Review: To Be a Spaceship
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 6, 2012
Few stories even cover this concept, much less execute it so well as this author has. The war story was a great context to let a reader imagine what it might feel like to be a spaceship and from a human point of view. If it wasn't for one important plot twist, it makes you want to be one.It was also a very unique way to tell a story and keep it human. It is a war story, people, characters briefly known, or known for a few chapaters, do die.For once I didn't feel as if the author was trying to make a point of 'in war people die' that is good to convey, but not beat one's audience over the head with as a number of military scifi authors tend to do. This story avoids 'the character is detailed only to feel loss later when they die' syndrom.Instead the author focuses on telling a story, where we get to know some of the characters, but the rest are part of the background, supporting cast, necessary bit parts and names for continuity sake. Mostly for me though, it was about being a spaceship, the story was just something to support and entertain while this concept was explored.I did feel the ending was rushed, yet that could just be my desire for the story to have continued on instead of like any good story, coming to an end.From a personal perspective, I think the author has improved greatly since Translight, the first book of his that I read. I did not skim nor did I feel tempted to skim at any point in this book. With that first one there was a tendency towards either too much information or I didn't connected with the characters involved in that particular portion of that story. This felt like a more focused and better paced composition. I certainly am now thinking maybe I'll give a few other books of his since Translight a try.This one I loved, and I hope you will too, if only to dream of being a spaceship.