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A review by mdstepp1998
Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
3.0
Two star book during the first half and got better in the second half. It was a slow burn from the beginning. I started it and put it down for a long period of time to read other books. Never a good sign, but I’m glad I picked it back up to finish it.
A lot of characters to track, but I didn’t really grow attached or interested in any of them. Maybe that is the point and it will become clearer in subsequent books like Cyteen. All of the characters live in a gray area. The Union-Company War doesn’t hold a true good vs. evil dichotomy, but I finished the book not rooting for any side or character. The differences between the Downers and Stationers and Unioners was really interesting and probably my favorite aspect of the read.
Having recently finished Foreigner, the writing felt uneven in Downbelow in comparison. It’s not fair to compare books like that but it’s only because I read them back to back. The flash moments of space battles were difficult to visualize because of how they’re described, which was disappointing. I appreciate writers that don’t spell out every detail and emotion, but there were some key moment in the story that a few more sentences would have made a difference.
Ultimately, the story ended with strands of story that I’m interested in reading further about but not as interested as I am in reading the next books in the Foreigner series.
A lot of characters to track, but I didn’t really grow attached or interested in any of them. Maybe that is the point and it will become clearer in subsequent books like Cyteen. All of the characters live in a gray area. The Union-Company War doesn’t hold a true good vs. evil dichotomy, but I finished the book not rooting for any side or character. The differences between the Downers and Stationers and Unioners was really interesting and probably my favorite aspect of the read.
Having recently finished Foreigner, the writing felt uneven in Downbelow in comparison. It’s not fair to compare books like that but it’s only because I read them back to back. The flash moments of space battles were difficult to visualize because of how they’re described, which was disappointing. I appreciate writers that don’t spell out every detail and emotion, but there were some key moment in the story that a few more sentences would have made a difference.
Ultimately, the story ended with strands of story that I’m interested in reading further about but not as interested as I am in reading the next books in the Foreigner series.