2011 Reading #31: Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. Just recently re-printed by the wonderful and personable Small Beer Press, so get your copies there. Solitaire is a definite page-turner--I am kind of a robot in that I have pretty structured reading times, and this book basically obliterated them. What's compelling about it is primarily the character of Ren "Jackal" Segura, who starts out as the gifted and sheltered scion of the Ko corporation; everyone's expectations for her are high, but she's had the best training they can offer and she's smart. And then quite suddenly everything goes to hell, and she's not the golden child anymore--she's a prisoner, sentenced to a term in a virtual reality prison. The novel covers a lot of ground: corporate life, prison, trauma, and functional and dysfunctional families of both the biological and constructed varieties. Mainly, though, what Eskridge really explores what it means to be alone, how community is constructed, how relationships can make us simultaneously vulnerable and secure. Highly recommended.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. Just recently re-printed by the wonderful and personable Small Beer Press, so get your copies there. Solitaire is a definite page-turner--I am kind of a robot in that I have pretty structured reading times, and this book basically obliterated them. What's compelling about it is primarily the character of Ren "Jackal" Segura, who starts out as the gifted and sheltered scion of the Ko corporation; everyone's expectations for her are high, but she's had the best training they can offer and she's smart. And then quite suddenly everything goes to hell, and she's not the golden child anymore--she's a prisoner, sentenced to a term in a virtual reality prison. The novel covers a lot of ground: corporate life, prison, trauma, and functional and dysfunctional families of both the biological and constructed varieties. Mainly, though, what Eskridge really explores what it means to be alone, how community is constructed, how relationships can make us simultaneously vulnerable and secure. Highly recommended.