tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post9192858601989528117..comments2023-10-27T17:16:27.467-04:00Comments on The Hugo Endurance Project: Downbelow StationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12364999124473415795noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-20311464845886974352016-09-09T02:03:27.713-04:002016-09-09T02:03:27.713-04:00I also found the first reading to be slow and frus...I also found the first reading to be slow and frustrating, but moments of brilliance kept pushing me to read on. After reading more books invthe Merchanter Universe and then coming back to Downbelow Station, I found it a completely different book, and found it suddenly riveting and emotional. It's the one book that ties all her other books together, the ultimate middle child of her catalog. But it's just like Cyteen in that you get way more out of it on each re-reading. Currently read it six times and it was like six different books. If you read this and hated it, but kinda also liked it, but weren;t sure why, that's normal. Give it another go. It will surprise you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-46063168019030026452014-01-14T02:51:20.731-05:002014-01-14T02:51:20.731-05:00Phew! Finished it. It did pick up in Part IV. I...Phew! Finished it. It did pick up in Part IV. I'll have my review posted in a few days. I'm glad I read it, but I'm soooo glad I'm done. Stephen Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00474038338477057626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-45640367576625373792014-01-12T02:16:56.280-05:002014-01-12T02:16:56.280-05:00Hi Jeremy, I'm struggling through DS and thou...Hi Jeremy, I'm struggling through DS and thought I'd reread your review. I'm struggling with her grammar and punctuation as well. She did it in Cyteen too, in DS it's a lot worse. One of my biggest gripes is that she likes to begin sentences with "Of a sudden..." instead of "All of a sudden." And of course there's ellispses, commas, and semicolons. Oh my! And her prose is just leaden to me. I'm at page 150 and just dreading the next 300. I'm really counting on the last hundred pages to get this book above a single star rating. Well, I guess I just gave you the kernel of what my review will look like :-D While I didn't like Cyteen as much as you did, I definitely feel it's better in all aspects so far: characters, prose, plot. Stephen Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00474038338477057626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-62211271073638132552013-01-04T00:16:00.506-05:002013-01-04T00:16:00.506-05:00I do hope that I'll give this another shot som...I do hope that I'll give this another shot some day, especially after enjoying cyteen so much. I also hate that the biggest reason I didn't like this was external to the book itself...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12364999124473415795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-53366217509207420382013-01-02T12:18:45.844-05:002013-01-02T12:18:45.844-05:00So this is one I seem to have liked a lot more tha...So this is one I seem to have liked a lot more than you did, despite the fact that I had some of the same problems with it as you. For example, very few of the characters are really all that memorable, and I liked very few of them. <br /><br />What Cherryh did really well, in my opinion, was creating a believable and interesting universe. I really read this more as a history book than a regular work of fiction. In that respect, the universe is the main character, and all the people and events are just parts of it. For me, that made it work really well. <br /><br />I also liked the Downers quite a bit. If I remember correctly, their description was something like an upright gibbon. Long arms and legs, really furry, and bipedal. Their worldview and personalities were different enough to be alien without being ridiculous, something that made them feel very real to me. <br /><br />As far as her writing, I didn't have the same problems with her grammar and style that you did. In fact, I didn't even remember that the book was written that way until you mentioned it.<br /><br />Overall, while not as good as Cyteen, and some of her other works, I still really liked this one.Sebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10287375836781255561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-60964637351018432222012-09-12T00:24:18.130-04:002012-09-12T00:24:18.130-04:00A MAJOR reason I struggled with this one was the e...A MAJOR reason I struggled with this one was the extremely short time I gave myself to finish it. As you say, one really needs to spend time reading and re-reading some sections and I didn't have that chance. Would I have liked it much more given more time? I'm not entirely sure, given some of my issues. Given that I'm enjoying Cyteen a lot more and I'm reading it A LOT slower, I'm thinking it's possible I would have taken more from Downbelow Station if I had read it slower.<br /><br />I had mixed feelings about the characters. I was reading so fast and there were so many characters that to be honest, I had a really hard time stringing the different plot lines together and the characters all kind of fell apart. I think that was my fault, however, there were some moments which I mentioned in the review that really left me scratching my head.<br /><br />I hope that someday I have the energy to tackle this one again because boy, I just don't know how I should feel about it.<br /><br />Regarding Cyteen: I've taken something like 3 weeks so far and I'm nowhere near finishing this week so I'm with you. I can't remember any book from any genre taking me this long to finish. Granted, I am reading multiple books simultaneously. Like. An. Idiot-King.<br /><br />Thanks for your thoughts on this one. It was a real head scratch-er for me and I'm glad to hear from someone who liked it. It makes me feel more inclined to open it back up some day.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12364999124473415795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-42838434017467035282012-09-11T00:30:31.839-04:002012-09-11T00:30:31.839-04:00I remember really liking Downbelow Station; it was...I remember really liking Downbelow Station; it was the Cherryh novel that got me hooked on Cherryh. I'm curious to hear how you liked Cyteen. THAT was the one that I started several times before I got far enough to feel it was worth it. Cyteen's pretty near the top of my list now, but Cherryh's still got her faults, some of which you bring up here about Downbelow.<br /><br />I think she's got more talent as a prose artist than many of the other Hugo winners; but like you say, she also inexplicably uses frequent awkward constructions that force you to reread and still end up scratching your head.<br /><br />And while you didn't rate the characters really high here, again I'm curious to see what you say about Cyteen, which probably lives or dies by whether you think she did a good job with the character depth.<br /><br />Also, it took me a LONG time to make it all the way through Cyteen. I can think of only three sff novels that took me longer: Red Mars, The Once and Future King, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.neal callhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17285975416175230777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-69389373235118615192012-08-22T21:17:51.081-04:002012-08-22T21:17:51.081-04:00That is probably an equally good one-word descript...That is probably an equally good one-word description: Laborious!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12364999124473415795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095695341570716002.post-88348977932597985482012-08-22T03:39:58.237-04:002012-08-22T03:39:58.237-04:00Yeh, for me it was the same. The novel only became...Yeh, for me it was the same. The novel only became enjoyable near the end. I did enjoy some of the characters, but they were ofttimes overshadowed by the labored political intrigues. I guess it's a good book, but I can't quite appreciate the excellence others have bestowed upon it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06944487011611580147noreply@blogger.com