Fugitive Telemetry
Aug. 1st, 2021 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraWe had an all-day family excursion planned today, but I woke up this morning with a stabbing headache and nausea and couldn't face being in the car for two hours and decided to skip it and went back to bed. When I got up again, the meds had kicked in, I felt fine, and Fugitive Telemetry had popped from the library ebook queue, which I took as confirmation from the universe that I was meant to have a day off. As I type, I've been alone in the house for 11 awake hours, luxurious even in the beforetimes when members of my household went to work or school outside the house. I got one of the oldest lingering items off my to-do list! I made some book club reading progress!
And, what I am actually here to talk about, I read all of Fugitive Telemetry, which turns out to be a novella rather than a novel and thus a perfect one-sitting sort of read. This is the sixth book in Martha Wells' series that began with All Systems Red, and (I think this is a useful mild spoiler) it's a prequel to the novel Network Effect. (I didn't know that going in and was a little confused about the timeline for awhile.) I wouldn't call this one of the highlights of the series - it's more like a case-of-the-week episode than a major arc episode - but Wells' writing is always terrific, and it was very satisfying.
(On Tuesday I am not going to a concert I bought a ticket for in February of 2020 - it got postponed and rescheduled last summer, and at the time I thought there was a good chance things would feel safe by next August, and, honestly, as of, like, a month ago I thought things might feel safe in August, but right now the idea of being in a stadium with tens of thousands of other people (who don't think they need to wear masks because we're not doing that any more) makes my skin crawl. I know some people have moved into more of a "we have to live our lives!" mode but the sadness I feel over missing this concert just cannot compare to how upset I would be about bringing covid home to my unvaccinated kid, or even "getting away with it" myself but knowing that I had been in a place where other people were infecting each other unnecessarily. I'd rather just not. Perhaps I'll read another entirely indulgent book - there's the new Vernon/Kingfisher I've been saving for something...)
And, what I am actually here to talk about, I read all of Fugitive Telemetry, which turns out to be a novella rather than a novel and thus a perfect one-sitting sort of read. This is the sixth book in Martha Wells' series that began with All Systems Red, and (I think this is a useful mild spoiler) it's a prequel to the novel Network Effect. (I didn't know that going in and was a little confused about the timeline for awhile.) I wouldn't call this one of the highlights of the series - it's more like a case-of-the-week episode than a major arc episode - but Wells' writing is always terrific, and it was very satisfying.
(On Tuesday I am not going to a concert I bought a ticket for in February of 2020 - it got postponed and rescheduled last summer, and at the time I thought there was a good chance things would feel safe by next August, and, honestly, as of, like, a month ago I thought things might feel safe in August, but right now the idea of being in a stadium with tens of thousands of other people (who don't think they need to wear masks because we're not doing that any more) makes my skin crawl. I know some people have moved into more of a "we have to live our lives!" mode but the sadness I feel over missing this concert just cannot compare to how upset I would be about bringing covid home to my unvaccinated kid, or even "getting away with it" myself but knowing that I had been in a place where other people were infecting each other unnecessarily. I'd rather just not. Perhaps I'll read another entirely indulgent book - there's the new Vernon/Kingfisher I've been saving for something...)
