Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson [SPOILERS]
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Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson [SPOILERS]
Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora
Author, Kim Stanley Robinson is well known in the Science Fiction genre for the Mars Trilogy and the award winning 2312. In early 2015 he released his newest installment into the world of Science Fiction with his novel, Aurora.
Synopsis:
In the year 2045, a generation ship is launched with it's destination orbiting the star of Tau Ceti. Two hundred years later, travelling at a 10th of the speed of light, the ship's journey is reaching an end. But all is not well for Freya, the main protagonist, and the rest of the people on board. The ship is victim of wear and tear and other issues will soon arise. Will the ship make it to it's destination before it's too late, and will the destination be suitable for humans to live on?
Review:
Recently, KSR has begun to explore different ways of narrating his novels. For example, in 2312 he used different types of chapters called lists, extracts, and quantum walks. These were odd ways to narrate the story and once again, Robinson has decided to use an unorthodox idea for narration. In Aurora, Robinson narrates most of the story from the point of view of the computer that controls the ship. Within this point of view, Robinson explores the ideas of quantum mechanics and different ethics within society that the ship doesn't comprehend yet. The narration allowed for me to understand more into what the computer's intents were, however some of the extracts of the narration were hard to follow because it went into complicated areas of quantum mechanics and ethics. I felt that throughout reading the book they felt like a dump of information taken away from Wikipedia and made the book a bit more of a chore to read and try to understand.
Throughout the story there are a few love scenes between Freya and different types of people. Overall, I felt that these scenes weren't needed and mostly made me cringe. It was mainly because when Freya had sex, KSR would say, "and then they mated," which although isn't actually incorrect, I think we seem to attribute mating with animals, not humans. On the contrary however, one of Freya's relationships did help to make me feel as if I had lost someone close when he died because it built up an affection for him from Freya's feelings. It did truly help to pass on the emotion felt by Freya throughout the ordeal.
One of the most amazing parts about this story is how wonderfully well it has been constructed. Robinson didn't simply pick different ideas out of his head and squash them together, he clearly made thorough research into the different parts of the story. For example, there is a part of the story where he explains the way that the ship can slow down by using reverse gravity assists reduce it's velocity, which in the circumstances provided, required a lot of detailed thought to work properly. One of the benefits of reading this book is that the technologies used aren't unbelievable. If they were, then surely, the spacecraft would be able to travel faster than light rather than at a tenth of the speed.
Within the book, KSR develops great character personas. The different personalities wove together to make one character dependent on the other. For example, Freya seeking counsel from her father, Badim and then a friend to talk to, the computer. Had the characters not been like this, I think that the book would have lacked in the authenticity that it provides to the story.
What I find quite important in a book is how everything is tied together at the end. It's usually disappointing if you finish a book and the ending was nothing compared to the story itself. Throughout the story, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. By the end, I was more relaxed. Not relaxed as in not caring about what happened, but relaxed in that I know things are fine. Robinson manages to quell the adrenaline rush by telling us how Freya adapts to life at her new home. I liked this because it was just a serene moment where everything is pleasant and not plagued with disruptions, and it made for a magnificent ending to the novel.
Overall, the only problems I found with the story were the information dumps and the odd ways of describing relations between characters. The story itself and most of the narration was amazingly done. The way that Robinson managed to craft the different parts of the story was impeccable and he managed to hit the sweet-spots every time when it came to the beginning, the denouement and the end. I can't wait for the next book from Kim Stanley Robinson!
Overall, this book deserves a 3 out of 4!
Author, Kim Stanley Robinson is well known in the Science Fiction genre for the Mars Trilogy and the award winning 2312. In early 2015 he released his newest installment into the world of Science Fiction with his novel, Aurora.
Synopsis:
In the year 2045, a generation ship is launched with it's destination orbiting the star of Tau Ceti. Two hundred years later, travelling at a 10th of the speed of light, the ship's journey is reaching an end. But all is not well for Freya, the main protagonist, and the rest of the people on board. The ship is victim of wear and tear and other issues will soon arise. Will the ship make it to it's destination before it's too late, and will the destination be suitable for humans to live on?
Review:
Recently, KSR has begun to explore different ways of narrating his novels. For example, in 2312 he used different types of chapters called lists, extracts, and quantum walks. These were odd ways to narrate the story and once again, Robinson has decided to use an unorthodox idea for narration. In Aurora, Robinson narrates most of the story from the point of view of the computer that controls the ship. Within this point of view, Robinson explores the ideas of quantum mechanics and different ethics within society that the ship doesn't comprehend yet. The narration allowed for me to understand more into what the computer's intents were, however some of the extracts of the narration were hard to follow because it went into complicated areas of quantum mechanics and ethics. I felt that throughout reading the book they felt like a dump of information taken away from Wikipedia and made the book a bit more of a chore to read and try to understand.
Throughout the story there are a few love scenes between Freya and different types of people. Overall, I felt that these scenes weren't needed and mostly made me cringe. It was mainly because when Freya had sex, KSR would say, "and then they mated," which although isn't actually incorrect, I think we seem to attribute mating with animals, not humans. On the contrary however, one of Freya's relationships did help to make me feel as if I had lost someone close when he died because it built up an affection for him from Freya's feelings. It did truly help to pass on the emotion felt by Freya throughout the ordeal.
One of the most amazing parts about this story is how wonderfully well it has been constructed. Robinson didn't simply pick different ideas out of his head and squash them together, he clearly made thorough research into the different parts of the story. For example, there is a part of the story where he explains the way that the ship can slow down by using reverse gravity assists reduce it's velocity, which in the circumstances provided, required a lot of detailed thought to work properly. One of the benefits of reading this book is that the technologies used aren't unbelievable. If they were, then surely, the spacecraft would be able to travel faster than light rather than at a tenth of the speed.
Within the book, KSR develops great character personas. The different personalities wove together to make one character dependent on the other. For example, Freya seeking counsel from her father, Badim and then a friend to talk to, the computer. Had the characters not been like this, I think that the book would have lacked in the authenticity that it provides to the story.
What I find quite important in a book is how everything is tied together at the end. It's usually disappointing if you finish a book and the ending was nothing compared to the story itself. Throughout the story, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. By the end, I was more relaxed. Not relaxed as in not caring about what happened, but relaxed in that I know things are fine. Robinson manages to quell the adrenaline rush by telling us how Freya adapts to life at her new home. I liked this because it was just a serene moment where everything is pleasant and not plagued with disruptions, and it made for a magnificent ending to the novel.
Overall, the only problems I found with the story were the information dumps and the odd ways of describing relations between characters. The story itself and most of the narration was amazingly done. The way that Robinson managed to craft the different parts of the story was impeccable and he managed to hit the sweet-spots every time when it came to the beginning, the denouement and the end. I can't wait for the next book from Kim Stanley Robinson!
Overall, this book deserves a 3 out of 4!
