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donaldinho's review against another edition
4.0
Kinda lacked direction in the 2nd half. Still a pretty good read though.
kerstincullen's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this one; it was very enjoyable and made me think. I read somewhere that the author explored how Ian M. Banks' Culture would actually work. There is a lot of thought put into the consequences of technology which is not explored in most science fiction. If you could alter your brain chemistry and memory and will, what kind of person would you become? Would you be you? If you could manipulate space-time, what would be the consequences of this? If you could make artificial gravity, would you really need a gun?
Plus a lot of whimsy (cats in zero-G! Ship AI who likes to sing and argue philosophy! Space whales! Preying Mantis Policeperson).
One of my favorite books of the year, and I read a lot of really good books:)
Plus a lot of whimsy (cats in zero-G! Ship AI who likes to sing and argue philosophy! Space whales! Preying Mantis Policeperson).
One of my favorite books of the year, and I read a lot of really good books:)
philibin's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good… but very long. The author seemed to go off on seemingly irrelevant stories and memories and were very repetitive. I tended to zone out during some of those and then when I snapped out of it was a little confused.
The tangents were not irrelevant, but even when the relevance was revealed it wouldn’t have helped you with the ending. The main ending was predictable, but the nuance was a little out there.
Overall I liked it, but I just couldn’t find a character believable enough to relate to if that makes sense. I enjoyed it, and I’d give the author another try.
The tangents were not irrelevant, but even when the relevance was revealed it wouldn’t have helped you with the ending. The main ending was predictable, but the nuance was a little out there.
Overall I liked it, but I just couldn’t find a character believable enough to relate to if that makes sense. I enjoyed it, and I’d give the author another try.
dejahentendu's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Amazing book with depth of character, moral dilemma, and an interesting plot. So glad it was recommended to me as it really made me stop and think.
qalminator's review against another edition
5.0
Lovely space opera that turns a great number of common tropes on their head, then spins them around gleefully. We have a somewhat collectivist society in the Synarche, where people regulate their brain chemistry via a device called a "fox" (which also lets them access whatever the internet is called and interface with equipment, and so on). Then there's Freeport, an individualist society consisting mostly of pirates, apparently (we only see pirates from there, anyway).
Most SF like this would focus on Freeport as, oh, the last bastion of rugged individuality and freedom. Not Ancestral Night. There is more freedom in the regulation of the Synarche, especially given its emphasis on consent. Meanwhile, the one representative from Freeport has a bomb implanted in her, so that she continues to obey. The Synarche does its best to take care of all "systers" (sapients, sentients, sophonts are other words I've seen for the concept), while Freeport appears to value dog-eat-dog dynamics (again, based on the lone representative from there). Lovely reversal. I particularly liked that.
The one thing that bothered me turned out all right in the end.
Most SF like this would focus on Freeport as, oh, the last bastion of rugged individuality and freedom. Not Ancestral Night. There is more freedom in the regulation of the Synarche, especially given its emphasis on consent. Meanwhile, the one representative from Freeport has a bomb implanted in her, so that she continues to obey. The Synarche does its best to take care of all "systers" (sapients, sentients, sophonts are other words I've seen for the concept), while Freeport appears to value dog-eat-dog dynamics (again, based on the lone representative from there). Lovely reversal. I particularly liked that
Spoiler
Farweather deactivating Dz's Fox to reveal "the horrible truth" did not have anything like the trope-expected effect; first, it debilitated her for several days, then, after she integrated the information and had time to process, she realized she would have made the same choices now, and, yes, the replacement memories were a choice.The one thing that bothered me turned out all right in the end.
Spoiler
There's a moment where Dz thinks that her crewmates and cats have been killed in a ship explosion. There are hints throughout that at least the AI survived. Eventually we find out that the cats are also okay. I would have been very upset if they hadn't been.eacolgan's review against another edition
3.0
So, after starting this book and letting the loan expire, then getting it again and forcing myself to finish it, I think I know why I had such a hard time with it. And it wasn't just the infuriating repetition of the word "atavistic". (17 at final count, by the way.)
It's not that Haimey is dull, it's just that she (or E.Bear does, through her) rambles on and fucking on. Other reviews have called out the repetition of concepts that don't build to form any further statement or idea, they just get repeated. The mentions of her reading old Earth literature don't go anywhere, her relationship with Connla doesn't change or grow despite everything that happens to her, her relationship with Farweather doesn't go anywhere despite all the potential for them to learn about each other and change each other...
And that's to say nothing of her whole secret backstory and the wasted potential there. From the get-go it felt like her allusions to her upbringing were leading to a future moment of change, even though she'd already thrown off that upbringing it still felt like it was going to be important. When Singer's first ship body was destroyed I was **sure** that we were going to find out it was the Synarch that had done it, because what ELSE could the introduction of a sexy anarchist and the explosion of Haimey's home be leading to except a shift in her perspective about right-minding and trusting the government? But no-- the Synarch's goodness remained untouched in Haimey's mind, despite finding out that they, with the approval of the family she'd gone out of her way to disengage from, had completely altered her memory of some deeply traumatic events in order to make her a more productive citizen of the Synarch. Farweather still remained unsympathetic despite the opportunity to open up her character and make these events change her too. There wasn't even more than a glancing consideration of body horror as Haimey deals with having a literal alien parasite in her blood.
Elizabeth Bear is a good writer, and a prolific one, so I'm not going to let this color my thoughts on her and her oeuvre. The worldbuilding in this is really great, from the hard science stuff to the alien species to things like Haimey having her feet modified into a second pair of hands since she's lived all her life in zero-gravity. However, I won't be reading the next books in the series, because I cannot fathom spending that many hours in the mind of a human run-on sentence. Not even the eight-foot-tall praying mantis sheriff can bring me back. Also, I really didn't like the audiobook narrator for this, I thought she sounded way too posh and was very ill-matched to the tone of the book, which I'm sure didn't help much. Either way, I've satisfied my completionism, and am moving on to things I'm much more excited about.
Spoiler
It's not that I don't like E.Bear's writing, because I do, though I don't think this is a great example of her ability. The problem with Ancestral Night is, as I see it, that she wanted to write a book that was deeply enmeshed in the mind and stream-of-consciousness of a character-- which she did, except the character just wasn't that interesting. Then, the things that happened to that character ALSO weren't interesting enough to carry the book.It's not that Haimey is dull, it's just that she (or E.Bear does, through her) rambles on and fucking on. Other reviews have called out the repetition of concepts that don't build to form any further statement or idea, they just get repeated. The mentions of her reading old Earth literature don't go anywhere, her relationship with Connla doesn't change or grow despite everything that happens to her, her relationship with Farweather doesn't go anywhere despite all the potential for them to learn about each other and change each other...
And that's to say nothing of her whole secret backstory and the wasted potential there. From the get-go it felt like her allusions to her upbringing were leading to a future moment of change, even though she'd already thrown off that upbringing it still felt like it was going to be important. When Singer's first ship body was destroyed I was **sure** that we were going to find out it was the Synarch that had done it, because what ELSE could the introduction of a sexy anarchist and the explosion of Haimey's home be leading to except a shift in her perspective about right-minding and trusting the government? But no-- the Synarch's goodness remained untouched in Haimey's mind, despite finding out that they, with the approval of the family she'd gone out of her way to disengage from, had completely altered her memory of some deeply traumatic events in order to make her a more productive citizen of the Synarch. Farweather still remained unsympathetic despite the opportunity to open up her character and make these events change her too. There wasn't even more than a glancing consideration of body horror as Haimey deals with having a literal alien parasite in her blood.
Elizabeth Bear is a good writer, and a prolific one, so I'm not going to let this color my thoughts on her and her oeuvre. The worldbuilding in this is really great, from the hard science stuff to the alien species to things like Haimey having her feet modified into a second pair of hands since she's lived all her life in zero-gravity. However, I won't be reading the next books in the series, because I cannot fathom spending that many hours in the mind of a human run-on sentence. Not even the eight-foot-tall praying mantis sheriff can bring me back. Also, I really didn't like the audiobook narrator for this, I thought she sounded way too posh and was very ill-matched to the tone of the book, which I'm sure didn't help much. Either way, I've satisfied my completionism, and am moving on to things I'm much more excited about.
wryterra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kmmcdono's review against another edition
2.0
Should have been so much more interesting. (Spoilers; just want to vent) Super boring, main character superficially diverse and interesting (I was so excited for a lesbian POC engineer lead!) but in practice every “not like other girls” I’ve ever read about, briefly cheered for the MC when she shut off her futury mind computer and thought for herself, but she can’t get it back online fast enough to go into a mellow boring paladin like state of doing the “right” thing (according to the central government) constantly. Also, I believe Elizabeth Bear must have been in a bet with a buddy about whether or not she could write a book that used the word “atavistic” 57 times.
lyleblosser's review against another edition
3.0
Four stars for the aliens, universe, main plot and characters - reduced to three stars for the (to me) unnecessary philosophical, political, and emotional interaction with the antagonist and corresponding deep dive into the protagonist's past.
archergal's review against another edition
4.0
Alternating between ebook and audio, because audio narrator is kinda hard for me to understand.
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ETA: finished listening to this today while I was sewing masks for COVID19. I really liked it! It's a nice good hard SF story with an interesting female heroine. I liked all the spaceship stuff and the epic galaxy-spanning adventure.
I know I've bounced off some of Elizabeth Bear's work in the past. (Note: I bounce off a LOT of books. I'm insanely picky in my old age.) But this was pretty perfect for me. It was also mostly optimistic, which I NEEDED right now like a fish needs water. So thank you for that, Ms. Bear!
I did have some trouble understanding the narrator of the audiobook. There are some voices and accents that I have to work to understand, and hers was one of them.
+1, would read again, and I rarely do that.
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ETA: finished listening to this today while I was sewing masks for COVID19. I really liked it! It's a nice good hard SF story with an interesting female heroine. I liked all the spaceship stuff and the epic galaxy-spanning adventure.
I know I've bounced off some of Elizabeth Bear's work in the past. (Note: I bounce off a LOT of books. I'm insanely picky in my old age.) But this was pretty perfect for me. It was also mostly optimistic, which I NEEDED right now like a fish needs water. So thank you for that, Ms. Bear!
I did have some trouble understanding the narrator of the audiobook. There are some voices and accents that I have to work to understand, and hers was one of them.
+1, would read again, and I rarely do that.