Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by pinenoodle
Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
4.0
There was some things that bugged me, but overall I couldn't help being drawn and wanting to keep reading (at least, once the book got going), even though military scifi and space opera aren't my favorite sf sub-genres.
But there were a few things that bugged me. One, the way the Downers were named was uncomfortable, seeing he Cherryh borrowed stereotyped native american naming conventions. Second the place of women. The majority of characters in positions of importance are male, and there are times when it's suggested that's the natural order (on Downbelow, for instance, after fleeing when select groups head back to work leaving others behind in safety, it's assumed that every last women will stay behind). There are exceptions, Captain Mallory and Elene Quen, people I wouldn't want to mess with, but they are exceptions. It seems that whenever Cherryh needed someone out in a position of authority, especially a minor character, it's almost certainly going to be a man.
The ending seemed a bit rushed, and took away from the satisfaction. I can't complain too much, endings can be hard, but it felt like we were gearing up towards a direct sequel even though I already knew there wasn't one (not that this book is a standalone, but the other books in the same universe don't follow on from the same plot with the same characters). I guess my main qualm is that, the situation at the end didn't seem that much more stable than any of the earlier circumstances that Downbelow station underwent throughout the novel. We only have the suggestion of the author, and the fact that this is the end of the book, to assure us that some new political trend won't overthrow the current one.
But there were a few things that bugged me. One, the way the Downers were named was uncomfortable, seeing he Cherryh borrowed stereotyped native american naming conventions. Second the place of women. The majority of characters in positions of importance are male, and there are times when it's suggested that's the natural order (on Downbelow, for instance, after fleeing when select groups head back to work leaving others behind in safety, it's assumed that every last women will stay behind). There are exceptions, Captain Mallory and Elene Quen, people I wouldn't want to mess with, but they are exceptions. It seems that whenever Cherryh needed someone out in a position of authority, especially a minor character, it's almost certainly going to be a man.
The ending seemed a bit rushed, and took away from the satisfaction. I can't complain too much, endings can be hard, but it felt like we were gearing up towards a direct sequel even though I already knew there wasn't one (not that this book is a standalone, but the other books in the same universe don't follow on from the same plot with the same characters). I guess my main qualm is that, the situation at the end didn't seem that much more stable than any of the earlier circumstances that Downbelow station underwent throughout the novel. We only have the suggestion of the author, and the fact that this is the end of the book, to assure us that some new political trend won't overthrow the current one.