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scheu's review against another edition
5.0
I've never read a story by a writer that grasped, and could convey, alienness the way that Rebecca Ore does in this book. It's very compelling and very weird. The novel also comes off as being very cold; however, to be honest, once you get far enough into the story, the main character gets better (years later) at interpreting alien emotions, and better at dealing with his own.
An underrated SF gem.
An underrated SF gem.
rebekah_l's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
javamamanc's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
cornflower's review
3.0
Mixed feelings. The beginning seemed like a regular science fiction adventure, then it was like falling down the rabbit hole into a completely different book altogether. The complexity of the alien races, societies, interactions and issues was brilliant and awe inspiring. it was, though, awfully hard to follow at times and the pace slowed a lot.
edgeworth's review
3.0
An alien survives a crash-landing in the Appalachians and is rescued by a teenager who, through a series of odd events, ends up being recruited as a cadet for a galactic federation of starfaring species. That makes it sound very YA, and in fact I thought I'd be getting something like Bruce Coville's "Aliens" series that I loved as a kid, but it's a much more mature and serious story than that. Largely plotless, it's mostly an exploration of xenophobia, culture clash, and the truly alienating (ha ha) experience of being the only human navigating the politics of an inter-species institution. Not compelling enough for me to carry on with the series, but I admired what Ore was trying to do with it and think it was a worthy Philip K. Dick nominee. If it sounds like it would be up your alley then give it a go.
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