by C.J. Cherryh
Downbelow Station brings the politics of European colonialism into an interplanetary setting. The Earth Company (a private colonial firm similar to the East India Company) dominates the inhabitants of humanity’s space colonies as Earth remains the only source of food and supplies. But then Pell’s Wo...
As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't get anywhere with this book. Sometimes you just have to surrender and admit that a book just isn't to your taste. I started getting intrigued a little once we found out who Josh really is, but wherever I'd put the book down, I just felt no inclination to pick ...
Close to getting 4 stars, but I never was rooting for any one character. Maybe that's just how Cherryh depicted every one? There's not necessarily a "hero" per se, and I did like that about the novel. Yet, all the characters seemed so cold.At first this is a hard book to follow because Downbelow doe...
I got 76% through this and just can't bear to keep trying to read it. The basic premise is fantastic: the under-supported Earth Company Fleet battles the unending waves of Union's brainwashed clones. The Fleet is pushed further and further back, until at last the battle reaches the space station o...
I've given up on this book for the time being; I was halfway through, put it down, and then realized I hadn't picked it back up in a week and hadn't missed it, which is a flashing neon warning sign that it's not worth the work to finish it. Might come back to it sometime since it's been suggested th...
Reading this was like hitting my head with a brick, and that's not a complaint. That's just Cherryh--dense prose, claustrophobic viewpoint, blink-and-you'll-miss-it explanation of complicated political calculations. The prologue alone contains enough plot for most people's novels. I had to stop and ...
Why I Read It: For Shara's (from Calico Reaction) Theme Park book club.If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be this: unfriendly. Why? Two big reasons:1. This book is confusing as hell. Even though there's a prologue of sorts at the very beginning of the book that explains the wh...
The very best space station SF novel.
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