March 2, 2016

Unto The Light: Kim Stanley Robinson's "Aurora"



This is the first book I have read by the author.
I’m pretty sure I will read more.
Overall, the book was very easy to read. The plot worked. The main characters worked.
The setting: I had a bit of trouble conceptualizing the ship, which is basically a ship that is sent out with all the known biomes of earth so that the ship can seed a new planet. In the descriptions, the ship didn’t seem big enough for all the author wanted from it. But I realized that it was mostly a metaphor for earth. The idea was cool and all, so in reading I gave my world-building issues a bit of a pass.
Until the end.
I don’t want to spoil things, but the plot worked – until the end (for me, because reading is a subjective experience shaped by all my own experiences which may or may not be shared by you).
But the thing felt tacked on as if the author had created this wonderful detailed painting, but didn’t leave enough space anywhere for him to sign it. It didn’t feel true to the characters or the plot and it felt a little fantastic. Though the world at the end is interesting and worthy of more interest, how the characters got there isn’t as important.
So, like, I’ll read more.
This just may not have been the best introduction.

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