsewhere, the ship is the _Margaret Lord Lynn_ -- therefore, it must be that Alfvaen is a personal name, Tinling is a family name, and the protagonist is politely transforming her ship's name into Alfvaen's native idiom. *And also* that, at some point, "Lord" as an English-idiom title has become gender-neutral... All of this is completely unremarked in the narrative. You just go with it.)
Also: the puns. I don't mean the narrative is a groanfest; you just run into these little bits of translation that work out to be bilingual puns (in two fictional languages). Or bilingual puns between a fictional language and English *body language*. For posture, gesture, distance, and all such nonverbal communications are part of language; thus they can be spoken with an accent, translated poorly... and punned in. Delightfully.
It is not a perfect book. The points of view of the various cultures is never quite smooth, from the inside. The author needs to convey the unconscious assumptions of each character, but does it more by explicit description than by clean implication. The story is presented as a murder mystery, and less formally as a first-contact SF story (which is of course always a mystery plot). But the murderer is unmasked several chapters before the end, and the pacing of revelation of both mysteries is awkward. I never had the moment of "Of course, how could I have missed..." -- in either plot thread. I'm also unhappy with the guilty faction, the "Inheritors of God", who are shallow villains with no sympathy to them -- too easy to dismiss. Conveying *their* interior assumptions and viewpoint would have turned a delightful book into a brilliant one.
We do not complain of these matters, because we're having too much fun hanging around with the characters. I mean, the non-murdering ones.
Obligatory amused complaint: I have the first-edition Tor paperback in which the *title of the book is misspelled on the front cover*. The fact that this is possible -- and yet not noticeable to the reader until chapter 3 -- is one of the charms you will have to discover.
October 13, 2010
The first time I opened this book I hit the names "swift-Kalat" and "Oloitokitok," closed my eyes, closed the book, and sighed. The book went on a shelf. Several years later, wanting to read something, I picked it up and tried again. Having matured past the "you've gotta entertain me" reading stage, I read deeper and longer, feeling the texture offered by the pen of Kagan as she opened doors to questions. I found that I was entertained, the story has a "feel good" resolution, but I was also challenged to look past the end of my street, past those who spoke and thought as I did, past the areas of comfort to the edge of grasping that my town is not the world. This book edged me into the study of American Sign Language, for there are those living among us that use their "feathers" to speak.
July 23, 2009
4.0 stars. A well-written, original science fiction story that focuses on something that most SF books dealing with multiple races simply gloss over...mainly how both language and cultural differences can make communicating a very difficult proposition. This novel explores the way gestures and words and even the amount of personal space can differ from culture to culture and how these differences can lead to signaifcant challenges. Recommended.
Nominee: Locus Award Best SF Novel.
Nominee: Locus Award Best SF Novel.
March 26, 2011
Janet Kagan's death in 2008 ended a brilliant but tragically short career. She wrote only three novels, Uhura's Song, Mirabile, and Hellspark. Although published almost a decade and a half ago, Hellspark remains as rich in fresh ideas and wonderful characters as when the ink was still wet on the pages. The story begins as a murder mystery, a pilot versed in languages enlisted to help solve the death of a member of a multi-cultural survey mission. As an outsider, Tocohl Susumo brings a new perspective to the community and the planet it is investigating, a wonderfully inventive world in which plants use lightning-generated electricity for energy. She also understands that language is more than words, it's culture, gestures, and proxemics as well. The pivotal question faced by the expedition is whether the native species, bird-like bipeds who echo human speech with uncanny accuracy, are sentient. Kagan's depiction of how different cultures view the same behavior through the filtering lenses of their own biases is fresh, startling, and ultimately satisfying. Highly recommended.
January 16, 2024
I really enjoyed this. The information about proxemics (how comfortable people are at what distance between each other) and kinesics (the study of nonverbal communication by how people move their hands and bodies) was fascinating.
January 9, 2017
Kind of an old style sci-fi, reminiscent of John Varley. I enjoyed the characters and plot.
September 5, 2018
One of my very favorite books. I've read it many times.
The survey team on a recently discovered planet is in trouble, in several ways. Many of them are at odds with each other, the planet is dangerous, they cannot prove the sentience of an obviously intelligent native race because they can't determine if they have language, and now one of the survey team has been murdered. Tocohl Susumo is sent to the planet to assist the team. She is a Hellspark, one of a race of polyglot traders. Understanding that language is a great deal more than just speech, she is able to diagnose some of their problems immediately, but deciphering the language of the native Sprookjes and finding the killer among the team members are a little more difficult ... but very urgent.
I'm not sure why I return to this book again and again. I often reread it when I need a lift. It just makes me feel good.
The survey team on a recently discovered planet is in trouble, in several ways. Many of them are at odds with each other, the planet is dangerous, they cannot prove the sentience of an obviously intelligent native race because they can't determine if they have language, and now one of the survey team has been murdered. Tocohl Susumo is sent to the planet to assist the team. She is a Hellspark, one of a race of polyglot traders. Understanding that language is a great deal more than just speech, she is able to diagnose some of their problems immediately, but deciphering the language of the native Sprookjes and finding the killer among the team members are a little more difficult ... but very urgent.
I'm not sure why I return to this book again and again. I often reread it when I need a lift. It just makes me feel good.
July 1, 2009
Finally, an author who pays proper attention to communication! Unlike Star Trek or any of the other sf that uses a "universal translator," Hellspark makes great use of the importance of body language, personal space, and other unmentionable things that no one ever thinks about when conversing with aliens. A great deal of this novel is taken up with emphasizing the differences between various cultures, while at the same time asking, "so with all these differences...what exactly defines us as sentient?" Very good, although again, I felt it fell apart a little by the end and moreover, didn't identify with the characters that much.
May 2, 2020
Hellspark is a very intelligent hard-sf novel about contact with alien races and establishing communication and relations. Science fiction about scientists with good science, what an idea! It's very well-written and plotted, with characters who portray their joy in learning and exploring very convincingly. The mystery aspect takes a back seat to scientific extrapolation, and it's an enlightening, challenging, and thought-provoking work.
February 17, 2019
A very good book, though it took me a bit, at the beginning, to wrap my mind around the multiple characters/cultures. Once I had, I truly enjoyed the story.
Read
January 25, 2023DNF
This sci-fi novel explores an important theme: how different cultures deal with each other when each has a different language and different rules of behavior, some written down, some not. Occasionally, what one culture considers politeness, another sees as an insult or an inane quirk. What might be a taboo in one language could be a joke in another, if the translators are not careful. Applied to the relationships between different planets and different sentient species, the issue might become acute, and drastic misunderstandings might lead to interstellar wars.
That theme alone could've made this book worth reading, if not for the lousy execution. As it is, the text is peppered with descriptions of many different cultural norms. I actually lost count how many the author mentioned. On one planet, you have to hop up and down to be courteous, while in another, you have to jingle your bracelets or touch your nose or something else seeming equally ridiculous to the English-speaking readers from our old Earth.
If it was one or two different cultures, it would've been a fascinating discourse, a colorful tapestry. But with more than three, the reader feels bogged down in those details. When it is ten or more, they stop registering at all, become a noise interfering with the narration. Sometimes, that noise is so loud, it drowns the story.
That was what happened with this novel. The plethora of different cultural rules and language considerations, recounted in all their minuscule elements, seems like a mire, and the reader gets sucked into it instead of walking a path from the beginning to the end of the story. Too much of a good thing becomes its opposite.
This sci-fi novel explores an important theme: how different cultures deal with each other when each has a different language and different rules of behavior, some written down, some not. Occasionally, what one culture considers politeness, another sees as an insult or an inane quirk. What might be a taboo in one language could be a joke in another, if the translators are not careful. Applied to the relationships between different planets and different sentient species, the issue might become acute, and drastic misunderstandings might lead to interstellar wars.
That theme alone could've made this book worth reading, if not for the lousy execution. As it is, the text is peppered with descriptions of many different cultural norms. I actually lost count how many the author mentioned. On one planet, you have to hop up and down to be courteous, while in another, you have to jingle your bracelets or touch your nose or something else seeming equally ridiculous to the English-speaking readers from our old Earth.
If it was one or two different cultures, it would've been a fascinating discourse, a colorful tapestry. But with more than three, the reader feels bogged down in those details. When it is ten or more, they stop registering at all, become a noise interfering with the narration. Sometimes, that noise is so loud, it drowns the story.
That was what happened with this novel. The plethora of different cultural rules and language considerations, recounted in all their minuscule elements, seems like a mire, and the reader gets sucked into it instead of walking a path from the beginning to the end of the story. Too much of a good thing becomes its opposite.
August 28, 2023
Moved up on the re-read list. Here's my pal Susan Stepney's take: https://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan...
"This is a wonderful story, packed with detection, language and proxemics, human and non-human sapience, cultural taboos, alien biology, art, electric storms, and morality: deep problems explored with a light touch."
Also got a nod on this "Five Best" list by Martha Wells:
https://www.tor.com/2015/06/01/five-b...
"This is a wonderful story, packed with detection, language and proxemics, human and non-human sapience, cultural taboos, alien biology, art, electric storms, and morality: deep problems explored with a light touch."
Also got a nod on this "Five Best" list by Martha Wells:
https://www.tor.com/2015/06/01/five-b...
November 26, 2014
This is a science fiction book written in the 80s and, at one point in my life, I would have loved it. The story had aliens from different worlds and a main protagonist who could speak all these different languages and knew all the various customs of the aliens. They're on a world trying to determine if these sprookjes are sentient and they send the main protagonist to help with the determination. Now I liked the main character and her AI computer, Maggie - they were both confident and competent. There was even a tiny bit of romance in the book which was fun and very unexpected for the genre.
What I wasn't as enthusiastic about were all the different unpronounceable names and aliens and trying to keep track of the different customs. I gave everyone a nickname and I must admit, I skimmed over some of the explanations and really didn't care if standing on the left side of a Blue Sippian was important or not. I really don't have the time for that, but as I said, in college or high school I would have been all into it and tracking the various aliens.
The world the sprookjes lived on was really cool and as an ex-meteorologist I liked the details about the planet and storms. I finished the book because I wanted to know if the sprookjes were sentient and to see who killed Olo (my shortening of Oloitokitok).
So if you like all that alien strangeness and details, this is a book for you. I read it because a friend recommended it and I know why she loved it so much and it explained how she got the name Maggy for her dog :). Plus I have a new insight into her soul!
What I wasn't as enthusiastic about were all the different unpronounceable names and aliens and trying to keep track of the different customs. I gave everyone a nickname and I must admit, I skimmed over some of the explanations and really didn't care if standing on the left side of a Blue Sippian was important or not. I really don't have the time for that, but as I said, in college or high school I would have been all into it and tracking the various aliens.
The world the sprookjes lived on was really cool and as an ex-meteorologist I liked the details about the planet and storms. I finished the book because I wanted to know if the sprookjes were sentient and to see who killed Olo (my shortening of Oloitokitok).
So if you like all that alien strangeness and details, this is a book for you. I read it because a friend recommended it and I know why she loved it so much and it explained how she got the name Maggy for her dog :). Plus I have a new insight into her soul!
July 4, 2016
After the simplicity of Kagan's novel Mirabile, I didn't expect to get dropped into the middle of a rich, complex sci-fi world. How delightful to find that it is so much more than I expected!
The planet itself is interesting because it's got an overabundance of electricity ... plants, bugs, electrical storms out the wazoo. The sprookje natives, which I kept thinking of as huge birds thanks to their feathers, though they are clearly humanoid, are a mystery in themselves. It seems as if they should be sapient or is that just because we want them to be? There don't seem to be any clues leading to that conclusion. Except, perhaps, the murder of a survey team member who was trying to prove their sapience. Or was it murder after all?
Into this dizzying set of variables and inconclusive information comes Tocohl and her extrapolative computer Maggy. Tocohl is a Hellspark trader which means she's a specialist in communicating with every sort of culture in their own language and body movements. That turned the book into a fascinating look at our own blind spots when it comes to culture, communication, and the assumptions we make about others.
All in all this is a good old fashioned science fiction story which is a pleasure to read.
The planet itself is interesting because it's got an overabundance of electricity ... plants, bugs, electrical storms out the wazoo. The sprookje natives, which I kept thinking of as huge birds thanks to their feathers, though they are clearly humanoid, are a mystery in themselves. It seems as if they should be sapient or is that just because we want them to be? There don't seem to be any clues leading to that conclusion. Except, perhaps, the murder of a survey team member who was trying to prove their sapience. Or was it murder after all?
Into this dizzying set of variables and inconclusive information comes Tocohl and her extrapolative computer Maggy. Tocohl is a Hellspark trader which means she's a specialist in communicating with every sort of culture in their own language and body movements. That turned the book into a fascinating look at our own blind spots when it comes to culture, communication, and the assumptions we make about others.
All in all this is a good old fashioned science fiction story which is a pleasure to read.
October 10, 2019
I want to like this book. Cultural misunderstandings are one of my favorite things in fiction. But all of these misunderstandings are too easily resolved, the "mystery" too obvious, the intrigue non-existent, the protagonist too hyper-competent. Some delightful individual scenes aren't enough to make up for a novel with no tension or growth.
July 1, 2023
mild spoilers for some aspects of the world building EDIT: This book is a 3.5 to me
Since I was a kid I always adored Sci-Fi but often times felt like there was something missing. Authors creating a fascinating premise, a thought experiment and an excited "what if!". But more often than not, these thought experiments are fun but very shallow. They take place in the future but still feel stuck in the time they were written in. They have some surface level "what-ifs" the author deemed interesting but everything else stays static and familiar. Like a cardboard background with a sci-fi aesthetic. I am in awe at how much Janet Kagan didn't get stuck in the familiar and static. To be more precise: I always longed for a story that made language and culture not an overly simplified cardboard background but the actual main focus of science fiction. I mean, this is the fascinating stuff! I never understood why sci-fi was so obsessed with universal translators and simple intergalactic cultures that were no different than our current human cultures. Sure, it makes things easier but why do you want to make things easier if you could invent the most creative and fascinating stories instead ? Janet Kagan wrote a story I always wanted to read, showed me things I always wanted to see. I found so much child-like joy and wonder in her ideas. There is a heavy (and I mean HEAVY) focus on vastly different forms of communications, cultures and how they connect, interesect or interact. The author elaborates a lot on these things and explains everything in detail. It can feel a bit tedious and very slow if you aren't very much into this kind of thing but I am very much into this kind of thing so it felt like an exciting field trip: complex and a bit difficult at times, lots to learn and lots to remember but ultimately so much fun.
And oh is there a lot of fun, or better joy in this book. There is so much wonder and joy not only in what the author describes but also in how the characters themselves perceive everything. I am so used to the grim-dark or pessimist-realist perspective of modern media that so much awe and wonder just blew me away. It doesn't feel artificial, it doesn't feel displaced. Dark themes still have a place, they just do not take over. It makes you remember that a realistic, nuanced and complex portrayal of human beings doesn't necessarily have to be completely dark and brutal (and I'm saying this as someone who likes dark and brutal). That a complete world will always have room for wonder and joy. This felt so fresh and new even though it's from 1988. Made me think about how bleak and same-y a lot of current media is.
My first language isn't english but I rarely have any issues reading literature in english. This one proved to be a bit of a challenge, even though I'm not sure if it is because it's written in a particularly difficult manner or just in a very different manner. There are many new terms, names and overall words that I needed to push through the first pages to get into the books rythm. Most of the time when I don't know certain english words, I look them up and from then on recognize them if they appear again. This technique makes reading an english book with more complex terminology not only possible but also enjoyable to me. But here I sometimes didn't know if a word was originally english or an invention by the author, which made everything a bit more complex, in the beginning at least.
Interestingly, this somehow enhanced my reading experience. I felt a bit like an explorer fighting my way through a dense forest but with enough wonderful things to see on the way to make the hardships absolutely worthwhile. The reader is bombarded with new names, concepts and terms every few sentences and usually i hate something like this. But here it somehow works? Things weirdly stuck with me more often than not because they just made sense. The book is also kinda forgiving if you don't get or remember something. Sometimes I was a bit overwhelmed with all the different names and terms but in the end it always made sense and I didn't feel completely stupid. However, I understand why some people do not finish this book and can't find much to enjoy in the endless stream of weird words and concepts. I am usually not a big fan of immense and complicated world building that always stands in front of the story progression but here it worked for me.
There are lots of fascinating characters and a good portion of them are women, which I very much enjoyed. I especially liked Tocohl (the main character) and her relationship with her ships computer, Maggy. Maggy herself adds some humor to the book, something I also often times do not enjoy in books. But her humor actively adds to the topics of language and culture. And gives a voice to the slightly-confused reader in some situations. To me she didn't feel cheesy or cringy, I actually even laughed out loud a few times.
Edge-of-Dark and Buntecs (two of the many researchers and secondary characters) interactions were so much fun (and a bit cute) to read about too. In a better world there would have been a little bit of homosexual activity here and I was tempted but I refuse to write fanfiction at the ripe old age of 30, especially for something so niche as this story.
A character I am a bit conflicted on is Layli-layli calulan, a shaman from a matriarchal society. I absolutely loved her and she is definitely the character I would like to meet the most. I will elaborate further on why some things about her make me feel conflicted.
Because despite my praise there are a few things I personally and mostly very subjectively didn't like. For its time and for the genre this is a great and progressive book, with a competent, smart, cool and not sexualized female main character and several other interesting women. But I don't like the tired trope of "powerful/scary woman from a matriarchal society has a deep bond with a special guy against her cultural upbringing and is heavily defined by that bond in the story" pushed onto one of the female secondary and already mentioned characters, Layli-layli (even though the special guy is dead, which enhances the usage of the trope slightly).
There were also some other things I rolled my eyes at regarding this character. Such as her accepting a man temporarily as a woman after a false two-second mock-ritual quickly invented by an AI so he could talk to her because of an emergency despite her being in deep mourning (only women are allowed to enter her home during that time). As if a matriarchal and quote "gyno-centric" society would be able to tolerate something like this at all, much less in a situation so obviously made up. I can however see how layli-layli would accept it regardless because she is smart, matter-of-fact, has some kind of appreciation for well thought out lies and would probably let it slide so she could help in that emergency without breaking her cultural rites.
But still, it's one of those rare cultural thought experiments in the book that felt half baked and not convincing. The book often times makes a point that characters will apply their cultural norms more lightly if there is a misunderstanding or cultural divide (such as not holding someone accountable by their own cultural measures if the other person didn't know any better). Generally people are more often than not trying to find ways to get along and support each other despite some wildly different cultures, languages and moral compasses. This applies here too but again, not as convincing as in other instances. In part because I found it funny and unbelievable that after word about it got around, male traders wanted to use the mock ritual to be able to trade with the women of that matriarchal society (something they couldn't do before) and that this society would just... accept it. You are telling me no man ever had a similar idea to this? Not one from all of these different cultures and planets? Possibly hundreds or thousands of years of not being able to trade with a vital part of a very advanced culture and all this time a "I am saying a magic word so I am a woman for a minute" would have surpassed intricate ancient rites and rules? And more importantly: a social hierarchy grown over many generations? There are so many well written instances in the book where people are able to outwit cultural norms this way, so why was this given so little thought? And how did this matriarchal society survive as a matriarchal and (again quote) "gyno centric" society over generations if any man could just for a few minutes be a woman sometimes? It basically makes everything we learn about that society quite meaningless. If it had just been the initial scene of the breaking of mourning it would have worked much better. But drawing it out revealed way too many flaws. I somehow get why it was done because the author tried to tie it to several other plot points but it's just not well done.
Layli-layli in general sometimes felt like a little spin on 80s feminism, observing it and gently pulling its teeth. Something I notice sometimes with books written by female authors of that time: Bold, progressive and quite feminist portrayal of women but at the last minute a sudden fear of coming off as mean and man hating. And a half baked attempt of deflecting that with some not thought out story elements. I don't think this was done consciously but it gave me this all too familiar feeling of it. This definitely is a book with feminist intent, fantastic female characters and layli-layli seems to be more of an appreciation of that instead of a mockery but some parts just didn't work for me. Even though I feel a bit conflicted because otherwise she is a character I adore! Probably and surprisingly even my favourite character all things considered. Maybe that's exactly why those details annoy me. At first she and her culture seem so intelligent and mysterious and interesting. But after the entire ritual thing both feel very hollow and not thought out.
Additionally if you'd look at the plot without any of the heavy cultural sci-fi elements it wouldn't be something to write home about . It's solid but not groundbreaking but that didn't really matter to me. This book is less about a story and more about discovery.
This sounded like I had a lot to complain but these are details, happening only in a few sentences.
All in all, this is such a wonderful and fascinating book. It was also an extremely slow read for me. Strangely not a boring or dragging one for a vast majority of the time. Contemplative but fun is the more fitting description. The confusion took over sometimes in the beginning but it never made me stop reading. Despite some (subjective and objective) flaws this book might have, it gives me a warm and comfortable feeling. It made me happy in a way not many books manage to make me happy. I felt challenged but also at home. The book describes itself quite well for me in the main characters observation of the planet the story takes place on:
"Yet, as she sat in the misty sunlight and gazed into the flashwood, she felt the world had more than sufficient beauty to compensate for the trouble it caused"
Since I was a kid I always adored Sci-Fi but often times felt like there was something missing. Authors creating a fascinating premise, a thought experiment and an excited "what if!". But more often than not, these thought experiments are fun but very shallow. They take place in the future but still feel stuck in the time they were written in. They have some surface level "what-ifs" the author deemed interesting but everything else stays static and familiar. Like a cardboard background with a sci-fi aesthetic. I am in awe at how much Janet Kagan didn't get stuck in the familiar and static. To be more precise: I always longed for a story that made language and culture not an overly simplified cardboard background but the actual main focus of science fiction. I mean, this is the fascinating stuff! I never understood why sci-fi was so obsessed with universal translators and simple intergalactic cultures that were no different than our current human cultures. Sure, it makes things easier but why do you want to make things easier if you could invent the most creative and fascinating stories instead ? Janet Kagan wrote a story I always wanted to read, showed me things I always wanted to see. I found so much child-like joy and wonder in her ideas. There is a heavy (and I mean HEAVY) focus on vastly different forms of communications, cultures and how they connect, interesect or interact. The author elaborates a lot on these things and explains everything in detail. It can feel a bit tedious and very slow if you aren't very much into this kind of thing but I am very much into this kind of thing so it felt like an exciting field trip: complex and a bit difficult at times, lots to learn and lots to remember but ultimately so much fun.
And oh is there a lot of fun, or better joy in this book. There is so much wonder and joy not only in what the author describes but also in how the characters themselves perceive everything. I am so used to the grim-dark or pessimist-realist perspective of modern media that so much awe and wonder just blew me away. It doesn't feel artificial, it doesn't feel displaced. Dark themes still have a place, they just do not take over. It makes you remember that a realistic, nuanced and complex portrayal of human beings doesn't necessarily have to be completely dark and brutal (and I'm saying this as someone who likes dark and brutal). That a complete world will always have room for wonder and joy. This felt so fresh and new even though it's from 1988. Made me think about how bleak and same-y a lot of current media is.
My first language isn't english but I rarely have any issues reading literature in english. This one proved to be a bit of a challenge, even though I'm not sure if it is because it's written in a particularly difficult manner or just in a very different manner. There are many new terms, names and overall words that I needed to push through the first pages to get into the books rythm. Most of the time when I don't know certain english words, I look them up and from then on recognize them if they appear again. This technique makes reading an english book with more complex terminology not only possible but also enjoyable to me. But here I sometimes didn't know if a word was originally english or an invention by the author, which made everything a bit more complex, in the beginning at least.
Interestingly, this somehow enhanced my reading experience. I felt a bit like an explorer fighting my way through a dense forest but with enough wonderful things to see on the way to make the hardships absolutely worthwhile. The reader is bombarded with new names, concepts and terms every few sentences and usually i hate something like this. But here it somehow works? Things weirdly stuck with me more often than not because they just made sense. The book is also kinda forgiving if you don't get or remember something. Sometimes I was a bit overwhelmed with all the different names and terms but in the end it always made sense and I didn't feel completely stupid. However, I understand why some people do not finish this book and can't find much to enjoy in the endless stream of weird words and concepts. I am usually not a big fan of immense and complicated world building that always stands in front of the story progression but here it worked for me.
There are lots of fascinating characters and a good portion of them are women, which I very much enjoyed. I especially liked Tocohl (the main character) and her relationship with her ships computer, Maggy. Maggy herself adds some humor to the book, something I also often times do not enjoy in books. But her humor actively adds to the topics of language and culture. And gives a voice to the slightly-confused reader in some situations. To me she didn't feel cheesy or cringy, I actually even laughed out loud a few times.
Edge-of-Dark and Buntecs (two of the many researchers and secondary characters) interactions were so much fun (and a bit cute) to read about too. In a better world there would have been a little bit of homosexual activity here and I was tempted but I refuse to write fanfiction at the ripe old age of 30, especially for something so niche as this story.
A character I am a bit conflicted on is Layli-layli calulan, a shaman from a matriarchal society. I absolutely loved her and she is definitely the character I would like to meet the most. I will elaborate further on why some things about her make me feel conflicted.
Because despite my praise there are a few things I personally and mostly very subjectively didn't like. For its time and for the genre this is a great and progressive book, with a competent, smart, cool and not sexualized female main character and several other interesting women. But I don't like the tired trope of "powerful/scary woman from a matriarchal society has a deep bond with a special guy against her cultural upbringing and is heavily defined by that bond in the story" pushed onto one of the female secondary and already mentioned characters, Layli-layli (even though the special guy is dead, which enhances the usage of the trope slightly).
There were also some other things I rolled my eyes at regarding this character. Such as her accepting a man temporarily as a woman after a false two-second mock-ritual quickly invented by an AI so he could talk to her because of an emergency despite her being in deep mourning (only women are allowed to enter her home during that time). As if a matriarchal and quote "gyno-centric" society would be able to tolerate something like this at all, much less in a situation so obviously made up. I can however see how layli-layli would accept it regardless because she is smart, matter-of-fact, has some kind of appreciation for well thought out lies and would probably let it slide so she could help in that emergency without breaking her cultural rites.
But still, it's one of those rare cultural thought experiments in the book that felt half baked and not convincing. The book often times makes a point that characters will apply their cultural norms more lightly if there is a misunderstanding or cultural divide (such as not holding someone accountable by their own cultural measures if the other person didn't know any better). Generally people are more often than not trying to find ways to get along and support each other despite some wildly different cultures, languages and moral compasses. This applies here too but again, not as convincing as in other instances. In part because I found it funny and unbelievable that after word about it got around, male traders wanted to use the mock ritual to be able to trade with the women of that matriarchal society (something they couldn't do before) and that this society would just... accept it. You are telling me no man ever had a similar idea to this? Not one from all of these different cultures and planets? Possibly hundreds or thousands of years of not being able to trade with a vital part of a very advanced culture and all this time a "I am saying a magic word so I am a woman for a minute" would have surpassed intricate ancient rites and rules? And more importantly: a social hierarchy grown over many generations? There are so many well written instances in the book where people are able to outwit cultural norms this way, so why was this given so little thought? And how did this matriarchal society survive as a matriarchal and (again quote) "gyno centric" society over generations if any man could just for a few minutes be a woman sometimes? It basically makes everything we learn about that society quite meaningless. If it had just been the initial scene of the breaking of mourning it would have worked much better. But drawing it out revealed way too many flaws. I somehow get why it was done because the author tried to tie it to several other plot points but it's just not well done.
Layli-layli in general sometimes felt like a little spin on 80s feminism, observing it and gently pulling its teeth. Something I notice sometimes with books written by female authors of that time: Bold, progressive and quite feminist portrayal of women but at the last minute a sudden fear of coming off as mean and man hating. And a half baked attempt of deflecting that with some not thought out story elements. I don't think this was done consciously but it gave me this all too familiar feeling of it. This definitely is a book with feminist intent, fantastic female characters and layli-layli seems to be more of an appreciation of that instead of a mockery but some parts just didn't work for me. Even though I feel a bit conflicted because otherwise she is a character I adore! Probably and surprisingly even my favourite character all things considered. Maybe that's exactly why those details annoy me. At first she and her culture seem so intelligent and mysterious and interesting. But after the entire ritual thing both feel very hollow and not thought out.
Additionally if you'd look at the plot without any of the heavy cultural sci-fi elements it wouldn't be something to write home about . It's solid but not groundbreaking but that didn't really matter to me. This book is less about a story and more about discovery.
This sounded like I had a lot to complain but these are details, happening only in a few sentences.
All in all, this is such a wonderful and fascinating book. It was also an extremely slow read for me. Strangely not a boring or dragging one for a vast majority of the time. Contemplative but fun is the more fitting description. The confusion took over sometimes in the beginning but it never made me stop reading. Despite some (subjective and objective) flaws this book might have, it gives me a warm and comfortable feeling. It made me happy in a way not many books manage to make me happy. I felt challenged but also at home. The book describes itself quite well for me in the main characters observation of the planet the story takes place on:
"Yet, as she sat in the misty sunlight and gazed into the flashwood, she felt the world had more than sufficient beauty to compensate for the trouble it caused"
November 4, 2023
Now that I'm done my prior notes are below the current rave review. Turns out the aliens, the languages, etc. are much more important than the mystery. First contact, and pitfalls of assumptions made in the course of deepening contact. Definitions of sentience (I'd say sapience, but sentience is the author's word) are explored. Good book for fans of classic Star Trek and of Becky Chambers.
But, yes, dense, and, at the beginning, difficult to get into. So rich, so much to think about. To discuss! Please, if you want to read this, let me know so I can reread with you!! I'll use my hardcover and the library ebook together to make sure I don't miss anything.
I wish I could find more stand-alone books by the author. And I wish more people knew of and loved this book.
------
Yeah, I don't like intrigue or mystery. But the aliens are supposed to be really well-done in this. And look at the average rating!
Edit - also called "upbeat" in a rec. thread looking for 'positive/hopeful'
---
Ok, I'm about 1/3 in and it's not engaging, but rather is difficult. I definitely would like it better in paper, my preferred format. I might have to buy it and mark it up with notes. All the personae with their histories and perspectives, wow. Don't get me wrong, it's intelligent and wonderful and fascinating. Just, I'm not clever in the quick way needed for this. So, yes, if I can buy it, that would be good.
---
Got a copy! But it will be awhile before I can make the time for it, so I'm going to read from the beginning.
But, yes, dense, and, at the beginning, difficult to get into. So rich, so much to think about. To discuss! Please, if you want to read this, let me know so I can reread with you!! I'll use my hardcover and the library ebook together to make sure I don't miss anything.
I wish I could find more stand-alone books by the author. And I wish more people knew of and loved this book.
------
Yeah, I don't like intrigue or mystery. But the aliens are supposed to be really well-done in this. And look at the average rating!
Edit - also called "upbeat" in a rec. thread looking for 'positive/hopeful'
---
Ok, I'm about 1/3 in and it's not engaging, but rather is difficult. I definitely would like it better in paper, my preferred format. I might have to buy it and mark it up with notes. All the personae with their histories and perspectives, wow. Don't get me wrong, it's intelligent and wonderful and fascinating. Just, I'm not clever in the quick way needed for this. So, yes, if I can buy it, that would be good.
---
Got a copy! But it will be awhile before I can make the time for it, so I'm going to read from the beginning.
June 8, 2011
Really original speculative fiction stories take a little longer to get into because the universe you find yourself doesn't have cliches to orient you quickly. This story is totally worth sticking it out until you get your bearings!
The one cliche it does have is the idea that before humans open a new planet for development they ought to send in a team to make sure there isn't an intelligent species already there. What happens if the team finds a race some members are sure must be intelligent but that is so different they can't prove it through the 3 requirements of language, artifacts, and art? Call in a specialist!
Polyglots are individuals with a special gift for learning many languages. Hellsparks are a whole race of polyglots who take it to a whole new level by adding in cultural clues like body language, postures, and gestures- all the nonverbal communication that goes with a language. The Hellspark they get is something special even for a Hellspark.
This book has a great plot with lots of twists and turns, but it is more character driven with even the most minor characters fully developed. Lots of humor, lots of thought provoking concepts that make you explore your own inner world while you are exploring hers.
My only regret is that Ms Kagan developed such a rich detailed universe, but never took us back to it with more books. I've seen 10 or 12 book series that weren't as well developed as this one book universe.
The one cliche it does have is the idea that before humans open a new planet for development they ought to send in a team to make sure there isn't an intelligent species already there. What happens if the team finds a race some members are sure must be intelligent but that is so different they can't prove it through the 3 requirements of language, artifacts, and art? Call in a specialist!
Polyglots are individuals with a special gift for learning many languages. Hellsparks are a whole race of polyglots who take it to a whole new level by adding in cultural clues like body language, postures, and gestures- all the nonverbal communication that goes with a language. The Hellspark they get is something special even for a Hellspark.
This book has a great plot with lots of twists and turns, but it is more character driven with even the most minor characters fully developed. Lots of humor, lots of thought provoking concepts that make you explore your own inner world while you are exploring hers.
My only regret is that Ms Kagan developed such a rich detailed universe, but never took us back to it with more books. I've seen 10 or 12 book series that weren't as well developed as this one book universe.
August 9, 2015
This is one of only two novels written by the late Janet Kagan, who is probably best known for writing one of the better Star Trek novels, Uhura's Song. She was a Hugo-winning author of short stories, the most popular of which were her "Mama Jason" stories, published in Asimov's sci-fi magazine and gathered in a collection called Mirabile.
Hellspark feels dated, somehow, even though the only thing I can point to as an anachronism is the use of the word "tape" for audio and video recordings. The story also feels a little rushed, with an implausibly short time frame, but it's still an enjoyable read.
It's a first-contact novel: a human survey team has established a base on an exotic planet and is trying to determine if the dominant native species is sentient or not, which will determine whether the planet is protected or left open to exploitation. The survey team itself is barely able to communicate effectively with each other due to the vastly disparate cultures from which they originate. A Hellspark trader, experienced in dealing with with a multitude of cultures, is brought in to help determine if the native species has a language.
Hellspark feels dated, somehow, even though the only thing I can point to as an anachronism is the use of the word "tape" for audio and video recordings. The story also feels a little rushed, with an implausibly short time frame, but it's still an enjoyable read.
It's a first-contact novel: a human survey team has established a base on an exotic planet and is trying to determine if the dominant native species is sentient or not, which will determine whether the planet is protected or left open to exploitation. The survey team itself is barely able to communicate effectively with each other due to the vastly disparate cultures from which they originate. A Hellspark trader, experienced in dealing with with a multitude of cultures, is brought in to help determine if the native species has a language.
July 6, 2016
4.5
Complex and lovely, and fully earning its "strong female protagonist" label--with some great female friendships thrown in there as well. The plot reminds me of favorite Star Trek themes, the challenges of communicating with a profoundly different form of intelligence. The approach is refreshing and ethical, without the usual blowhard militarism or pontificating that you see so often in sci-fi. All this in a book published in 1988--it holds up extraordinarily well, far better than any other sci-fi that I've read from that era. Strongly recommend.
Complex and lovely, and fully earning its "strong female protagonist" label--with some great female friendships thrown in there as well. The plot reminds me of favorite Star Trek themes, the challenges of communicating with a profoundly different form of intelligence. The approach is refreshing and ethical, without the usual blowhard militarism or pontificating that you see so often in sci-fi. All this in a book published in 1988--it holds up extraordinarily well, far better than any other sci-fi that I've read from that era. Strongly recommend.
February 5, 2024
This was such a wholesome book... ostensibly about language, but really about sentience.
Maggy is the BEST and so so so so like me at my most inquisitive/pedantic.
This was published in '88, I'd be really keen to know what Janet Kagan thinks of current AI. The way she described Maggy's learning process is exactly how modern AI's neural networks learn - was that an idea in the 80s? Or did Janet Kagan come up with it independently? Impressive either way.
I also didn't realise old SF could be so well & naturally gender-balanced without the plot being about gender.
Maggy is the BEST and so so so so like me at my most inquisitive/pedantic.
This was published in '88, I'd be really keen to know what Janet Kagan thinks of current AI. The way she described Maggy's learning process is exactly how modern AI's neural networks learn - was that an idea in the 80s? Or did Janet Kagan come up with it independently? Impressive either way.
I also didn't realise old SF could be so well & naturally gender-balanced without the plot being about gender.
November 27, 2017
This book is a joy. Totally worth reading for its thought-provoking aspects re: the history we bring with us, non-verbal communication, the nature of sentience, and also worth reading just because it is a delight. Tons of cultures! Robot-spiders! Teen graffiti artist birds! Death curses! Murder!
I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish we had seven thousand other books in this world.
I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish we had seven thousand other books in this world.
December 30, 2019
This is why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover (or title :) ) Excellent
November 20, 2015
A multi-cultural science team is studying a newly-discovered planet teem with life... some of which, they think might be intelligent. But they're not sure, because they've been unable to establish any meaningful communication. After one of the survey team is killed, possibly by the natives, the team's leader is ready to declare them non-sentient and the planet ripe for exploration. But other members of the team disagree, and a human trader, a Hellspark, is called upon to investigate the issue and perhaps decide the fate of a whole world.
On the face of it, this feels like a fairly standard pulp SF novel of the era. But the author does wind up having some really interesting points on communication and how culturally-instilled concepts and taboos that we're not even aware of can affect relationships between people and cultures. It's especially worthy of reading the book for the acknowledgement and examples of how important things like body language and positioning can be in how you relate to people. I can't even count how many different cultures the author creates in the book, each with their own set of biases and rituals, some which seem doomed to come into conflict, but also seems to show the idea that with a little work and a bit more understanding, these can be gotten around.
This strength is perhaps also one of the flaws. In order to have so many different cultures, there have to be a lot of characters, and not all of them are distinctive except as exemplars of their unique culture. Also, a lot of them come off in a way where it's too easy to dismiss the differences as primitive superstitions that somehow persisted into a spacefaring race. Perhaps that is some of the point (that these world views are just as valid), but I think it would have sold that idea much more effectively if the author had also included, and skewered as completely irrational, some universal human taboos (or, at least, near-universal among the Western audience she was writing to) as well, as something that no other race thinks is necessary or good, to show how some of the reader's more sacred views could likewise be dismissed as primitive superstitions by an outsider.
Those characters who do stand out of the crowd, though, are generally appealing. The main character does sometimes seem a bit too much of a know-it-all with understanding all the cultural traditions, but it's not so much it's annoying, and her AI companion is, for the most part, appealing, whoever they're interacting with. There's also a character who has a rather creative and interesting illness that I still think fondly on.
As for the big mystery of the book... well, it turns out to be a little obvious, and the characters take too long to figure it out, but makes for a readable adventure regardless.
The biggest problem of the book is that the ending drags on way too long after that big issue is resolved. There were certainly a few loose ends at that point that needed to be tied up, but the author took too long to do it, with long conversations involving the AI not understanding jokes and asking for clarification (and they weren't terribly good jokes) or other territory that was already well-trod. The last fifty pages could probably have been condensed into ten, and it would have made for a much better book. It felt like the author just enjoyed her characters too much and wanted to continue with them for a while, at the expense of the story, or perhaps that she needed to pad things out to meet a word quota. Either way, it's not a huge flaw, but it did blunt the book's impact. Instead of putting it away satisfied, my final impression was of getting to the end of the STORY and then having to read on, somewhat impatiently until I reached the end of the BOOK.
But on the whole, I enjoyed it.
On the face of it, this feels like a fairly standard pulp SF novel of the era. But the author does wind up having some really interesting points on communication and how culturally-instilled concepts and taboos that we're not even aware of can affect relationships between people and cultures. It's especially worthy of reading the book for the acknowledgement and examples of how important things like body language and positioning can be in how you relate to people. I can't even count how many different cultures the author creates in the book, each with their own set of biases and rituals, some which seem doomed to come into conflict, but also seems to show the idea that with a little work and a bit more understanding, these can be gotten around.
This strength is perhaps also one of the flaws. In order to have so many different cultures, there have to be a lot of characters, and not all of them are distinctive except as exemplars of their unique culture. Also, a lot of them come off in a way where it's too easy to dismiss the differences as primitive superstitions that somehow persisted into a spacefaring race. Perhaps that is some of the point (that these world views are just as valid), but I think it would have sold that idea much more effectively if the author had also included, and skewered as completely irrational, some universal human taboos (or, at least, near-universal among the Western audience she was writing to) as well, as something that no other race thinks is necessary or good, to show how some of the reader's more sacred views could likewise be dismissed as primitive superstitions by an outsider.
Those characters who do stand out of the crowd, though, are generally appealing. The main character does sometimes seem a bit too much of a know-it-all with understanding all the cultural traditions, but it's not so much it's annoying, and her AI companion is, for the most part, appealing, whoever they're interacting with. There's also a character who has a rather creative and interesting illness that I still think fondly on.
As for the big mystery of the book... well, it turns out to be a little obvious, and the characters take too long to figure it out, but makes for a readable adventure regardless.
The biggest problem of the book is that the ending drags on way too long after that big issue is resolved. There were certainly a few loose ends at that point that needed to be tied up, but the author took too long to do it, with long conversations involving the AI not understanding jokes and asking for clarification (and they weren't terribly good jokes) or other territory that was already well-trod. The last fifty pages could probably have been condensed into ten, and it would have made for a much better book. It felt like the author just enjoyed her characters too much and wanted to continue with them for a while, at the expense of the story, or perhaps that she needed to pad things out to meet a word quota. Either way, it's not a huge flaw, but it did blunt the book's impact. Instead of putting it away satisfied, my final impression was of getting to the end of the STORY and then having to read on, somewhat impatiently until I reached the end of the BOOK.
But on the whole, I enjoyed it.
February 13, 2018
I love this book!!
October 8, 2020
Hellspark is not without faults, but faults do not remove a five-star rating given out of pure joy. This is what I want my scifi to be like, and the fact that Kagan has not published much (and died in 2008) was rough to discover in a world where it seems like every book has a sequel. Sadz.
So what made me so happy and so sad? This book is about language. But it's not just "scifi author has a language idea", it's about everything that makes up a native speaker's fluency. It's about gestures and body language, it's about the distance you keep from others and how you approach them, it's about your constructs of status and gender and civility. It's also about your concept of consciousness, as all this takes place in the midst of the culturally (planetary) diverse survey team figuring out if a native species on this survey planet is intelligent.
Our protagonist is a Hellspark, a culture which trains its children early in all other human(oid) languages and cultures. Hellspark people, as a result, can switch nearly effortlessly between cultures and as a result often work as merchants or judges to settle intercultural problems.
She is on a mission to figure out this whole intelligence business for the survey team, smooth over problems, be hilariously inventive in settling cultural disputes, and she is also accompanied by the second- or third-best character in the book: Her spaceship's computer, Lord Magarete Lynn (a useful name that will, implicitly, teach you about names and titles in several other cultures in this book, if you pay attention). Adorable, adorkable, lovable Maggie, learning about human behaviour. I'm very into spaceships who assist their captain, so: yes. Much yes.
The one weakness of this book is that the villain is obvious and shallow, and the mystery easily solved – but the book continues for quite a bit after the formal resolution, and I'm not much of a mystery reader, so I mostly ignored the plot arc in favour of the worldbuilding and the delightful characters.
Because, and this is important: Everybody is having fun. The protagonist is a whirlwind, slightly Milesian (though not angsty), and is just enjoying the hell out of everything. And, following her, so did I.
So what made me so happy and so sad? This book is about language. But it's not just "scifi author has a language idea", it's about everything that makes up a native speaker's fluency. It's about gestures and body language, it's about the distance you keep from others and how you approach them, it's about your constructs of status and gender and civility. It's also about your concept of consciousness, as all this takes place in the midst of the culturally (planetary) diverse survey team figuring out if a native species on this survey planet is intelligent.
Our protagonist is a Hellspark, a culture which trains its children early in all other human(oid) languages and cultures. Hellspark people, as a result, can switch nearly effortlessly between cultures and as a result often work as merchants or judges to settle intercultural problems.
She is on a mission to figure out this whole intelligence business for the survey team, smooth over problems, be hilariously inventive in settling cultural disputes, and she is also accompanied by the second- or third-best character in the book: Her spaceship's computer, Lord Magarete Lynn (a useful name that will, implicitly, teach you about names and titles in several other cultures in this book, if you pay attention). Adorable, adorkable, lovable Maggie, learning about human behaviour. I'm very into spaceships who assist their captain, so: yes. Much yes.
The one weakness of this book is that the villain is obvious and shallow, and the mystery easily solved – but the book continues for quite a bit after the formal resolution, and I'm not much of a mystery reader, so I mostly ignored the plot arc in favour of the worldbuilding and the delightful characters.
Because, and this is important: Everybody is having fun. The protagonist is a whirlwind, slightly Milesian (though not angsty), and is just enjoying the hell out of everything. And, following her, so did I.
August 11, 2014
This book! A lesson to me: don't judge books prematurely.
The back/inside cover of these reads like the worst stereotype of a sci-fi novel - lots of names and weird words that are from "other languages," like somebody is trying to hard.
"As he strolled among the Kenthellians, through the wide parndamets along the River Elinionenin, thrimbening his tometoria and his Almagister's scrollix, he though to himself, "Wow, it is sure convenient there's a glossary for made-up fantasy words on page 1048." - Stephen Young, Bulwer-Lytton winner for Fantasy, 2014
But this book turned out to be one of the best I've ever read. It's got a lot of psychology, and a lot of linguistics, and a lot of world-building of the very sure-handed Le Guin kind (I'm not going to tell you 5,000 things, I'm going to tell you a story in this world, and you'll naturally discover what you need to know as you go along). It's got a bit of a mystery, and lots of amazing characters that will stick with me for a long time. Two Bluesippian thumbs-up!
The back/inside cover of these reads like the worst stereotype of a sci-fi novel - lots of names and weird words that are from "other languages," like somebody is trying to hard.
"As he strolled among the Kenthellians, through the wide parndamets along the River Elinionenin, thrimbening his tometoria and his Almagister's scrollix, he though to himself, "Wow, it is sure convenient there's a glossary for made-up fantasy words on page 1048." - Stephen Young, Bulwer-Lytton winner for Fantasy, 2014
But this book turned out to be one of the best I've ever read. It's got a lot of psychology, and a lot of linguistics, and a lot of world-building of the very sure-handed Le Guin kind (I'm not going to tell you 5,000 things, I'm going to tell you a story in this world, and you'll naturally discover what you need to know as you go along). It's got a bit of a mystery, and lots of amazing characters that will stick with me for a long time. Two Bluesippian thumbs-up!
August 8, 2012
This is an excellent piece of hard science fiction. The plot is fine -- unmasking conspiracy and solving mysteries -- but the book is really about conflict between cultures, and the extreme effort necessary even among people of good will to avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary hostility.
A couple of warnings are appropriate: in the first 30 pages, I had to really slow down and concentrate. It's necessary to absorb a fair amount of invented vocabulary, and a variety of unfamiliar names, and the author shows her faith in the reader by delaying exposition. Secondly, the novel is poorly served by its title and the blurb on the back cover, both of which make it look like a potboiler. It's not: it's a thoughtful commentary, and a good story.
A couple of warnings are appropriate: in the first 30 pages, I had to really slow down and concentrate. It's necessary to absorb a fair amount of invented vocabulary, and a variety of unfamiliar names, and the author shows her faith in the reader by delaying exposition. Secondly, the novel is poorly served by its title and the blurb on the back cover, both of which make it look like a potboiler. It's not: it's a thoughtful commentary, and a good story.
February 5, 2017
As a librarian (and a book store addict) I have access to many great books. This one is one of the best I've read in a long time. I've rarely come across a book so fascinating -- the cultures, the aliens, the exploration of communication was all just perfect. I loved the characters (Maggie!) and the mystery and the ecology and... there are just so many different concepts and clever ideas and it should be far too many elements, but it works amazingly well. The book also does one of my favorite things in a science fiction novel -- it gives such a fully realized slice of the universe that I crave knowing more of what lies out there. I may never get to, but there is a whole new universe in my brain now.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews