What Are You Reading: The Sequel!

[Lupine]

^A new one!

I've been rather lax with my reading as well though I have been poking at A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson on Kindle.

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Garak?!

[Lupine]

^The very guy- at least him with a ghost writer.

[RJDiogenes]

Looks like it's only available on Kindle at this point. Is it any good?

[Lupine]

^It kind of meanders, switching from Garak's past, to segments from the Dominion War, to the the rebuilding afterward. More of a character study at the moment.
I got the book when Facebook friend mentioned that it was on sale for 99 cents.

[scottydog]

^^ It sounds interesting. Garak was one of the more interesting characters on DS9.

[RJDiogenes]

That's true. I usually don't buy tie-in books, but I might give him a little support.

[Lupine]

I finished A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson (and whatever ghost writers he may or may not have employed). It’s a bit of a meandering story divided into three alternating narratives. One is of Garak’s early years and his experience with training and the Obsidian Order. The other, and shortest entries, are of the waning days of the Dominion War and his experiences on DS9. The final are in the form of his letters to Dr. Bashir about the rebuilding of Cardassia after the war. There’s not much of an overarching plot and the novel is more of a character study. There are interesting moments that I would have liked more detail of. The ending is also rather abrupt with some dangling threads that don’t get proper resolution. Not a bad book but I would have liked a bit more.

[scottydog]

I finished A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson (and whatever ghost writers he may or may not have employed). It’s a bit of a meandering story divided into three alternating narratives. One is of Garak’s early years and his experience with training and the Obsidian Order. The other, and shortest entries, are of the waning days of the Dominion War and his experiences on DS9. The final are in the form of his letters to Dr. Bashir about the rebuilding of Cardassia after the war. There’s not much of an overarching plot and the novel is more of a character study. There are interesting moments that I would have liked more detail of. The ending is also rather abrupt with some dangling threads that don’t get proper resolution. Not a bad book but I would have liked a bit more.

Cool. Thanks for that review!

[RJDiogenes]

I think DS9 fans would be more interested in Garak and Bashir going off on an adventure together-- I think it was their friendship as much as Garek's mysteriousness that intrigued people.

Meanwhile, I drifted away from Village in the Sky for a while, but now I'm back to it-- it's finally picking up a little steam about two thirds of the way through. So far, this is easily my least favorite of Jack McDevitt's books.

[Lupine]

^Pity.

[RJDiogenes]

I know, it's disappointing. But it's not over yet. The ending may be worth it.

[scottydog]

I think DS9 fans would be more interested in Garak and Bashir going off on an adventure together-- I think it was their friendship as much as Garek's mysteriousness that intrigued people.

I agree, a Garak and Bashir adventure series would be fun to read or to watch. But I'd want a platonic relationship between them only. So many fans want them to have a gay relationship, which wouldn't work for me.

[RJDiogenes]

Fans want everybody to have a Gay relationship.

[RJDiogenes]

Well, I finished Village in the Sky yesterday, and I have to reluctantly say that I was disappointed. It actually left me feeling worried that Jack McDevitt is not well-- I checked and confirmed that he is in his late 80s, so I'm concerned that it's age related.

There are several flaws with the book. One is the pacing. In the first three quarters, very little happens. And when something major happens-- namely second contact with an intelligent species that is very non human-- it is presented in a very bland, uninspired manner. But much of the book consists of interminable sequences of long voyages through space where nothing happens. It is only in the last quarter of the book where things begin to happen with some urgency. But then, at the same time, it seems to run out of steam and he seems in a rush to finish-- scenes between characters becomes shorter, then the story is reduced to mainly prose, and then finally succinct summaries. It's very weird.

And the things that the characters do-- or rather, don't do-- are inexplicable. I can't think of them all right now, but, for example, toward the end of the book, they are trying to find a planet based solely on anecdotal information from "average citizen" aliens, who are not educated in astronomy or astrogation. They take down random, minimal information-- like a constellation visible from the planet-- but never ask obvious questions, like a description of the solar system, so that they can recognize it from afar. Similarly, on an almost deserted alien planet, an AI directs them to a specific building on another continent with minimal directions-- they don't even ask for a picture of the building. There are a bunch of similar situations throughout the book. And there are also instances where they could have used the power of their ship's AI, but don't.

There are also several odd scenes where female characters make comments about being oppressed by men-- I'm not sure if he was trying to be Woke or flashing back to his youth in the 40s, but it was jarringly inconsistent with the previous books in the series.

Also, in the course of the book, humanity has its second, third, and fourth contacts with intelligent aliens-- two of which directly involve Chase and Alex. And the circumstances are all interested, yet presented in a frustratingly banal manner. The primary plot, the one referred to by the title, involves the fourth civilization, and could have been not only interesting but heart wrenching-- if it did not read like the summary for a better book.

I'm not sorry I read it, because I love Chase and Alex (and Gabe) and there are several important developments for the characters and the universe, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't similarly invested. As I say, it mainly left me feeling sad and worried. I wonder if he has any more Priscilla Hutchins novels in the pipeline.