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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
sabrinahughes's review against another edition
Not hooked by 20%. Character development is too slow.
mare_cognitum's review against another edition
2.0
The inside front cover promised me a story about a woman driven enough to replace her heart with a bionic one to fulfill her dream of becoming a spaceship pilot. That's a tiny portion of the book. The rest is a story about a man who .
Spoiler
discovers he has super-special powers that will revolutionize the industry, and saves the previously-mentioned woman who has become a damsel in distressjcpinckney's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kiskadee's review against another edition
5.0
the fact that it took me 2 years and 7 months to read this does not reflect my enjoyment of it
charbroiled's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hoppy500's review against another edition
4.0
Superluminal by Vonda N. McIntyre
"She gave up her heart quite willingly" is the arresting first line of Superluminal.
Figuratively? Literally? Or both?
This novel has three protagonists who seem equally important to the story. Laenea Trevelyan has submitted to physical alterations in order to pilot starships at superluminal speeds safely. Ordinary crew members must remain in a drug-induced sleep during transit in order to survive, and waking up prematurely means certain death. Laenea is anxious to embark on her first training flight so that she can experience for herself what no pilot has ever been able or willing to explain to any outsiders.
Radu Dracul is a crew member who accidentally regains consciousness during faster-than-light travel, but who suffers no ill effects. He eventually discovers he can even perceive dimensions which are closed to most pilots, and this deepens his special relationship with Laenea.
Another crew member, Orca, is a "diver", a genetically modified human who is most at home in the ocean with her killer-whale "cousins".
As the plot unfolds, the adventures of these well-drawn characters take them to the end of the universe and among the wise denizens of the oceans, and they begin to discern that these seemingly largely dissimilar realms may in fact be closely connected with each other.
The story is not as tightly plotted as McIntyre's The Exile Waiting, which packed a huge amount of detail into just over two hundred pages. Superluminal moves at a relatively slow place in parts, but this may be in keeping with the more transcendent subject matter.
An overall theme would seem to be the limitations of language to express the unique experiences of individuals, although by the end of the book at least partial solutions to this difficulty are entering within the range of possibility.
The narrative ends quite abruptly, and the fact that many of the fascinating ideas introduced are never fully explored may disappoint some readers. The author could certainly have extended this novel or written a sequel, but she did not do so. In some ways, it might be more poignant to leave to our imaginations the eventual fates of the characters.
"She gave up her heart quite willingly" is the arresting first line of Superluminal.
Figuratively? Literally? Or both?
This novel has three protagonists who seem equally important to the story. Laenea Trevelyan has submitted to physical alterations in order to pilot starships at superluminal speeds safely. Ordinary crew members must remain in a drug-induced sleep during transit in order to survive, and waking up prematurely means certain death. Laenea is anxious to embark on her first training flight so that she can experience for herself what no pilot has ever been able or willing to explain to any outsiders.
Radu Dracul is a crew member who accidentally regains consciousness during faster-than-light travel, but who suffers no ill effects. He eventually discovers he can even perceive dimensions which are closed to most pilots, and this deepens his special relationship with Laenea.
Another crew member, Orca, is a "diver", a genetically modified human who is most at home in the ocean with her killer-whale "cousins".
As the plot unfolds, the adventures of these well-drawn characters take them to the end of the universe and among the wise denizens of the oceans, and they begin to discern that these seemingly largely dissimilar realms may in fact be closely connected with each other.
The story is not as tightly plotted as McIntyre's The Exile Waiting, which packed a huge amount of detail into just over two hundred pages. Superluminal moves at a relatively slow place in parts, but this may be in keeping with the more transcendent subject matter.
An overall theme would seem to be the limitations of language to express the unique experiences of individuals, although by the end of the book at least partial solutions to this difficulty are entering within the range of possibility.
The narrative ends quite abruptly, and the fact that many of the fascinating ideas introduced are never fully explored may disappoint some readers. The author could certainly have extended this novel or written a sequel, but she did not do so. In some ways, it might be more poignant to leave to our imaginations the eventual fates of the characters.
catapocalypse's review against another edition
2.0
This was the third of four books by Vonda McIntyre gifted to me by someone who had known her.
I had looked forward to reading this expansion of McIntyre's novella, "Aztecs," but it turned out to be disappointing. The original novella was very physically and emotionally connected to the characters, and the pilot Laenea in particular. It served as the first few chapters of the novel almost unchanged, so I was shocked to find that the majority of the book afterward focused on Radu's point of view, instead. Laenea got pushed into the background, and never wholly returned to the level of focus that the early chapters gave her. Orca and the entire concept of the Divers felt shoved in at the beginning (her section wasn't in the original novella), despite their importance by the end. I think the themes and premises of the Pilots and the Divers would have benefited from a lengthier book or even two separate books.
So much of the book felt detached from the characters compared to its beginning, which is a shame since many felt promising, if only we could have spent more time with them. Some of the interactions between characters were baffling, anger flaring at the drop of a hat because the characters were suddenly too stubborn or obtuse to handle a situation well. Then at other times, they'd suddenly have a brilliant insight into what another person would do or was doing. None of that felt like it fit together well, so I've rated it 2.5 stars.
I had looked forward to reading this expansion of McIntyre's novella, "Aztecs," but it turned out to be disappointing. The original novella was very physically and emotionally connected to the characters, and the pilot Laenea in particular. It served as the first few chapters of the novel almost unchanged, so I was shocked to find that the majority of the book afterward focused on Radu's point of view, instead. Laenea got pushed into the background, and never wholly returned to the level of focus that the early chapters gave her. Orca and the entire concept of the Divers felt shoved in at the beginning (her section wasn't in the original novella), despite their importance by the end. I think the themes and premises of the Pilots and the Divers would have benefited from a lengthier book or even two separate books.
So much of the book felt detached from the characters compared to its beginning, which is a shame since many felt promising, if only we could have spent more time with them. Some of the interactions between characters were baffling, anger flaring at the drop of a hat because the characters were suddenly too stubborn or obtuse to handle a situation well. Then at other times, they'd suddenly have a brilliant insight into what another person would do or was doing. None of that felt like it fit together well, so I've rated it 2.5 stars.