5 ms·

I enjoyed the sci-fi parts of this book. The whole thing about the ship trying to evade the Blight was some of the best hard sci-fi I've come across. What I li

I enjoyed the sci-fi parts of this book. The whole thing about the ship trying to evade the Blight was some of the best hard sci-fi I've come across. What I liked less was the subplot about the children marooned in a medieval-style society of dog-like aliens, which got a bit Game of Thrones-y for my taste, and felt like a completely different book. I considered reading A Deepness in the Sky, but then learned it involves a civilization of spider-like aliens. How is it?

int_19h 5y ago
The spiders in Deepness are already a technological society with cars, airplanes, radio etc. Furthermore, the interaction between them and humans in space above their planet is one of the main storylines in the book. To a certain extent, it's one of those "what if we were the aliens?" kinds of stories, but very thoroughly fleshed out.
- atombender 5y ago
  I started reading it last night. Then I remembered that I had started reading it about a year ago, but that I had given up around chapter 4. This is where the novel switches gears completely. It introduces a new narrator who describes the spider world, except in human terms with cars, royal families, blacksmiths and references places with Earth-like names like Princeton, so clearly a kind of allegorical form of storytelling. It completely put me off what was up to then pretty decent hard sci-fi. It reminded me of the fable-like way the aliens are described in The Three-Body Problem, which I did not like. I will try a few more chapters, I guess.
  - int_19h 5y ago
    If you read on, you'll eventually find out just why it's narrated the way it is. You're correct in that it's clearly metaphorical - but that actually has a compelling in-story explanation, and it is a major factor later in the plot. A (hopefully) non-spoiler TL;DR is that this has to do with how our perception of others affects our ability to humanize or dehumanize them. In fact, there's one scene near the end where this metaphorical narration is intentionally and explicitly contrasted with the actual appearance of the Spiders and their world.
    - atombender 5y ago
      Thanks. My guess so far is that it's an "interpretation" written by one of the human characters — which is fine in principle, but I find it really off-putting. The mixing of hard science fiction with this Jules Verne-like fabulism just doesn't work for me.
ajmurmann 5y ago
Sorry, not answering your question, but commenting on the dog aliens. I agree that the two stories felt quite disconnected. What was interesting about the dog-like aliens though was his representation of a telepathic hive-mind. Unfortunately, your general argument about those sections still stands though. I was actually even reminded of Star Wars: Ewok Adventure which arguably is worse than being reminded of GoT.
thescriptkiddie 5y ago
In my opinion A Deepness in the Sky is a better book. The spiders are more interesting than the dogs, and the two storylines are much more closely intertwined.
- db48x 5y ago
  What I like about both of them, is how deeply alien the aliens feel _at the end of the book_, after characters from the separate story lines start interacting more directly. The differences are mentioned early, but the alien’s point of view is told by narrators who, for various reasons, are subtly unreliable. Rereading these books is especially rewarding. But I do agree with you that A Deepness in the Sky is better in many ways. It’s a much more subtle book.

int_19h 5y ago

The spiders in Deepness are already a technological society with cars, airplanes, radio etc. Furthermore, the interaction between them and humans in space above their planet is one of the main storylines in the book. To a certain extent, it's one of those "what if we were the aliens?" kinds of stories, but very thoroughly fleshed out.

atombender 5y ago
I started reading it last night. Then I remembered that I had started reading it about a year ago, but that I had given up around chapter 4. This is where the novel switches gears completely. It introduces a new narrator who describes the spider world, except in human terms with cars, royal families, blacksmiths and references places with Earth-like names like Princeton, so clearly a kind of allegorical form of storytelling. It completely put me off what was up to then pretty decent hard sci-fi. It reminded me of the fable-like way the aliens are described in The Three-Body Problem, which I did not like. I will try a few more chapters, I guess.
- int_19h 5y ago
  If you read on, you'll eventually find out just why it's narrated the way it is. You're correct in that it's clearly metaphorical - but that actually has a compelling in-story explanation, and it is a major factor later in the plot. A (hopefully) non-spoiler TL;DR is that this has to do with how our perception of others affects our ability to humanize or dehumanize them. In fact, there's one scene near the end where this metaphorical narration is intentionally and explicitly contrasted with the actual appearance of the Spiders and their world.
  - atombender 5y ago
    Thanks. My guess so far is that it's an "interpretation" written by one of the human characters — which is fine in principle, but I find it really off-putting. The mixing of hard science fiction with this Jules Verne-like fabulism just doesn't work for me.

ajmurmann 5y ago

Sorry, not answering your question, but commenting on the dog aliens. I agree that the two stories felt quite disconnected. What was interesting about the dog-like aliens though was his representation of a telepathic hive-mind. Unfortunately, your general argument about those sections still stands though. I was actually even reminded of Star Wars: Ewok Adventure which arguably is worse than being reminded of GoT.

thescriptkiddie 5y ago

In my opinion A Deepness in the Sky is a better book. The spiders are more interesting than the dogs, and the two storylines are much more closely intertwined.

db48x 5y ago
What I like about both of them, is how deeply alien the aliens feel _at the end of the book_, after characters from the separate story lines start interacting more directly. The differences are mentioned early, but the alien’s point of view is told by narrators who, for various reasons, are subtly unreliable. Rereading these books is especially rewarding. But I do agree with you that A Deepness in the Sky is better in many ways. It’s a much more subtle book.