Translation State
Aug. 31st, 2023 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraTranslation State, Ann Leckie, 2023 novel. I have a staggering amount of Hugos homework left, so have I been doing any of it? Not at all. But I did make time for this, a book I was actually excited about, and which was just as good as I hoped. I've liked all her previous books and I thought she did some really neat stuff with this one. I probably wouldn't start here if you haven't read any of them - I think there's stuff in the worldbuilding that would feel under-explained - but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who did, maybe it would work better than I think. I imagine we'll see this on both the Novel and Series ballots next year (although I guess I have no idea any more, after this year).
Spoilers behind the cut: I really liked the spiral-maze in the end, and the weirdness of passing each other on different loops. And I thought the whole "match" plot was a really thoughtful and sensitive exploration of the "fuck or die" trope, like there is this whole biological imperative but consent still matters (and they still got to be awkward and cute). Interesting comparison/contrast to Le Guin writing about kemmer in "Coming of Age in Karhide", the way it seems scary and undesirable but then the biology takes over, except Leckie gives her characters another option, and also a more personal connection than just biology taking over. Also interesting to think about re Locked Tomb, the end of Nona, and Paul, like, it's always interesting to me when multiple authors seem to be exploring similar themes and ideas at the same time. Very interesting choice from Leckie that we don't get to see the "consummation" - I wonder if she felt like it was going to be too porny, or too gross, or just wanted to leave it as so alien that we can't imagine. On another topic I was very amused by the Presger deniers - an interesting twist on the oppressed-minority conflict, when they're doing something so potentially devastating.
Spoilers behind the cut: I really liked the spiral-maze in the end, and the weirdness of passing each other on different loops. And I thought the whole "match" plot was a really thoughtful and sensitive exploration of the "fuck or die" trope, like there is this whole biological imperative but consent still matters (and they still got to be awkward and cute). Interesting comparison/contrast to Le Guin writing about kemmer in "Coming of Age in Karhide", the way it seems scary and undesirable but then the biology takes over, except Leckie gives her characters another option, and also a more personal connection than just biology taking over. Also interesting to think about re Locked Tomb, the end of Nona, and Paul, like, it's always interesting to me when multiple authors seem to be exploring similar themes and ideas at the same time. Very interesting choice from Leckie that we don't get to see the "consummation" - I wonder if she felt like it was going to be too porny, or too gross, or just wanted to leave it as so alien that we can't imagine. On another topic I was very amused by the Presger deniers - an interesting twist on the oppressed-minority conflict, when they're doing something so potentially devastating.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-01 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-05 10:35 pm (UTC)Is there a wedding in Barrayar? I can't remember one. There's Gregor's wedding at the end of Civil Campaign... and I guess Winterfair Gifts is entirely around Miles' wedding, but I can't remember if we actually see much of it... anyways, without knowing anything about the timing/situation/backstory I can only assume that Analog needed all the girl cooties it could get :)
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Date: 2023-09-05 11:10 pm (UTC)And yes, more girl cooties were definitely needed. I remember a couple stories that acknowledged the existence of periods, but one felt deeply self-conscious and the other was a story that didn't end up working the way it was supposed to.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-06 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-06 02:13 pm (UTC)