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A review by easterncalculus
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
3 main reasons why this book didn't do much for me:
- No real plot to speak of. The book consists of vignettes of the station's crew performing regular activities. It's "a day in the life" - but very little happens. Even the most dramatic and exciting moments felt like they were building to something that never came. There's some philosophical musings, descriptions of death and mourning, and hints of troubled relationships, but all of this takes a back seat to the main "story", which is to say, nothing is happening.
- Meandering stream-of-consciousness narrative. This works very well in a few places, but overall I found it annoying to read and a little juvenile at times, especially since it being ever-present means the novelty quickly wears off. I guess this is the "style" of the piece but it mostly got in the way of what would otherwise be straightforward reading and felt like unnecessary word salad.
- Constant interruptions with pointless geographical references. Again, perhaps just the "style" of this book, but every second paragraph is essentially a footnote of boring location trivia: At this moment, the following locations are visible from the space station: Country A, Country B, Country C, Country D, Country E. Occasionally the viewpoint will then change to more closely examine a plot thread in one of these locations, but more often than not this just serves as a distraction from the (admittedly little) happenings aboard the space station. Maybe I should find this more interesting? But I didn't - it was always the same.
- No real plot to speak of. The book consists of vignettes of the station's crew performing regular activities. It's "a day in the life" - but very little happens. Even the most dramatic and exciting moments felt like they were building to something that never came. There's some philosophical musings, descriptions of death and mourning, and hints of troubled relationships, but all of this takes a back seat to the main "story", which is to say, nothing is happening.
- Meandering stream-of-consciousness narrative. This works very well in a few places, but overall I found it annoying to read and a little juvenile at times, especially since it being ever-present means the novelty quickly wears off. I guess this is the "style" of the piece but it mostly got in the way of what would otherwise be straightforward reading and felt like unnecessary word salad.
- Constant interruptions with pointless geographical references. Again, perhaps just the "style" of this book, but every second paragraph is essentially a footnote of boring location trivia: At this moment, the following locations are visible from the space station: Country A, Country B, Country C, Country D, Country E. Occasionally the viewpoint will then change to more closely examine a plot thread in one of these locations, but more often than not this just serves as a distraction from the (admittedly little) happenings aboard the space station. Maybe I should find this more interesting? But I didn't - it was always the same.