Will Sargent reviewed The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
Review of 'The Stars Are Legion' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
I wanted to like this book far more than I actually did -- imagine Greg Bear's Blood Music crossed with M. John Harrison's decaying Viriconium. Everyone lives in giant living ships, and the ships are dying.
Unfortunately, that's far as I got. The characters, Zan and Jayd, are theoretically in love, theoretically have a plan, theoretically make good decisions in order to get to this point. And yet... they make decisions that make no sense -- from attacking a ship for the Nth time that has beaten off their attacks without a sweat, to the amnesia (and the ridiculous justification for it) to the pointless extended roadtrip in the middle.
I wanted sensible people. I wanted hard headed politicians. I wanted thought. But this isn't a book that relies on thought -- the ultimate rationale and goals are based on feelings, wants, and drives, and there isn't much room for …
I wanted to like this book far more than I actually did -- imagine Greg Bear's Blood Music crossed with M. John Harrison's decaying Viriconium. Everyone lives in giant living ships, and the ships are dying.
Unfortunately, that's far as I got. The characters, Zan and Jayd, are theoretically in love, theoretically have a plan, theoretically make good decisions in order to get to this point. And yet... they make decisions that make no sense -- from attacking a ship for the Nth time that has beaten off their attacks without a sweat, to the amnesia (and the ridiculous justification for it) to the pointless extended roadtrip in the middle.
I wanted sensible people. I wanted hard headed politicians. I wanted thought. But this isn't a book that relies on thought -- the ultimate rationale and goals are based on feelings, wants, and drives, and there isn't much room for the characters to not feel about something.