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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was recommended this book, as I have a reputation amongst friends and family for liking happy endings and hopeful plotlines. Quarter Share has that. But its optimistic outlook isn’t enough to support the story. What is missing is a solid plot, conflicts, and diversity amongst the characters.
Rather than a plot, we instead have a journal-like memoir from the viewpoint of Ishmael Wang, a crew member of the Lois McKendrick a deep-space freighter. We learn about the death of his mother and his inability to find work on his home planet, which was literally going to evict him. He enlisted for a two year stint with this huge commercial freighter, in spite of having absolutely no experience in space.
From there, its a day-by-day accounting of his experiences as the ship’s rookie as he learns the ropes, studies to earn a better position on the ship, and makes friends. Unfortunately, the challenges aren’t very challenging, his daily life is a repetitive routine of working in the ships kitchens, making coffee, having dull conversations with smiling, vapid friends, and ending each day with a run and a sauna. For excitement, the routine is occasionally broken up by a practice emergency drill (no need to fret, they always *know* its a drill).
The action hits top speed as Ishmael and his friends figure out how to successfully make a bit of profit at the flea markets that seem to be ubiquitous on every planet they visit. Oh, and they learn about mushroom farming.
That’s it – that’s the action. Flea markets and mushroom farms. Neither of which offer any sort of real challenge or conflict with anyone.
I can see what the author was aiming for. A re-telling of Horatio Hornblower, in space. A comfortable space-opera snuggly quilt to nestle down in after a hard day in our real world. Quarter Share is a literary sedative. It’s hard to be mad at it, but it’s also difficult to rave about it, either.
Oddly, I may read the next book in the series, Half Share, just to see if the author decided to intensify the reading experience. The series is beloved by quite a few readers, and I’d like to see if there’s more to it.
Rather than a plot, we instead have a journal-like memoir from the viewpoint of Ishmael Wang, a crew member of the Lois McKendrick a deep-space freighter. We learn about the death of his mother and his inability to find work on his home planet, which was literally going to evict him. He enlisted for a two year stint with this huge commercial freighter, in spite of having absolutely no experience in space.
From there, its a day-by-day accounting of his experiences as the ship’s rookie as he learns the ropes, studies to earn a better position on the ship, and makes friends. Unfortunately, the challenges aren’t very challenging, his daily life is a repetitive routine of working in the ships kitchens, making coffee, having dull conversations with smiling, vapid friends, and ending each day with a run and a sauna. For excitement, the routine is occasionally broken up by a practice emergency drill (no need to fret, they always *know* its a drill).
The action hits top speed as Ishmael and his friends figure out how to successfully make a bit of profit at the flea markets that seem to be ubiquitous on every planet they visit. Oh, and they learn about mushroom farming.
That’s it – that’s the action. Flea markets and mushroom farms. Neither of which offer any sort of real challenge or conflict with anyone.
I can see what the author was aiming for. A re-telling of Horatio Hornblower, in space. A comfortable space-opera snuggly quilt to nestle down in after a hard day in our real world. Quarter Share is a literary sedative. It’s hard to be mad at it, but it’s also difficult to rave about it, either.
Oddly, I may read the next book in the series, Half Share, just to see if the author decided to intensify the reading experience. The series is beloved by quite a few readers, and I’d like to see if there’s more to it.
A very pleasant Sci-Fi story. Nothing much happens, but to me that was the beauty of it. I was interesting enough and calming to read. It's the same with zombie apocalypse for me - I like action, but there's always not enough of day to day life for me. This book fixes it for me with Sci-Fi :)
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
relaxing
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
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
I'm a little conflicted on how to rate this book. On the one hand, it was a short, reasonably engaging read. I felt moderately invested in the characters and didn't feel like it was a struggle to force myself to finish, unlike some other books I've read in the past. On the other hand, it is so badly written.
The setting of the book is meant to highlight the lives of ordinary, working class people. There is a heavy focus on dialogue and interactions between characters. But they all talked in the exact same stilted, strangely formal style that felt so unnatural it broke my immersion in the story.
The author also has a few specific words that he overuses to the point that I found spotting them became a game. Using the search function on my Kindle, I found the word grin/grinned is used over 300 times in the book's 250 pages. Chuckle/chuckled is used over 100 times. Again, once I noticed these quirks, every time they appeared in the writing the immersion was immediately broken.
There's also a lot of cliches. Dead parent, naturally gifted protagonist, bumbling but well intentioned sidekick, tough man that secretly has a heart of gold, etc.
I'll admit there is a certain charm to this book, and as a reader I'm usually happy to overlook a bit of awkwardness if I'm getting a good story. But there were so many aspects of the writing that felt unpolished and frankly amateur that I can't give it more than 2 stars.
The setting of the book is meant to highlight the lives of ordinary, working class people. There is a heavy focus on dialogue and interactions between characters. But they all talked in the exact same stilted, strangely formal style that felt so unnatural it broke my immersion in the story.
The author also has a few specific words that he overuses to the point that I found spotting them became a game. Using the search function on my Kindle, I found the word grin/grinned is used over 300 times in the book's 250 pages. Chuckle/chuckled is used over 100 times. Again, once I noticed these quirks, every time they appeared in the writing the immersion was immediately broken.
There's also a lot of cliches. Dead parent, naturally gifted protagonist, bumbling but well intentioned sidekick, tough man that secretly has a heart of gold, etc.
I'll admit there is a certain charm to this book, and as a reader I'm usually happy to overlook a bit of awkwardness if I'm getting a good story. But there were so many aspects of the writing that felt unpolished and frankly amateur that I can't give it more than 2 stars.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Needs more coffee.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No