Book Review: Dust by Elizabeth Bear
Mar. 15th, 2008 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: Dust
Author: Elizabeth Bear (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
matociquala)
Published: New York: Bantam Spectra, 2008
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 342
Total Page Count: 46,777
Text Number: 135
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: On a broken ship orbiting a dying sun, an angel is captured and her wings severed. But before her captor can devour her memory and mind, and so spark a war between their two houses, the angel Percival escapes with the servant charged with her care, her half sister Rein. Together, they journey through the distant bowels of the crumbling ship, trying to stop a war, their every step watched by the divine fragments that have the power to save the ship. Bear's novel is outside of the ordinary: transcending gender and sexual stereotypes, combining hard sci-fi with religious imagery, and above all building a delicately unfolding, layered plot. The novel is so unusual that it is almost difficult to categorize or, at least at the beginning, to enjoy, but all told it is a solidly written, brilliantly imagined book, and I recommend it.
It took me two thirds of this book to decide that I liked it. In part this is due to the fact that I had not read hard sci-fi in some time, but largely it is because Bear's book is unusual even for the genre. Bear combines religious titles and allegory with nanotechnology and similar-but-different scientific evolutions, like genderless individuals and specialized weapons called "unblades." At the onset, this combination is disorientating: it doesn't seem to fit the genre; it uses words that the reader recognizes in a way that the reader does not recognize; in short, it defies expectation. Furthermore, the plot unveils itself in arcs, and each arc reveals more about the story and puts previous revelations into more logical and rational language. As such, the beginning of the story is disorientating and a bit confusing, and while this great unknown does spark reader interest, it makes the book somewhat difficult to judge as good or bad, or even to enjoy.
However, as layers of the plot unfold and unexplained terms are defined, the book comes together and becomes easier to judge and enjoy. The complete story reads well and makes sense: the plot is solid, characters have adequate depth, the settings are intelligently constructed and portrayed, and the quests and final conflict create a satisfying story. Moreover, as everything comes together, the initial confusion and delicate layers of the plot actually improve the book. Working through confusion to understand the plot creates reader ownership, and as a result revelations and events in the novel are like personal accomplishments. Further complications outside the realm of plot, such as atypical gender constructs, the unique setting, and sci-fi technology, all create a distinctive atmosphere and broaden reader's expectations of what characters and story can be.
So while it took me some time to get a grasp on this novel and form any opinion about it, I did learn to enjoy it, and I came away satisfied. Nothing about the novel is exceptional—it did not strike me as a groundbreaking or an incredible book, and as such I don't believe it warrants a five star review. But even if its not exceptional, Dust is an above average novel, adeptly written, skillfully conceived, with something to offer outside of plot alone: a complexity, a transcendence beyond usual constructs. Bear's style is slightly unusual, and so in its way the novel does stand out, inspiring the reader to invest himself and to stretch his mind in the reading. I'm glad that I had a chance to read it, and I plan to pick up more of Bear's books; similarly, I recommend Dust, although it may appeal more to sci-fi fans than other readers.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Elizabeth Bear (
matociquala)Published: New York: Bantam Spectra, 2008
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 342
Total Page Count: 46,777
Text Number: 135
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: On a broken ship orbiting a dying sun, an angel is captured and her wings severed. But before her captor can devour her memory and mind, and so spark a war between their two houses, the angel Percival escapes with the servant charged with her care, her half sister Rein. Together, they journey through the distant bowels of the crumbling ship, trying to stop a war, their every step watched by the divine fragments that have the power to save the ship. Bear's novel is outside of the ordinary: transcending gender and sexual stereotypes, combining hard sci-fi with religious imagery, and above all building a delicately unfolding, layered plot. The novel is so unusual that it is almost difficult to categorize or, at least at the beginning, to enjoy, but all told it is a solidly written, brilliantly imagined book, and I recommend it.
It took me two thirds of this book to decide that I liked it. In part this is due to the fact that I had not read hard sci-fi in some time, but largely it is because Bear's book is unusual even for the genre. Bear combines religious titles and allegory with nanotechnology and similar-but-different scientific evolutions, like genderless individuals and specialized weapons called "unblades." At the onset, this combination is disorientating: it doesn't seem to fit the genre; it uses words that the reader recognizes in a way that the reader does not recognize; in short, it defies expectation. Furthermore, the plot unveils itself in arcs, and each arc reveals more about the story and puts previous revelations into more logical and rational language. As such, the beginning of the story is disorientating and a bit confusing, and while this great unknown does spark reader interest, it makes the book somewhat difficult to judge as good or bad, or even to enjoy.
However, as layers of the plot unfold and unexplained terms are defined, the book comes together and becomes easier to judge and enjoy. The complete story reads well and makes sense: the plot is solid, characters have adequate depth, the settings are intelligently constructed and portrayed, and the quests and final conflict create a satisfying story. Moreover, as everything comes together, the initial confusion and delicate layers of the plot actually improve the book. Working through confusion to understand the plot creates reader ownership, and as a result revelations and events in the novel are like personal accomplishments. Further complications outside the realm of plot, such as atypical gender constructs, the unique setting, and sci-fi technology, all create a distinctive atmosphere and broaden reader's expectations of what characters and story can be.
So while it took me some time to get a grasp on this novel and form any opinion about it, I did learn to enjoy it, and I came away satisfied. Nothing about the novel is exceptional—it did not strike me as a groundbreaking or an incredible book, and as such I don't believe it warrants a five star review. But even if its not exceptional, Dust is an above average novel, adeptly written, skillfully conceived, with something to offer outside of plot alone: a complexity, a transcendence beyond usual constructs. Bear's style is slightly unusual, and so in its way the novel does stand out, inspiring the reader to invest himself and to stretch his mind in the reading. I'm glad that I had a chance to read it, and I plan to pick up more of Bear's books; similarly, I recommend Dust, although it may appeal more to sci-fi fans than other readers.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
