http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2019-10.html#pratt ( )

At about 40% read:

I decided to start checking out some popular sci-fi books; maybe "decided" makes it sound too directed... I somehow ended up adding a number of the last one or two years' popular sci-fi books to my reading list and have been rather disappointed. So far, The Wrong Stars is shaping up like that for me.

To be clear, I'm seeing a few patterns. One is, of course, that action sells. And I like a good action flick as much as the next person; but watching 3 or 4 action movies back to back would be a bit much (...unless high enough, probably.) So maybe The Wrong Stars is like the third action movie in a row and suffering accordingly. That said, I expect something from my sci-fi that these books are not giving me and I think I am pointing at the "action" label instead of pointing at what I really mean which is... something... Maybe that pop-sci-fi isn't crunchy enough for me? Where is the hard sci? Where is the "whooaa"? Where is the," God damn, I think about things a little bit differently now"?

So yeah, maybe pop sci-fi just isn't for me.

But it's more than that. I point to "action" because of the (stereotypical/trope-y/etc.) "swagger" that characters have to have and/or the shallowness that is allowed for. The tropieness I guess I can deal with. But e.g. (spoiler alert) Elena has her crew abducted/killed, including her months-long developing crush, firsthand sees some of them have robot-spider-things drill into their skulls and take over their minds, and bam! like 12 subjective hours later is all like, "Hey, Callie, nice ass." WTF? I'm sorry, no. (Also, please stop saying things like "scanned them for all waves and particles" and then repeating it word for word because, I mean, basic physics... and you are writing sci-fi.)

So yeah, again maybe pop sci-fi just isn't for me.

The last thing is that this is the year of the gratuitous LGBQT-etc. "name drop," mostly LGB. "Name drop" because it seems like it's just getting tossed in. If I was reading a sci-fi book and the e.g. male lead commented every 20 lines on how much he liked the e.g. cleavage or wanted to e.g. be the butt-conforming couch of the e.g. female lead, I'd heave a mighty sigh and possibly plow on (if the story, action, ideas, etc. were good enough.) I find myself doing much the same here. Just because it's two ladies with their lady lust and their lady parts and they're lady lusting after each other's lady parts doesn't make it... whatever. Interesting. But it did seem to be de rigueur in 2018.

So yeah, again maybe pop sci-fi just isn't for me.

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At 100% read:

Yeah, bleh. 2.5 stars. No real emotion, ridiculous not-romance, everyone here is on some heavy, heavy mood lifting meds, a sprinkling of scientific realism to really point out the ridiculous stuff...

This could of been a 3 star "action romp" but it just became too much. I mean, Jesus, even the guys with metal alien spiders in their brains are alive at the end. ( )

Very fresh space opera with interesting and well rounded enjoyable characters. There's only the usual nagging problem of how easy it is to interface with new advanced technology, but at least this time there's some potential explanations. Looking forward to the the second book. ( )

Not usually a sci-fi fan, but I enjoyed this. Will pick up the next book in the series. I’m curious to see what happens next. ( )

The Wrong Stars is the first volume in a space opera series dealing with the far future of humankind and focusing on the ragtag crew of the White Raven, whose salvage & law enforcement operations are conducted under the aegis of the Trans-Neptune Authority, one of the political entities ruling human-controlled space.

During one of their explorations, Captain Callie Machedo and her crew encounter the wreck of an ancient Earth spaceship, part of the Goldilocks fleet - slow vessels equipped with cryosleep units to allow the bridging of vast distances - sent centuries before in search of habitable planets: only one onboard cryopod is still in operation, holding Dr. Elena Oh who, once revived, warns her rescuers about the threat of a dangerous alien life form she and her lost crew-mates encountered. Callie and her people are mystified, since the only alien race humanity came across so far are the squid-like Liars who are certainly untrustworthy, as the name they came to be known by hints at, but quite far from a deadly menace.

As the salvage operation turns into the attempted rescue of Elena’s trapped crew-mates, new revelations bring to light the existence of another, far more ancient alien race - the Axiom - which once ruled the galaxy and might still represent a deadly threat for humans and Liars alike, so that Callie and her people find themselves enmeshed into an action-packed race to discover the truth and, if possible, avert the doom that a return of the Axiom could entail.

As with most books, The Wrong Stars stands on the double supports of plot and characterization, with the former being the strongest element. There is hardly a moment’s respite in the breathless sequence of events and plot twists that creates the backbone of the story, enhanced by a series of progressive revelations that do little to ease the burden of impending catastrophe hanging over the characters’ heads, but instead keep raising the stakes for the group of intrepid explorers. The universe in which the story is set is an intriguing one, and the author manages to give us a good picture of it without need for lengthy exposition, also conveying the notion that humanity has changed a great deal, both socially and physically - as indicated, for example, by the presence of engineer Ashok, who is a cyborg constantly on the lookout for further modifications and enhancements. Moreover, there is a vein of light humor running throughout the story, carried by the constant quips exchanged among the crew, that mitigates the seemingly endless adrenaline rush of the events, and offers a welcome respite during the tenser moments.

Unfortunately, the characters suffer from such a tight focus on the plot, and they looked to me rather like… signposts (for want of a better word) of what actual characters should be, with not enough depth for me to truly connect with any of them. As I read I kept thinking that the potential for each character was not fully explored, particularly where the already mentioned Ashok is concerned, or the weirdly inseparable duo of Janice and Drake, or again the alien Liar named Lantern who at some point joins the team: they all looked to me more paint-by-the-numbers aspects of diversity than anything else, which proved disappointing in light of the hints at trans-humanity and post-humanity inhabiting this future universe, not to mention the potentially intriguing race of the Liars.

Another source of frustration comes from the excessively carefree attitude with which the crew launches into unknown dangers - and into a situation that could lead to the total annihilation of humankind: their lives are constantly at stake, but I never perceived their acknowledgment of this fact, and was in turn surprised and annoyed at the way they faced mortal dangers as if they were embarking in one of their routine missions. This kind of portrayal failed to make me worry about their survival - both as individuals and as a group - because the way the story is told clearly implicates that they will survive anything: the fact that they always manage to overcome any danger, no matter how dire, and beat the worst odds, robs any of their endeavors of the suspense necessary to make such actions believable.

And on top of it all, there is an equally unbelievable insta-love between Captain Callie and Dr. Elena: first of all, I was somewhat creeped out by the fact that Callie feels the pangs of physical attraction for Elena when first observing her frozen body in the cryo-pod - my suspension of disbelief did not pass this stress test, which later colored my consideration of the told-but-not-shown mutual attraction between the two of them. Add the unnatural ease with which Elena accepts the fact that she’s been frozen for a few centuries and that the world she knew is no more, an ease that never takes into account the element of “future shock” one should expect in such a situation, and you will understand my problems with the characterization of this novel.

Still, the core concept of an ancient alien race poised to return and wreak havoc in the galaxy is an intriguing one, and it might be the encouragement I need to try the second book in the series - if nothing else to see if some of the problems I encountered here have been straightened out. ( )