Positive Focus Sunday - It's Not the Length That Matters!

This past month I have been reading like crazy. I discovered a couple of new writers who have really thrilled me with the prose of their books. And I have also been disappointed in another book. But onto details.

I remember when Eragon was released from a major publisher. It was everywhere about this 16 year old who wrote this HUGE book. I have been fortunate to actually meet Mr. Paolini at Miscon one year. I read the first couple of books in the 'Inheritance Cycle'. I don't know if it was the fact I was in the middle of Middle Earth at the time, watching a lot of The Lord of the Rings, but I felt they were very much a retelling of that story, but with dragons.

Don't get me wrong, I felt the story was good, but it was ssssoooo long. And that has carried over to his latest book. It almost makes me wonder if they are paying him by the word.

Anyway...

A brief synopsis of To Sleep In A Sea of Stars -

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.

Now she's awakened a nightmare.

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. 

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope.

First off, the story is good. It's a really good premise and I enjoyed the story. My criticism of this book is over its length. I feel if about 200-300 words of this 880 page monster had been cut, it would have been a much stronger book, pulling me along. However, when I have something explained to me in detail for the fifth or sixth time, it gets really old. Especially when there is an addendum in the book which also explains some of the workings of his world. 

Another thing which threw me were bits I feel he 'borrowed' from other writers. 

I know there are no 'new' stories, just retelling of old tales, but sometimes you come across things which go 'oh, that's so-and-so's work'. Case in point in this book, the 'ship mind'. Very much Anne McCaffrey in her Brain and Brawn Ship series. Personally, she did it much, much better. 

And (spoiler alert) having your body taken over by an alien presence, well, to me, very Nnedi Okorafor (see below). 

I found myself just skipping over several pages. Well, actually whole chunks of pages. And no, I don't know what happened to the pig, but I really don't care.

Overall, the book is an OK read. And a good book, based on its size, to press leaves and flowers.

Now onto my 'discoveries' of new-to-me authors.

Texter's pen pal group read this book as part of their book club portion of the group. I picked it up for a dollar on Amazon at the time. It was short and sweet in length and I decided to give it a read.

WOW!

At 98 pages, it is really a novella. But Okorafor puts so much into those pages! Reading the book, I could see and felt I would recognize Binti walking down the street. Well, she would stand out, but still. I could feel the earth she spread on her hair and body and I understood why.  I could see the vivid colors of her dress and the braids on her head. I was practically physically involved with this book. 

The quote on the front by Ursula K. Le Guin tells it all, there is more packed in these 98 pages than in the whole 880 of Paolini's book. And the premise is pretty much the same - human who is 'invaded' by an alien and is the hope of the world. 

Reading this book had me reading her autobiography, Broken Places, Outer Spaces. Plus the other two books in the Binti series. And I have several of her other books on my bedside table. 

Another book which came as a monthly read by a group on Goodreads, Sword and Laser, a group which alternates between fantasy and sci-fi reads (plus a podcast).

I needed an audio book to listen too and this one was available. 

Again, WOW!

I am still listening to it, slowly, mainly because I want to savor the words. 

A synopsis of the book - 

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut--step inside and discover its magic. 

Not only is the story really interesting, but the description is so luscious. The wealthy at a part, are not described as 'mannikins', but 'well-coifed mannikins'. And as someone who is wanting to write her own stories, the descriptions in this book make me envious to my core. I just want to roll around in this story, much like a dog does in the middle of the bed you just put fresh sheets on.

 

The 'Binti' trilogy is 468 pages. Harrow's book is 384 pages. So a total of 852 pages, just short of the 880 pages of Paolini's tome. If I were in recommend any of these as a read I would say 'Okorafor and Harrow and use Paolini as a paper weight'. Less pages and a way better read!