Scan barcode
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'In the Company of Others' by Julie E. Czerneda was the January pick for my online book club. I thought the book was pretty good.
In the future, we travel to other planets and terraform, but something goes wrong. A species called the Quill is found and they are deadly to most humans. When a baby is rescued from the planet, years later, it is determined that he may be the key to solving the conflict with the aliens, either through destruction or understanding.
I liked the complex motives of the many characters. There is a love story that develops along the way, and I was less crazy about that, but your mileage may vary.
In the future, we travel to other planets and terraform, but something goes wrong. A species called the Quill is found and they are deadly to most humans. When a baby is rescued from the planet, years later, it is determined that he may be the key to solving the conflict with the aliens, either through destruction or understanding.
I liked the complex motives of the many characters. There is a love story that develops along the way, and I was less crazy about that, but your mileage may vary.
acgene's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kayteeem's review against another edition
Enjoyed the story, but didn't buy the romance. The world building was top notch.
kasaka's review against another edition
4.0
This book started out pretty slow. Sometimes it was a slog to get through overall. But the story and the themes that were attempted at were very admirable.
I enjoyed the twist at the end, even though it was kinda confusing.
I enjoyed the twist at the end, even though it was kinda confusing.
awesomejen2's review against another edition
2.0
This was only an ok book. I think the main reason I didn't care for it was the pacing which was way too slow. It took way too long to get to the main destination and too many side plots were thrown in. The romance between the main characters felt contrived and was wholly unnecessary.
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This could have been a five star book except for the shoehorned in insta-love situation (and very slow beginning).
The novel opens up during humanity's deep space colonization efforts going wrong thanks to the Quill Effect - instant death when in contact with a formerly benign iridescent fungal/strand-like organism that spacers wore. As Sol shuts down and prevents all humans outside the system from returning home with the contagion, rumours begin to swirl of a survivor. Two decades later, and Thromberg Station is visited by a research vessel seeking that very survivor - Aaron Pardell, born with the inability to touch another human being without extreme pain. And he holds the secret to curing the Quill Effect.
The first half of the novel is spent on Thromberg station - we learn a <i>lot</i> about Thromberg's culture, people, and history and we're introduced to some of our key characters, including Pardell and his best friend, Malley. The second half is spent travelling to one specific planet and then attempting to fix everything going horribly wrong (because humans). Unfortunately, I think readers would've benefitted from at least 50 less pages at Thromberg and 50 more pages in the second half.
And no goddamn insta-love and pseudo-love triangle. I refuse to believe Czerneda managed to write herself into a corner so badly with the Quill's conceptualization that the only way things could have been resolved is Gail Smith and Aaron Pardell falling madly in love in a matter of days and their bond helping save everyone. She's a good writer so no excuses.
Gail Smith is the quintessential driven, smart, self-centered, seeking scientific glory, character. And she throws a lot of the away after she meets Aaron. I could've believed their relationship more if they had spent more than a few weeks together! It was honestly maddening how quickly those two fell in "love" (all the more tortured because they couldn't touch). Meanwhile Gail and Malley have a weird semi-sexual tension thing going on too... This book would've been a lot better without those elements, in my opinion.
Thankfully the writing, the rest of the plot, the world building, and secondary characters like Malley and Grant (who needed his own POV chapters I think) made up for it and had me reading all the way to the conclusion. Which was satisfying but could've used more pages to wrap things up in my opinion. The short story added to my edition, "The Franchise," was excellent as it follows some of the minor characters from Thromberg Station and I really recommend it.
Overall, this was a book I picked up completely on whim - had never heard of the author or title - and enjoyed the experience (except for the above ranting). I'll probably check out more of Czerneda's works because her worldbuilding and characters (for the most part) are fantastic.
The novel opens up during humanity's deep space colonization efforts going wrong thanks to the Quill Effect - instant death when in contact with a formerly benign iridescent fungal/strand-like organism that spacers wore. As Sol shuts down and prevents all humans outside the system from returning home with the contagion, rumours begin to swirl of a survivor. Two decades later, and Thromberg Station is visited by a research vessel seeking that very survivor - Aaron Pardell, born with the inability to touch another human being without extreme pain. And he holds the secret to curing the Quill Effect.
The first half of the novel is spent on Thromberg station - we learn a <i>lot</i> about Thromberg's culture, people, and history and we're introduced to some of our key characters, including Pardell and his best friend, Malley. The second half is spent travelling to one specific planet and then attempting to fix everything going horribly wrong (because humans). Unfortunately, I think readers would've benefitted from at least 50 less pages at Thromberg and 50 more pages in the second half.
And no goddamn insta-love and pseudo-love triangle. I refuse to believe Czerneda managed to write herself into a corner so badly with the Quill's conceptualization that the only way things could have been resolved is Gail Smith and Aaron Pardell falling madly in love in a matter of days and their bond helping save everyone. She's a good writer so no excuses.
Gail Smith is the quintessential driven, smart, self-centered, seeking scientific glory, character. And she throws a lot of the away after she meets Aaron. I could've believed their relationship more if they had spent more than a few weeks together! It was honestly maddening how quickly those two fell in "love" (all the more tortured because they couldn't touch). Meanwhile Gail and Malley have a weird semi-sexual tension thing going on too... This book would've been a lot better without those elements, in my opinion.
Thankfully the writing, the rest of the plot, the world building, and secondary characters like Malley and Grant (who needed his own POV chapters I think) made up for it and had me reading all the way to the conclusion. Which was satisfying but could've used more pages to wrap things up in my opinion. The short story added to my edition, "The Franchise," was excellent as it follows some of the minor characters from Thromberg Station and I really recommend it.
Overall, this was a book I picked up completely on whim - had never heard of the author or title - and enjoyed the experience (except for the above ranting). I'll probably check out more of Czerneda's works because her worldbuilding and characters (for the most part) are fantastic.
ec_tyche's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
oceanwader's review
3.0
Have read other science fiction novels by Julie Czerneda and loved them (in particular, her Species Imperative series). Therefore, I began reading this book with hopeful anticipation.
The story is very good and the big ideas intriguing. However, they too often get lost. This novel would have benefited from an editor requesting that it be cut by at least one-third. (Editors sometimes ask authors to lengthen their novels, which might have happened here.) Too much of the book includes unnecessary description, comment, even whole sections. I found myself skipping a lot, trying to pick up the lost (or buried) thread of the story.
For these reasons, I am ambivalent about rating this work. Settled for 3 stars, with 2 for writing and 4 for story/ideas.
The story is very good and the big ideas intriguing. However, they too often get lost. This novel would have benefited from an editor requesting that it be cut by at least one-third. (Editors sometimes ask authors to lengthen their novels, which might have happened here.) Too much of the book includes unnecessary description, comment, even whole sections. I found myself skipping a lot, trying to pick up the lost (or buried) thread of the story.
For these reasons, I am ambivalent about rating this work. Settled for 3 stars, with 2 for writing and 4 for story/ideas.
valjeanval's review
3.0
I started out really liking this book. Great world building. Pretty interesting aliens. I liked the writing style. Then, about halfway through, it turned into a romance, and not the romance I actually wanted. By the end, this was the main plotline, and it really just fizzled out for me. I think romance in sci-fi is very tricky, and it's great when it works well, but this one just felt kind of childish and basic (especially when Grant and Malley are both way more interesting characters).
thestarman's review against another edition
2.0
REVIEW: Slow. 100+ pages just to get a guy off a space station. First 5% & last 20% interesting. Rest = *yawn*.
VERDICT: 2.33 stars for me.
VERDICT: 2.33 stars for me.