Reviews

Alanya to Alanya by L. Timmel Duchamp

magnetgrrl's review against another edition

I finally just gave up on this book, which was ultimately just too political for me, as a novel. I felt like I was reading some text on political theory or a history book. That, and I either hated or was completely disinterested in all the characters, who kept treating each other fairly horribly without any explanation.

Think Galactic selection for April.

reasie's review against another edition

4.0

This book had a truly awful villain. I hated him so much! It made it a natural page-turner, anxiously awaiting his comeuppance.
I liked the heroine too, and how believably she changes over the course of the story. It was satisfying to have her grow stronger. And the aliens are nicely alien. Will be seeking out the sequels!

mdpenguin's review

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

There was a lot that was interesting and even good in this, but it did have its weaknesses and, ultimately, I didn't really enjoy reading it. I think that the biggest problem for me was that I didn't really believe in either Zeldin or Sedgewick. I also never really came to sympathize with Zeldin, which was a problem since the vast majority of the story was told from her perspective. I kind of liked Magyyt, but Martha was too naive for me and never really felt like a character worth following. I think that if there had been a better perspective for me to follow and it focused less on the Zeldin/Sedgewick dynamic then I'd have enjoyed it a lot more. 

As to the general plot and the world, the book is heavy-handed, but that doesn't bug me that much. What does, though, is that it doesn't explain its world that well. The result for me was a world coming across as functionally too simplistic but with a sociopolitical structure that seems like it's actually fairly complex that doesn't get enough of an explanation. It's also way too US-centric while also more or less explicitly criticizing itself for being so, making it pretty much impossible to ignore. And there was some mild hints of people who weren't white folks descended from western Christendom, but they didn't play a particularly large role. In fact, the only character whom I might have actually wanted to follow was a Black activist named Jo Josepha, who is introduced like she's a big deal in the beginning but later just fades away. There are other issues, in terms of believability, but considering that it's basically a allegorical polemic, I can shrug off a lot of that. Overall, I'm interested in where the world is going later in the series, but can't bring myself to read on. 

tiggum's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This book is very good, but very bleak. The state of the world at the beginning is entirely plausible, and the idea that the only thing that can prevent or undo it is the arrival of godlike aliens all too easy to accept. Yes, it would be very nice if some friendly aliens showed up and fixed everything - and this is certainly a more realistic portrayal of that concept than the more common options of utopia imposed without resistance, or spontaneous and unanimous raising of consciousness - but the basic premise is still entirely unrealistic. No one's coming to save us.

The only issue I had with the book otherwise was that the protagonists's

selective amnesia

is awfully convenient, allowing her to be the sort of person she needs to be for the plot to happen while being in a position that that sort of person would never be in.  It's fine though. It works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Violence and Stalking

wealhtheow's review against another edition

2.0

To prevent humans from doing further harm to their planet or to themselves, the Marq ssan render all silicon-based technology useless. To regain the tech that this future society depends on, the Marq ssan demand that each and every country send three female representatives to negotiate. In the US, former spy, current history teacher Kay is tapped for the "honor". She is prepared for any eventuality except the one she finds: that the Marq ssan are truly aliens, and her only allies.

This was a frustrating book. I was excited by the set-up. What would life be like in a city without telephones, transportation, elevators, computers or tv? Would living in a city become untenable? What would take the place of instantaneous communication--runners? bike messengers? What about food--would people start growing their own on rooftops? And leisure activities--without tv or the internet, and with most of the jobs shut down (thanks to no tech), how would people pass the time?
None of these questions are answered.

I did like the aliens. They are as disquieted and disgusted by human biology as humans find them. The aliens that work most closely with the women find themselves changing; they become more active, less concerned with concensus, and more bold. I was glad to see that the situation was hard on the aliens, as well, instead of the usual portrayal of their god-like benevolence.