Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
slow-paced
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was beautifully written and I think the ideas being explored were really interesting. Great sci-fi political philosophy, and pretty poetic at that. The descriptions of light were one of my favorite parts. What didn’t sit well with me was how, despite this taking place in the future, gender roles are reinforced in all the characters’ professions, interests, and so on. Like all the women are in artistic professions and only care about appearances and romance and the men are politicians and engineers and heroes. There’s a few scenes that are just outright sexist and this isn’t challenged by the narrative in a meaningful way. I don’t think it would have been that difficult to throw in a bit more variety in there and make it work with the worldbuilding, even if it was just in people’s descriptions of life on earth or a background character’s story.
I try not to read too many books set on Mars. They can bring to mind so many tired tropes. Then there are those who seek to superimpose a political agenda, and use Mars/Earth as stand-ins for some less-than-stellar (see what I did there?) comparisons of political systems. Then there are books which bring to mind the ones I consider seminal, at least to me.
"Vagabonds" brought to mind "Red Star" by Alexander Bogdanovich. I admit, it had at first to do with the comparison of a Communist Mars versus a Capitalist Earth. Where Bogdanovich's prose is meant to strike like a hammer, though, Hao delivers subtlety. She is able to dance between the two world systems while ultimately rendering no judgment on either. To leave a discussion of this book here, though, would not be fair.
What shines is the storytelling itself. The language, the people coming to terms with their lives and the History that underpins it all. There is also a feeling of lives being lived in the background, while you are busy reading about something else: not an easy trick to do. Characters come and go, picking up where they left off, or where they have moved on to. An excellent read packed with big ideas, the weight of history and our relationship to it. It's ultimately a story about people.
"Vagabonds" brought to mind "Red Star" by Alexander Bogdanovich. I admit, it had at first to do with the comparison of a Communist Mars versus a Capitalist Earth. Where Bogdanovich's prose is meant to strike like a hammer, though, Hao delivers subtlety. She is able to dance between the two world systems while ultimately rendering no judgment on either. To leave a discussion of this book here, though, would not be fair.
What shines is the storytelling itself. The language, the people coming to terms with their lives and the History that underpins it all. There is also a feeling of lives being lived in the background, while you are busy reading about something else: not an easy trick to do. Characters come and go, picking up where they left off, or where they have moved on to. An excellent read packed with big ideas, the weight of history and our relationship to it. It's ultimately a story about people.
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this philosophical exploration of the meaning and life and the best form of government as seen through Mars-born humans and especially the group of teenagers who completed the first Mars Earth exchange.
I don’t know if it’s me, Liu’s translations in particular, or just the difficulty of translating from Chinese into English, but neither this nor The Three-Body Problem do anything at all for me.
The prose is alright, but the beginning seems to consist purely of an infodump. I’m too old and too impatient to slog through this sort of thing any more.
Maybe I should try Bradbury.
The prose is alright, but the beginning seems to consist purely of an infodump. I’m too old and too impatient to slog through this sort of thing any more.
Maybe I should try Bradbury.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Vagabonds is character-centred sci-fi set between a colonised Mars and a future Earth. Most of the story is told through the eyes of a group of Martian teenagers who have spent five years on Earth. I liked the characters, but felt that Luoying is given so much more depth than the others that it feels a bit unbalanced.
I also wished there had been more of a cohesive plot. Although it all makes sense, I felt there could have been a bigger story told (especially given the length of the book!). For example, because most of the characters don't have a strong view about whether the Martian city moves to the crater, it isn't given much importance. Similarly, a potential war doesn't end up happening. This book is more focused on the story of Luoying and her friends - in this sense Vagabonds could be read as a coming-of-age novel, but the ending isn't particularly satisfying if that is the case.
The Martian central archive and the idea of art and creation in a communist utopia that Hao sets up starts as an interesting premise but isn't then taken further. We don't know what happens to these aspects of Martian society after the city moves, because the novel ends. The protest started by the teenagers doesn't turn into a revolution, and in fact ends rather flatly. Eko had wanted to take these ideas back to Earth, and Davosky had also taken a blueprint for the archive to Earth, but apart from Eko seemingly giving up we never hear more about this.
Writing this review has thrown up so many elements of the novel that I disliked. However I actually quite enjoyed reading it. Hao writes well with interesting ideas and characters you want to hear more from.
I also wished there had been more of a cohesive plot. Although it all makes sense, I felt there could have been a bigger story told (especially given the length of the book!). For example, because most of the characters don't have a strong view about whether the Martian city moves to the crater, it isn't given much importance. Similarly, a potential war doesn't end up happening. This book is more focused on the story of Luoying and her friends - in this sense Vagabonds could be read as a coming-of-age novel, but the ending isn't particularly satisfying if that is the case.
The Martian central archive and the idea of art and creation in a communist utopia that Hao sets up starts as an interesting premise but isn't then taken further. We don't know what happens to these aspects of Martian society after the city moves, because the novel ends. The protest started by the teenagers doesn't turn into a revolution, and in fact ends rather flatly. Eko had wanted to take these ideas back to Earth, and Davosky had also taken a blueprint for the archive to Earth, but apart from Eko seemingly giving up we never hear more about this.
Writing this review has thrown up so many elements of the novel that I disliked. However I actually quite enjoyed reading it. Hao writes well with interesting ideas and characters you want to hear more from.
Vagabonds was a powerful tale. It required certain circumstances to drive home its core messages, and the "worlds"-building to do so was executed masterfully. Living in Hans Sloan's headspace at the end was an especially rewarding gut-punch to the mind and to the heart.
The primary qualm I had with this book was its meandering nature. There was a LOT of fat that could be trimmed; many perspectives we could have eliminated without losing the core of the story. Luoying was not the most compelling protagonist. The voices I appreciated the most were those of Hans, Anka, Reini, Rudy, and Pierre. Even Reini's perspective could have been trimmed at the start; it didn't become compelling until later. I understand the purpose of fleshing out others who live ordinary lives (from Luoying to Eko to Chania to Gielle), but we spent SO MUCH time in their headspace without much payout.
The other criticism I had stemmed from the depiction of women. None had roles of TRUE importance here, and some narrators even expressed misogynistic views. If this is supposed to be a form of utopia, I can only hope that the Mars of two centuries ahead would be more progressive than this depiction.
This book did get me thinking about many things though. It subtly drew differences in ideological pedagogies and showed how they wielded the same maxims to gain support. Everyone wants freedom, but should it be freedom from or freedom to? I grew up in an environment where freedom to do things was upheld with the highest regard, yet seeing how COVID-19 has ravaged our "free" societies makes me envious of those that prioritize freedom from pain, suffering, disease, and so-forth at the expense of personal freedoms (if at most for a little while). Mars and Earth depicted in this book made such a point with finesse, and captured the warring emotions of those who lived a life in-between. It is a sentiment that I hope will reach those who haven't led a hyphenated existence between cultures.
I also thought about a quote from discontent young adults I know. They've lamented the state of their lives: "Go to work, go home, have a few hours of leisure, then sleep. Live for two days of freedom each week, or a few weeks of vacation a year. Is this all there is to life?" I've never known what to say to these sorrowful souls; the people who felt depressed and down-trodden. But in the grand scheme of things — and this book brings us to the grandest of stages — I've come to realize that living such a comfortable life is a privilege. So many people fight to lead the lives we do, yet get beaten down again and again from conflict and oppression. So many people toil away all their lives to give their descendants a better life, only for their efforts to remain futile in the face of poverty, inequality, or disaster (both natural and inflicted). Without knowing such hardship, we are prone to take our fortunate positions for granted. I understand how others' discontentment or malaise may arise, but I vehemently oppose such sentiments. Sloan shows how holding power responsibly comes at a great personal cost. I don't envy it.
Other musings came about regarding: change, history, human nature, impact, and more. I'm glad for the philosophical rumination that came from this book, even if many of those thoughts flow as freely as water.
The primary qualm I had with this book was its meandering nature. There was a LOT of fat that could be trimmed; many perspectives we could have eliminated without losing the core of the story. Luoying was not the most compelling protagonist. The voices I appreciated the most were those of Hans, Anka, Reini, Rudy, and Pierre. Even Reini's perspective could have been trimmed at the start; it didn't become compelling until later. I understand the purpose of fleshing out others who live ordinary lives (from Luoying to Eko to Chania to Gielle), but we spent SO MUCH time in their headspace without much payout.
The other criticism I had stemmed from the depiction of women. None had roles of TRUE importance here, and some narrators even expressed misogynistic views. If this is supposed to be a form of utopia, I can only hope that the Mars of two centuries ahead would be more progressive than this depiction.
This book did get me thinking about many things though. It subtly drew differences in ideological pedagogies and showed how they wielded the same maxims to gain support. Everyone wants freedom, but should it be freedom from or freedom to? I grew up in an environment where freedom to do things was upheld with the highest regard, yet seeing how COVID-19 has ravaged our "free" societies makes me envious of those that prioritize freedom from pain, suffering, disease, and so-forth at the expense of personal freedoms (if at most for a little while). Mars and Earth depicted in this book made such a point with finesse, and captured the warring emotions of those who lived a life in-between. It is a sentiment that I hope will reach those who haven't led a hyphenated existence between cultures.
I also thought about a quote from discontent young adults I know. They've lamented the state of their lives: "Go to work, go home, have a few hours of leisure, then sleep. Live for two days of freedom each week, or a few weeks of vacation a year. Is this all there is to life?" I've never known what to say to these sorrowful souls; the people who felt depressed and down-trodden. But in the grand scheme of things — and this book brings us to the grandest of stages — I've come to realize that living such a comfortable life is a privilege. So many people fight to lead the lives we do, yet get beaten down again and again from conflict and oppression. So many people toil away all their lives to give their descendants a better life, only for their efforts to remain futile in the face of poverty, inequality, or disaster (both natural and inflicted). Without knowing such hardship, we are prone to take our fortunate positions for granted. I understand how others' discontentment or malaise may arise, but I vehemently oppose such sentiments. Sloan shows how holding power responsibly comes at a great personal cost. I don't envy it.
Other musings came about regarding: change, history, human nature, impact, and more. I'm glad for the philosophical rumination that came from this book, even if many of those thoughts flow as freely as water.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes