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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
DNF at ~25%. The premise is interesting and I thought the world-building on Mars was cool. I would have liked to see more of that. The story really didn't get going and the characters were not engaging. I saw someone say that there's way too much telling versus showing in this and I agree. Maybe I would pick this up again at a later point to see where it goes, but I have other books I would rather be reading right now.
less of a sci-fi and more of a book that happens to be set on Mars. As a Westerner, one can't but help think about our relationship and pre judgement of societies other than our own. Primarily follows a dancer returning from many years on Earth and how her experiences there make her reflect on Martian society. Other narrators include others of her exchange cohort, and the examination of her parents roles in revolution, and the actions of her powerful grandfather.
There were some things I really liked about this book. Some beautiful passages, interesting ideas and good writing but I got bored. I like character-driven sci-fi but this book didn't have enough going on in the plot to keep me interested and reading. I liked the exploration of two different worlds with different political and social structures and a group of young people feeling caught between the two. But ultimately I lost interest and didn't finish. Got about halfway.
I am rating this a 2.5 but I think this is a solid debut and translation and I am not likely the target audience. I was intrigued by the first impression. I did not know the length of the book until my ARC arrived and it made me hesitate but I love long books so I was hopeful.
I think several things went wrong for me. I don’t often read science fiction and when I do, they tend to be tightly packed with action like Red Riding or the Illuminae files or tightly worded like the fiction of Hugh Howey. The other thing is I read “Vagabonds” during the quarantine and it was not the escapism my mind is needing. The last thing that went wrong was the slow introduction to characters, but I think that is related to me wanting more action.
I think several things went wrong for me. I don’t often read science fiction and when I do, they tend to be tightly packed with action like Red Riding or the Illuminae files or tightly worded like the fiction of Hugh Howey. The other thing is I read “Vagabonds” during the quarantine and it was not the escapism my mind is needing. The last thing that went wrong was the slow introduction to characters, but I think that is related to me wanting more action.
This is a well-written book with a lot to say, but I felt it dragged a fair bit and a lot probably could have been cut. It also seems more focused on political philosophies than on people - for the most part, I didn't feel emotionally engaged with any of the characters (and when I did, I then lost interest because they didn't do much with the personal characterizations) and it's really hard to care about a story when you don't care about the people.
The book's pacing is a little bit of a slow burn, but all in all, it was a rather enjoyable, thought-provoking read. I liked how the tension of war wax and waned like waves and yet was ever-present in the narrative. Luoying's story splinters as the story progresses into different points of view and then wraps together into a cohesive whole at the end, a beautifully executed storytelling tactic.
If this is your first or second Chinese to English translation, you may find it jarring. It is a different type of storytelling, and that can take some adjustment.
If this is your first or second Chinese to English translation, you may find it jarring. It is a different type of storytelling, and that can take some adjustment.
/ KINETICS :: MOVEMENT /
▪️VAGABONDS by Hao Jingfang, translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu, 2016/2020.
Never before have I been so struck by the way ~movement~ plays into a story.
Rarely does literary fiction venture into the realms of physics, engineering, and kinetics in the way that VAGABONDS does. It also goes pretty deep into the movement of economics, geopolitics, and political philosophy & culture too.
I'll back up.
Hao Jingfang frames her story around a small group of young Martians who travel to Earth for 5 years. Mars and Earth have fought a long war - both hot and cold. This delegation is seen as a goodwill effort and to share scientific and cultural knowledge. The story starts just as this student delegation has returned to Mars, essentially as strangers in their own land.
Many other reviewers noted this one as a DNF and it is quite a challenging book to read if you're expecting a plot. The pace is slow and there are large digression / tangential sections on such things as glass architecture, aerodynamics, geography of Mars, economics, the philosophy of dance... It can be esoteric. But for me, that was also the thing that kept me so interested, and what will remain long after I've read.
I see the story as more of a series of slow waves, to keep with the movement metaphor. Waves that swell and build momentum over time, that cause shifts and changes in the surroundings. The waves that break down boulders and that form new channels. Sometimes the same waves that drown out and submerge.
▪️VAGABONDS by Hao Jingfang, translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu, 2016/2020.
Never before have I been so struck by the way ~movement~ plays into a story.
Rarely does literary fiction venture into the realms of physics, engineering, and kinetics in the way that VAGABONDS does. It also goes pretty deep into the movement of economics, geopolitics, and political philosophy & culture too.
I'll back up.
Hao Jingfang frames her story around a small group of young Martians who travel to Earth for 5 years. Mars and Earth have fought a long war - both hot and cold. This delegation is seen as a goodwill effort and to share scientific and cultural knowledge. The story starts just as this student delegation has returned to Mars, essentially as strangers in their own land.
Many other reviewers noted this one as a DNF and it is quite a challenging book to read if you're expecting a plot. The pace is slow and there are large digression / tangential sections on such things as glass architecture, aerodynamics, geography of Mars, economics, the philosophy of dance... It can be esoteric. But for me, that was also the thing that kept me so interested, and what will remain long after I've read.
I see the story as more of a series of slow waves, to keep with the movement metaphor. Waves that swell and build momentum over time, that cause shifts and changes in the surroundings. The waves that break down boulders and that form new channels. Sometimes the same waves that drown out and submerge.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Sci fi world conflict between earth and mars
challenging
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:
Complicated
While slow paced, the pacing still felt inconsistent. The writing/translation and analogies felt uninspired in several places.
Interesting concepts and ideas are tackled in the book through the eyes of a handful of characters and a large fraction of the book is just dedicated to relationship building/progression.
I muddled through it over an agonisingly long stretch, finished it and...I finished it.
It's not for me, it may be for you.
Interesting concepts and ideas are tackled in the book through the eyes of a handful of characters and a large fraction of the book is just dedicated to relationship building/progression.
I muddled through it over an agonisingly long stretch, finished it and...I finished it.
It's not for me, it may be for you.
I was enjoying this book very much, but because it was a library book, I couldn't keep it indefinitely and I believe this would've been a book that would take me at least another month to finish. I'll come back to it later when I have more free time on my hands