What did I just read? I have no idea?
This story just went waay over my head. I think that this kind of "super sf" is just a little out of my league. I think the author used too many strange names and future universes for me to keep it all straight. I felt like I had not the slightest concept of the plot until about half way through the story when I barely picked up on the plot. Until then I felt like I was just reading a random collection of strange words in unconnecting paragraphs. Maybe thats just my undeveloped palate for Science Fiction. I think I will be working on that for a while.
After I picked up on what was going on I found the plot to be fairly typical with strange things added in to make it look a-typical. Maybe I was just too frustrated by not understanding it to give an objective review of the piece. Overall I would, with all due respect, give it half a star out of 60.
Currently listening to Alexi Murdoch "All of My Days"
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Yeah, it's not one of that I particularly enjoyed. I had to keep rereading passages to try and understand anything. For example, I couldn't decide for most of the story if Tiamaat and Baal were part of the Ki or the An. I think the message the author was trying to express got lost in complicated setting.
ReplyDeleteThe author took the whole SF approach of beginning the story with us completely immersed in this strange SF world. I usually like this approach to SF, but I agree this story used so many SF elements that are completely foreign to the reader that it was near impossible to sort out.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with all of the above views. The Science part of the fiction was just way too heavy. After reading it I came away with the exact feeling as the OP (opening post). "What did I just read?"
ReplyDeleteThe other stories are much more enjoyable due to them being a bit easier to follow.
According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Tiamat was "a goddess who personifies the sea. Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos." Also, in the Old Testament Baal was a false god that Elijah disproved the existence of with the help of God sending fire from heaven. The word simply means lord or master, but given its connotation as a "false god," I think its interesting to note Jones' choice to name her characters after these particular deities.
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up an interesting point. It is strange that in this story set far in the future there are a lot of names from the past such as baal and tiamaat. I didn't really think about that at first. I wonder why the author decided to do that? Maybe to further confuse readers such as myself?
ReplyDeleteWhenever I read something I don't understand, I read it again. Often the stuff I don't immediately understand turns out to be the stuff I most enjoy, or most need.
ReplyDeleteI agree yet thats also the most difficult thing to do. To reread a piece that you struggled through and were not in the slightest bit interested. Valid point though. One of the difficult parts of science fiction maybe?
ReplyDeleteActually looking back on this story, I like it alot more. It has a a lot of depth to it, which while initially daunting, is also its most appealing aspect.
ReplyDeleteI still don't really like the whole virtual reality sequence in the pods. I still think its a little contrived, and detached from everything else.
I'm not sure if I would consider this story entertaining in the usual sense, but it was definitely engaging. I mean, I'm still posting about it!
I think one important stage in my (and probably everyone's) development as a critical reader and thinker is to admit when something is too dense for them, at least the first time through. It takes a certain level of maturity and humility to do that without blaming the author for being intentionally tricky (which I personally think is almost never the case). In any case, I'll save Tiamaat for another day, and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.
Maybe a broader question to ask, would be in response to jfshults (sorry, I don't know your name based on your handle)is sci-fi typically more difficult than other types of fiction?