List: awards:bsfa-award

I liked The Sparrow a whole lot. Part of that is just that I like the premise: Jesuit First Contact? Hell yes! The Jesuits are the science-minded and intellectual ones among the Catholic orders, and at the same time very capable of actions and decision-making. There are some things I positively adored about this book: I liked the world-building, both on Earth and off, and found the near future very relatable and not overdone towards u- or dystopia. Honestly, the character building and especially the dialogue were excellent. The characters were super alive and will stay with me for a while, as will their dialogue and development. The pacing was also excellent for me. The plot and the aliens on the other hand were only so-so. The plot had its strengths, was well-told and not overly predictable (packed some punches towards the end). The aliens were too human/mammalian for my tastes. Communication has only a language/culture barrier, and is apparently easily overcome with a year or two of work and play. Much meh. My real problem with the book involves how everybody in there deals with sexuality, namely prostitution and sexual assault. Apparently nobody is able to think when it comes to these things, or to talk, or to be sensible in any way. That's not because the people involved are Catholic monks (believe me), it's straight up the author's culture creeping in. Big time. It was distracting and made me increasingly annoyed, to the point of probably keeping me from reading the second book. (Whereas, by contrast, the fact that the entire mission to the aliens is naive and unable to think critically or bring some science is completely in line with the author attempting a take on Columbus, so bringing your own culture to everything and not stopping to think is part of the deal.)

Pyramids was fun in many ways – not just the pyramids! The look inside the Assassins Guild was very intriguing. Though the thing I remember best is the long chain of ancestors, who can only communicate with the next one or two in line because language has changed too much through the generations.

This is the infamous Culture book that's mostly ships talking. Which is not the part I disliked, the ships and their story were cool! But the humans were terribly one-dimensional and felt lazy, which distracted me from the cool Excession and nearly-as-cool intrigue.

The City & the City is a very impressive scifi book, but while I can appreciate its coolness and weirdness, and I can't point to a single flaw, somehow the story didn't quite grip me, although the concept of the two cities was introduced beautifully.

Really not sure what to think. Odd pacing, odd descriptions, odd … everything? I just didn't find my way into this world and this rhythm. The storytelling is a stylistic choice that makes sense within that world, but requires a dedication I don't feel motivated for (think Tolkien).