The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain
Ratings15
Average rating4
Celebrated author Sofia Samatar presents a mystical, revolutionary space adventure for the exhausted dreamer in this brilliant science fiction novella tackling the carceral state and violence embedded in the ivory tower while embodying the legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin.
The boy was raised as one of the Chained, condemned to toil in the bowels of a mining ship out among the stars. His whole world changes—literally—when he is yanked “upstairs” and informed he has been given an opportunity to be educated at the ship’s university alongside the elite.
Overwhelmed and alone, the boy forms a bond with the woman he comes to know as “the professor,” a weary idealist and descendent of the Chained who has spent her career striving for validation from her more senior colleagues, only to fall short at every turn.
Together, the boy and the woman will embark on a transformative journey to grasp the design of the chains that fetter them both—and are the key to breaking free.
Tags
Genre
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
I discovered this novella on a list of "best short books." The writing is efficent and the author sets up the dystopia scenario with a brisk, yet mostly effective sketching of a universe in which humans have vacated Earth and now live on mining ships. Although there is an arc to the story, it feels more like an outline with shadows of potential rather than fully fleshed out art with characters who are more than stick figures. I'm not unhappy that I read it, yet am dispointed that there wasn't more to it.
A novella - about class division and suppression on generation ships cruising through space - that could have been a short story. While the prose was initially intriguing with its poetic quality, the world and the premise at its core felt rather old school.
There's a message here that you either get or you don't. I wonder if that's the difference between 1* and 5* ratings.
The prose is really sharp, but the (end) message does not punch me as forcefully as I was expecting it to. Maybe I'll have to reread this again some day, and maybe then I'll add the final star.
I do know I'll have to dive into more of Samatar's work. And if that isn't the best outcome, I don't know what is.
