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justiceofkalr's review against another edition
5.0
Three and a half stars.
This book starts out pretty slow for the first third or so and then gets massively better. Still I'd like to have cut out most of the chapters with the alien "hiza", also called Downers by the humans. A couple other reviewers have noted the weird slave stereotype undertones to them. Their complete servitude really bugged me and the way they talked was so hellish to slog through. And on top of it I didn't really feel like their chapters added that much. I wanted to put the book down every time I got to one of Satin's chapters.
The first third is a lot of set-up and at times feels a bit slow and confusing. It's worth it and necessary in order to set up for the rest of the book. After the set-up things massively pick up and get interesting with a three way war. Signy Mallory who appears only briefly at the very beginning takes a much larger role when the action picks up. She's probably my favorite character in the book. The Konstantins, who effectively rule Pell, are also fairly interesting but at times the feel kind of flat and boring in their constant and unwavering goodness. Despite not liking Lukas he was a much more interesting character in his scheming.
So while the set-up is kind of a pain the rest of the book is worth it by far. I'm glad I stuck with it to the end.
This book starts out pretty slow for the first third or so and then gets massively better. Still I'd like to have cut out most of the chapters with the alien "hiza", also called Downers by the humans. A couple other reviewers have noted the weird slave stereotype undertones to them. Their complete servitude really bugged me and the way they talked was so hellish to slog through. And on top of it I didn't really feel like their chapters added that much. I wanted to put the book down every time I got to one of Satin's chapters.
The first third is a lot of set-up and at times feels a bit slow and confusing. It's worth it and necessary in order to set up for the rest of the book. After the set-up things massively pick up and get interesting with a three way war. Signy Mallory who appears only briefly at the very beginning takes a much larger role when the action picks up. She's probably my favorite character in the book. The Konstantins, who effectively rule Pell, are also fairly interesting but at times the feel kind of flat and boring in their constant and unwavering goodness. Despite not liking Lukas he was a much more interesting character in his scheming.
So while the set-up is kind of a pain the rest of the book is worth it by far. I'm glad I stuck with it to the end.
mabs's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
chirson's review against another edition
3.0
It's fascinating, but prohibitively written at points. There are many issues with it that made me uncomfortable, and the perspective made it quite a challenge at times, but I am glad to have read it, and since I liked Cyteen a lot, will give another Cherryh a try at some point.
mbs1236's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A great story that shows why it is a Hugo-award winning novel. Cherryh at her best!
sillypunk's review
1.0
THIS WAS SO BORING. THE MOST BORING. THE BORINGEST: https://blogendorff.com/2018/04/21/book-review-downbelow-staton/
skylar2's review
2.0
The author's narration style detracts from what is otherwise an interesting setting (the only reason it gets two stars rather than one). For most of the book, chapters are only a few pages long, and each chapter break involves a switch to another set of characters. Unfortunately, the book is supposed to be character-driven, so this makes it impossible to connect with any of the characters. I found I didn't really care who died or lived happily (or sadly) ever after by the end.
rossbm's review
Just kind of bland. The writing style is interesting, would describe as "punchy". Setting was kind o interesting at first, but as developed became less believable. Characters flat. There's a bad guy that you know is bad cause he thinks bad thoughts and is an asshole.
mikey_clarke's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5. This is a great story and a fascinating universe. I appreciated the focus on the economics of interstellar trade in driving the history and plot. I also found the Union an interesting society that I’m eager to read more about. I suspect they might have been an inspiration of the Azeans in CS Friedman’s In Conquest Born, with their genetic and psychic manipulation of their own people. I liked the Hisa as well: while they’re pretty standard SF aliens in terms of their physical characteristics and biology, I found them very likable and endearing. My only negative is that due to the complexity of the plot and many, many POV characters, it can be a bit difficult to follow everything that’s going on. However, I found it worth the effort, and I look forward to reading more of Cherryh’s books in this universe.
lyrrael's review
3.0
I've given up on this book for the time being; I was halfway through, put it down, and then realized I hadn't picked it back up in a week and hadn't missed it, which is a flashing neon warning sign that it's not worth the work to finish it. Might come back to it sometime since it's been suggested that it's such a pivotal work of fiction, but I dunno.