So I didn't finish it. My review/explanation will be up tomorrow, but I'll comment here now.
I'm actually really frustrated. I was hoping I'd come here, read your review and how awesome the book ended up being, but that isn't the case (no fault of yours of course). I was just really expecting that this book would be awesome, even if I couldn't finish it. I made it to 200 pages, only because I felt like I probably just wasn't "getting it" as an amateur scifi reader.
Expectations are understandably high. It's a Hugo winner, and it's still in print. Cherryh is a BIG NAME in the genre, so it stands to reason that there's a reason for that.
I'm just sorry I had this book as part of the poll. It never occurred to me that this may not be reader-friendly, especially for amateur SF readers. I'd suggest if you really want to know how it plays out, find a detailed plot summary on Wikipedia!
Also, please check out some of the books on my list in the review. Most of them are FAR MORE reader-friendly. :) If you want specific recs, let me know!
Like you said, on paper it should have been awesome, but sometimes books don't age well. I don't regret it being selected as the book club read because this is the kind of book for which I participate in the club - books that I would never have found on my own and that challenge me. It just challenged me a little too much ;)
I'll definitely check out some of those books. I'm particularly interested in Scalzi's and Traviss' scifi.
Yeah, I apologize for the selection. It never occurred to me just how reader-unfriendly this book really is. I think for future SF selections, I'll do a little bit more research to be more accommodating!
Sounds like I got lucky getting rid of my mass market edition in favor of the trade! All those typos on top of the sentence structure would've made me spork my eyes out!
The world building is fantastic, and I think that's what makes the book worth reading if you can make yourself finish it. But like you, I hate it when it takes me TOO LONG to read books, no matter what the length.
You're right in describing this as a dense book with way, way too many POVs. There were a lot of interesting elements in the war and the situations on the station and below that I felt were lost in the muddle.
Seems like this worked well enough for you though, and getting to read more award winners is always fascinating, to see what people thought was award-worthy at the time!
Yes. One thing I like about this book club is that it nudges me out of my comfort zone. It's good to read things I otherwise might not have picked up. I'm feeling that same about about God's War as I read now. I never would have picked it up by the cover copy, but it's growing on me considerably.
I first read this almost 20 years ago. I was riding the bus every day at the time. I can only read about 20 pages at a time of this book before having to put it down, and my daily bus ride was ideally suited to doing that.
I think the only things I retained from that last reading though were Signy Mallory, Josh Talley, and the Downers. It was good to re-read it. I agree that it is incredibly dense and works best if you have read other books by the author. I enjoyed connecting some of the dots. Josh's story, for instance, makes a lot more sense if you have read Cyteen.
I have read Cyteen, Fifty Thousand in Gehanna, and the Chanur books. I own Rimrunner but don't know if I have read it or not. I would totally be up for a read of the rest of the Union / Alliance books if you were to organize that.
I still feel that this is a good and important book even if difficult to read.
Do you remember if you had trouble following the book reading only 20 pages at a time? I don't think I would've made it on that schedule, not with this book anyway. :)
If I ever do the project of reading the rest of the series, I probably would not make it a book club or anything like that, but I'd definitely let people know I was doing it. :)
Well, I was reading it every day, so I did not get too lost. :) I find that one of the hallmarks of Cherryh's work it that she ratchets up the tension and then keeps it ratcheted up there for several hundred pages at a time. I find it hard to read too much of that at one sitting, and reading in short spurts helped me manage that. It is also dense enough that I appreciated the time to think over what I had read every couple chapters or so.
I look forward to reading the rest of the series with you if you decide to do it.
If I do, I'll try to remember to let people know! With de Lint, I'm just going to start (I've got the first three in his suggested chronology) and read it in bits and pieces. Nothing too official. :)
Hi I just added you to my friends list, hope you don't mind.
I've had Downbelow Station sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. At one point I was going to read all the Hugo winners but that fizzled out and I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I can't say that the reviews here have inspired me to pick it up.
The best question to ask in regards to reading this book is this: have you read any of Cherryh's work before, especially in this universe? If no, then this definitely isn't the right place to start. :) If so, just plan on taking your time and being patient. It's certainly got a lot to offer, but it's a taxing read.
I read the Amazon review you linked and I just have to say that anyone who thinks this is the worst Hugo winner ever probably hasn't read The Forever Machine.
I seriously doubt it's the worst Hugo winner ever. I suspect that farther back you go in the lifetime of the Hugo, the harder it is to love the winners!
EDIT: I should clarify: I seriously doubt DOWNBELOW STATION is the worse Hugo winner ever (I've never read the one you link to!). :)
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I'm actually really frustrated. I was hoping I'd come here, read your review and how awesome the book ended up being, but that isn't the case (no fault of yours of course). I was just really expecting that this book would be awesome, even if I couldn't finish it. I made it to 200 pages, only because I felt like I probably just wasn't "getting it" as an amateur scifi reader.
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I'm just sorry I had this book as part of the poll. It never occurred to me that this may not be reader-friendly, especially for amateur SF readers. I'd suggest if you really want to know how it plays out, find a detailed plot summary on Wikipedia!
Also, please check out some of the books on my list in the review. Most of them are FAR MORE reader-friendly. :) If you want specific recs, let me know!
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I'll definitely check out some of those books. I'm particularly interested in Scalzi's and Traviss' scifi.
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Sounds like I got lucky getting rid of my mass market edition in favor of the trade! All those typos on top of the sentence structure would've made me spork my eyes out!
The world building is fantastic, and I think that's what makes the book worth reading if you can make yourself finish it. But like you, I hate it when it takes me TOO LONG to read books, no matter what the length.
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My review is on LibraryThing over here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/59827/reviews/85489693
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I think the only things I retained from that last reading though were Signy Mallory, Josh Talley, and the Downers. It was good to re-read it. I agree that it is incredibly dense and works best if you have read other books by the author. I enjoyed connecting some of the dots. Josh's story, for instance, makes a lot more sense if you have read Cyteen.
I have read Cyteen, Fifty Thousand in Gehanna, and the Chanur books. I own Rimrunner but don't know if I have read it or not. I would totally be up for a read of the rest of the Union / Alliance books if you were to organize that.
I still feel that this is a good and important book even if difficult to read.
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If I ever do the project of reading the rest of the series, I probably would not make it a book club or anything like that, but I'd definitely let people know I was doing it. :)
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I look forward to reading the rest of the series with you if you decide to do it.
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I've had Downbelow Station sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. At one point I was going to read all the Hugo winners but that fizzled out and I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I can't say that the reviews here have inspired me to pick it up.
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The best question to ask in regards to reading this book is this: have you read any of Cherryh's work before, especially in this universe? If no, then this definitely isn't the right place to start. :) If so, just plan on taking your time and being patient. It's certainly got a lot to offer, but it's a taxing read.
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I read the Amazon review you linked and I just have to say that anyone who thinks this is the worst Hugo winner ever probably hasn't read The Forever Machine.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forever-Machine-Mark-Clifton/dp/0881848425/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338428410&sr=1-1-spell
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EDIT: I should clarify: I seriously doubt DOWNBELOW STATION is the worse Hugo winner ever (I've never read the one you link to!). :)
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