The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain
Ratings9
Average rating3.9
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.
I’ve just finished this (as in, in the last five minutes) so I might come back and revisit this review in a few days once I’ve had time to ruminate on it, but I absolutely bloody loved this. Beautifully written, I loved the Boy and the Woman and thought they extremely well drawn, the world building was fantastic, the plot was engaging and the message really struck a chord. Highly recommended from me!