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<blockquote data-quote="Gizzard" data-source="post: 959079" data-attributes="member: 527">I finished it up this weekend and was disappointed.He's ambitious; 10 linked stories which grapple with the great philosophical questions that form the theme of the book.&nbsp; You can't fault him for aiming low.Still, the more I read of it, the more frustrated I got.&nbsp; I didn't find that much of his grappling with philosophy lead anywhere - as a matter of fact, his characters lament from time to time how little they they understand of these issues.&nbsp; I agreed with them, I felt that KSR took out a lot of important ideas and poked at them once or twice, but certainly never had anything particular to say about them.But if this sort of book doesn't stand as the sum of its parts, then we should look at the parts on their own.&nbsp; The 10 stories are uneven, some being good, some being too long or too repetitive, one in particular being without a point that I could discern.&nbsp; Nothing in there I would nominate for Best Novella though, which might be another way of looking at how this book holds together.On a technical level I was fine with the prose and the characterization.&nbsp; Unfortunately, KSR is prone to long digressions that don't add anything to the story.&nbsp; If a character goes to a professional conference, I don't need a half-page enumeration of all the panels she chose not to go to.&nbsp; As a friend said, &quot;Well, thats how he details his world, by piling up random pieces of information.&quot;&nbsp; I couldn't help but compare it to Mieville, who also piles detail upon detail in order to build up a world.&nbsp; Mieville is so much more successful at this though; he generates a sense of atmosphere, of being in a place even when he is repeating himself.&nbsp; I never found myself questioning why I was being told something with Mieville, but frequently did with KSR.&nbsp; &quot;Is he getting paid by the word?&quot;&nbsp; ;-) Anyway, my current Hugo standings are Kiln People &gt; Years of Rice and Salt with The Scar and Bones of the Earth coming up and Hominids unlikely to be read.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gizzard, post: 959079, member: 527"] I finished it up this weekend and was disappointed. He's ambitious; 10 linked stories which grapple with the great philosophical questions that form the theme of the book. You can't fault him for aiming low. Still, the more I read of it, the more frustrated I got. I didn't find that much of his grappling with philosophy lead anywhere - as a matter of fact, his characters lament from time to time how little they they understand of these issues. I agreed with them, I felt that KSR took out a lot of important ideas and poked at them once or twice, but certainly never had anything particular to say about them. But if this sort of book doesn't stand as the sum of its parts, then we should look at the parts on their own. The 10 stories are uneven, some being good, some being too long or too repetitive, one in particular being without a point that I could discern. Nothing in there I would nominate for Best Novella though, which might be another way of looking at how this book holds together. On a technical level I was fine with the prose and the characterization. Unfortunately, KSR is prone to long digressions that don't add anything to the story. If a character goes to a professional conference, I don't need a half-page enumeration of all the panels she chose not to go to. As a friend said, "Well, thats how he details his world, by piling up random pieces of information." I couldn't help but compare it to Mieville, who also piles detail upon detail in order to build up a world. Mieville is so much more successful at this though; he generates a sense of atmosphere, of [I]being[/I] in a place even when he is repeating himself. I never found myself questioning why I was being told something with Mieville, but frequently did with KSR. "Is he getting paid by the word?" ;-) Anyway, my current Hugo standings are [I]Kiln People > Years of Rice and Salt[/I] with [I]The Scar[/I] and [I]Bones of the Earth[/I] coming up and [I]Hominids[/I] unlikely to be read. [/QUOTE]

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